PyPI Package Name Collision Fix

Experiment Overview

Item	Details
Date	2025-12-11
Goal	Fix issue where pip install kintsugi[extra] downloaded wrong package from PyPI
Environment	Linux (HiPerGator), Python 3.10, pip 24.x
Status	Success

Context

When developing a package locally with pip install -e ., if the package name already exists on PyPI (even as a placeholder or different project), running commands like pip install package[extra] will download from PyPI instead of using the local editable install.

The Problem

Our package is named kintsugi. There's also a kintsugi package on PyPI (version 0.0.1, unrelated project). When running:

kintsugi install bio  # internally runs: pip install kintsugi[bio]

This downloaded kintsugi-0.0.1 from PyPI, overwriting our local editable install.

Error Signature

$ pip show kintsugi
Name: kintsugi
Version: 0.0.1  # Wrong! Should be our development version
Location: /path/to/site-packages

Or the package imports fail because the PyPI version has different modules.

Verified Workflow

Solution: Use Direct Package Names Instead of Extras

Instead of relying on pip install package[extra] syntax, use direct package names:

Before (broken):

OPTIONAL_GROUPS = {
    "bio": {
        "install_cmd": "pip install kintsugi[bio]",  # Downloads from PyPI!
        ...
    }
}

After (working):

OPTIONAL_GROUPS = {
    "bio": {
        "install_cmd": "pip install scanpy scimap squidpy anndata",  # Direct packages
        ...
    }
}

Implementation in KINTSUGI

We updated src/kintsugi/cli.py to use direct package names:

OPTIONAL_GROUPS: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = {
    "bio": {
        "description": "Spatial biology analysis (scanpy, scimap, squidpy)",
        "install_cmd": "pip install scanpy scimap squidpy anndata",
        "packages": ["scanpy", "scimap", "squidpy", "anndata"],
    },
    "gpu": {
        "description": "GPU acceleration (cupy, pytorch)",
        "install_cmd": "pip install cupy-cuda12x torch",
        "packages": ["cupy", "torch"],
    },
    # ... etc
}

Fix Existing Broken Install

If already affected:

# Remove the wrong package
pip uninstall kintsugi

# Reinstall local editable version
pip install -e /path/to/your/project

# Verify
pip show kintsugi  # Should show your version and location

Failed Attempts (Critical)

Attempt	Why it Failed	Lesson Learned
Using pip install kintsugi[bio]	PyPI has priority over local editable installs for extras resolution	Never use package[extra] syntax if package name exists on PyPI
Adding --no-index flag	Breaks installation of actual dependencies	Only works if all deps are local
Using pip install -e .[bio]	Works initially but subsequent pip install kintsugi[x] still breaks	Users running CLI commands won't use -e . syntax
Renaming package	Breaking change for existing users	Only viable for new projects

Final Parameters

For CLI tools that install optional dependencies:

# pyproject.toml - still define extras for documentation
[project.optional-dependencies]
bio = ["scanpy", "scimap", "squidpy", "anndata"]
gpu = ["cupy-cuda12x", "torch"]

# cli.py - use direct package names for actual installation
OPTIONAL_GROUPS = {
    "bio": {
        "install_cmd": "pip install scanpy scimap squidpy anndata",
        ...
    }
}

Key Insights

• PyPI package names are first-come-first-served - check if your name exists before publishing
• The pip install package[extra] syntax queries PyPI even for editable installs
• This is a silent failure - pip happily installs the wrong package
• Always verify with pip show package after installation
• Consider using a more unique package name for new projects

References

• PyPI kintsugi package: https://pypi.org/project/kintsugi/
• pip extras documentation: https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/cli/pip_install/#examples
• KINTSUGI PR fixing this: commit 6eb5b75