Failure on the pip install -e .

[BarrySmith]

Thanks for providing this interesting tool. I cannot get past the pip install -e . (error below) this is on macOS. I tried python3.10 up to python3.14

$ pip install -e .
Obtaining file:///Users/barrysmith/Src/mcp-bash
  Installing build dependencies ... done
  Checking if build backend supports build_editable ... done
  Getting requirements to build editable ... error
  error: subprocess-exited-with-error
  
  × Getting requirements to build editable did not run successfully.
  │ exit code: 1
  ╰─> [28 lines of output]
      /private/var/folders/pj/lz10vqqn2kdd3hv3zvv4pdb00000gn/T/pip-build-env-7taoxy70/overlay/lib/python3.10/site-packages/setuptools/config/_apply_pyprojecttoml.py:82: SetuptoolsDeprecationWarning: `project.license` as a TOML table is deprecated
      !!
      
              ********************************************************************************
              Please use a simple string containing a SPDX expression for `project.license`. You can also use `project.license-files`. (Both options available on setuptools>=77.0.0).
      
              By 2026-Feb-18, you need to update your project and remove deprecated calls
              or your builds will no longer be supported.
      
              See https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/guides/writing-pyproject-toml/#license for details.
              ********************************************************************************
      
      !!
        corresp(dist, value, root_dir)
      error: Multiple top-level modules discovered in a flat-layout: ['server', 'example_client'].
      
      To avoid accidental inclusion of unwanted files or directories,
      setuptools will not proceed with this build.
      
      If you are trying to create a single distribution with multiple modules
      on purpose, you should not rely on automatic discovery.
      Instead, consider the following options:
      
      1. set up custom discovery (`find` directive with `include` or `exclude`)
      2. use a `src-layout`
      3. explicitly set `py_modules` or `packages` with a list of names
      
      To find more information, look for "package discovery" on setuptools docs.
      [end of output]

[chongjing]

Hi @BarrySmith

I got same problem, here is AI's explaination:
The error you're encountering with mcp-bash is caused by stricter package discovery rules in modern versions of setuptools. It refuses to automatically handle projects in a "flat layout" (files directly in the project root) that contain multiple top-level modules, which is exactly the structure of the mcp-bash project

Solution is: adding this to pyproject.toml

[tool.setuptools]
py-modules = ["server", "example_client"]

This tells setuptools exactly what to include, bypassing the problematic automatic discovery.

This solved the problem for me. Hope it helps.

[BarrySmith]

Thanks