setup.py not installing data files

http://docs.python.org/distutils/setupscript.html#installing-additional-files

If directory is a relative path, it is interpreted relative to the installation prefix (Python’s sys.prefix for pure-Python packages, sys.exec_prefix for packages that contain extension modules).

This will probably do it:

data_files   = [ ("my_module",  ["local/lib/python2.7/dist-package/my_module/data1",
                                 "local/lib/python2.7/dist-package/my_module/data2"])]

Or just use join to add the prefix:

data_dir = os.path.join(sys.prefix, "local/lib/python2.7/dist-package/my_module")
data_files   = [ ("my_module",  [os.path.join(data_dir, "data1"),
                                 os.path.join(data_dir, "data2")])]

UPD: package_data accepts dict in format {'package': ['list', 'of?', 'globs*']}, so to make it work, one should specify shell globs relative to package dir, not the file paths relative to the distribution root.

data_files has a different meaning, and, in general, one should avoid using this parameter.

With setuptools you only need include_package_data=True, but data files should be under version control system, known to setuptools (by default it recognizes only CVS and SVN, install setuptools-git or setuptools-hg if you use git or hg...)

---

with setuptools you can:

- in MANIFEST.im:

    include my_module/data*

- in setup.py:

    setup(
        ...
        include_package_data = True,
        ...
    )