Incorrect data_files location using distutils

Question

The distutils documentation specifies that when the target directory for data_files is a relative path, the files will be installed relative to sys.prefix. On my system (Linux Mint), this is /usr; however, the data_files are instead installing to /usr/local.

How can I correct this without losing cross-platform support?

Answer 1

Are you trying to 1) install someone else's program or 2) write a setup.py yourself?

If 1), are you appending --prefix=/usr/local when invoking python setup.py? If so, installation prefix will become /usr/local, to which the data files will be installed relative.

If 2), check out the value of sys.prefix & sys.exec_prefix (or post the relating part of your setup.py).