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Gabor Szabo
Gabor Szabo

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3.76% Python packages have no summary

The summary field of a Python package distributed via PyPI is the first thing people searching for packages encounter. Based on the statistics collected by PyDigger 3.76% of the Python packages uploaded to PyPI are missing that field. The full list of those packages can be found here.

Would you like to help adding that field?

Adding this information to the packages can be a nice contribution to both the specific Python package and to the whole Python ecosystem. You will need to understand what the package does and express it in very few words.

Technically in order to make that change easy you'll need to find the repository of the packages. According to the statistics 1.24% of the packages have a VCS linked from the package. Those will be probably the easiest to fix. Here is the full list of Python packages with VCS but without a summary.

There is also some technical details about the summary field that can help you.

If you do it now, still in October you might want to first sign up to the Hacktoberfest to have your contribution count there too.

Improve PyDigger?

Of course PyDigger is also be buggy and it needs a lot more features. The source code can be found in GitHub and it is marked for Hacktoberfest.

Top comments (1)

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patarapolw profile image
Pacharapol Withayasakpunt

The most common way to include it in the packages is to add a field called description to the setup function in the setup.py of the project. (Not to be confused with the long_description.)
In setup use the field description to provide a one-line description that will become the summary field in the JSON file.

In setup use the field long_descrption to provide, well, a long description that will become the description field in the JSON file.

Yes, I know the naming is a bit confusing.

Yes, it is very confusing. Is it Summary, or Description in the first place?