---
id: pdm-pep517
version: "1.1.4"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# pdm-pep517 — A PEP 517 backend for PDM that supports PEP 621 metadata

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 275.0K/mo

## What it is and what it does

pdm-pep517 is a PEP 517-compliant build backend that integrates with Python's modern packaging standards. It reads project metadata from pyproject.toml in PEP 621 format and generates wheels and source distributions. The package supports dynamic version detection from static files or SCM tags (git/hg), custom build scripts for generating files at build time, and configuration options for controlling package layout, includes/excludes, and platform-specific wheel tags.

You use it by declaring it in your project's build-system section of pyproject.toml, then optionally configuring behavior under [tool.pdm.build]. It handles standard Python packaging workflows without requiring setuptools, though it can integrate with setuptools for C extension builds. The project is actively maintained and production-stable, supporting Python 3.7 through 3.11.

Use it for:

- Build PDM projects or any project using PEP 621 metadata without setuptools or other legacy build tools
- Automatically detect and embed project version from git tags or SCM without hardcoding it in source
- Generate C extensions or other compiled artifacts during the build process via custom build scripts
- Create platform-specific wheels with custom tags for specialized deployment scenarios
- Manage complex package layouts with selective file inclusion/exclusion patterns

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

A PEP 517 build backend that reads PEP 621 project metadata from pyproject.toml and converts it to wheel and source distributions, with support for dynamic versioning and custom build scripts.

Yes, if you are building a Python project and want a modern, dependency-free PEP 517 backend. The package is production-stable, actively maintained, and has no runtime dependencies. Note: the project has been renamed to pdm-backend; verify whether that successor is recommended for new projects before committing to pdm-pep517.

## Install

pip install pdm-pep517
uv add pdm-pep517
poetry add pdm-pep517

## Installing pdm-pep517

Before you install: Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained as of 2026-08-03 with production-stable status.

License in practice: MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for any project type.

Quickstart:

# In pyproject.toml:
[build-system]
requires = ["pdm-pep517"]
build-backend = "pdm.pep517.api"

[project]
name = "mypackage"
dynamic = ["version"]

[tool.pdm.version]
source = "file"
path = "mypackage/__init__.py"

# Then build with: python -m build

Requires Python 3.7 or later; the build frontend (e.g., python -m build) must be installed separately.

Verify before relying:

- Whether pdm-backend (the renamed successor) is recommended for new projects or if pdm-pep517 remains actively supported
- Performance characteristics when building large projects or those with complex custom build scripts

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 275.0K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

PEP 517 build backend, PEP 621 metadata, Python package build tool, pyproject.toml build system, dynamic version from SCM, custom build script support, wheel and sdist builder, build-backend, pep-517, packaging

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