After you have built a distribution for your Python package, you will often want to test the installation process before publishing it to a wider audience. Local installation allows you to install your package directly from the distribution files you just built, using pip and the path to your local .whl or .tar.gz file. This step is important in the packaging workflow because it lets you verify that your package installs cleanly, all dependencies are specified correctly, and the package works as intended in a fresh environment. Testing locally can help you catch any issues with packaging, installation scripts, or missing files before you share your package with others or upload it to a package index.

# Install a package from a locally built wheel file
pip install dist/mypackage-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl