The tale of install.py is one of the oldest in the Python ecosystem, serving as the silent foundation for how software was built and distributed before modern tools like pip became the industry standard. The Origins: The distutils Era
As projects grew more complex, setup.py evolved into setuptools . However, running a raw .py file for installation had risks. It executed arbitrary code on your machine with full permissions—a "long story" that often ended in broken system Python installations. install.py
While largely deprecated for general libraries, you will still find install.py in specific, specialized corners of the tech world: The tale of install