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gh-84027: Add whl as an unpack format in shutil#140385

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emmatyping wants to merge 2 commits intopython:mainfrom
emmatyping:shutil-unpack-whl
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gh-84027: Add whl as an unpack format in shutil#140385
emmatyping wants to merge 2 commits intopython:mainfrom
emmatyping:shutil-unpack-whl

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@emmatyping emmatyping commented Oct 20, 2025

Wheels are the most ubiquitous Python package format. Per the wheel format specification, "A wheel is a ZIP-format archive with a specially formatted file name and the .whl extension."

To enable unpacking of wheels for inspection or even installation, we register the format in shutil using shutil._unpack_zipfile to do the actual unpacking.

Also, I would say we should only do this with wheels because they are Python packages. I don't want to set the precedent that we register all zip based formats :)

Wheels are the most ubiquitous Python package format. Per [the wheel
format
specification](https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/specifications/binary-distribution-format/),
"A wheel is a ZIP-format archive with a specially formatted file name
and the .whl extension."

To enable unpacking of wheels for inspection or even installation, we
register the format in shutil using shutil._unpack_zipfile to do the
actual unpacking.
@giampaolo giampaolo removed their request for review October 20, 2025 20:15
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