Local / Global install

[SylvainCorlay]

The local choice in the installer triggers the installations of pip packages with the --user option which actually makes the installation global to the user. Indeed, packages get installed in ./local/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages which is used by any python install of the user.

Hence, I think that this is a misleading name for the option. Maybe we should just call it user?

[jdfreder]

Yeah that makes sense

[SylvainCorlay]

We should probably also defaults to not making a user install.

[jdfreder]

I'm okay making it not the default, but I'm curious why? I use the user install because it means you can run jupyter-devinstall without sudo. If you run jupyter-devinstall with sudo, you have to go back and chmod/own stuff for it to work non-sudo.

[SylvainCorlay]

For example, if you have two python installs in your home directory.

• anaconda
• anaconda_dev

where anaconda has stable versions of everything, and anaconda_dev has the development versions installed via jupyter-devinstall, then you end up using the dev versions in both anaconda and anaconda_dev, because /local/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages is checked first.