How can I utilize arbitrary assets in my tool?

[mkhtran]

I'm following the steps listed on the FAQ page. I have a `data.json` file with some information that I want packaged with the plugin.

• The file's path in the project is `backend\assets\data.json`.
• `backend\setup.py` was modified to include `package_data={...}`.

if __name__ == "__main__":
    setup(
        name=PACKAGE_NAME,
        version=VERSION,
        description=SUMMARY,
        long_description_content_type="text/markdown",
        platforms=["Windows"],
        author="Alteryx, Inc.",
        author_email="support@alteryx.com",
        packages=find_packages(
            exclude=["examples", "*.tests", "*.tests.*", "tests.*", "tests"]
        ),
        package_data={
            PACKAGE_NAME: [
                "assets/*"
            ]
        }
    )

• backend\ayx_plugins\my_plugin.py attempts to read `data.json` in the `__init__`.

from pathlib import Path
import json
import os

def __init__(self, provider: AMPProviderV2):
    self.name = "My Plugin"
    self.provider = provider

    self.data = json.load(open(Path(os.path.realpath(__file__)).parent / "assets" / "data.json"))

• Build the plugin.

> echo y | ayx_plugin_cli designer-install --use-ui --install-type user

However this results in the error

Error: My Plugin (1): Could not init plugin FileNotFoundError(2, 'No such file or directory')

This is because the path it attempts to open is

C:\Users\username\.shiv\main_abcdefg123456789\site-packages\ayx_plugins\assets\data.json

but there is no \assets folder here.

[aneeshnazar]

https://setuptools.pypa.io/en/latest/userguide/datafiles.html - you might need to tinker with the setup.py a bit to get it to do what you want. My guess is that you might need to pass in the include_package_data argument to the setup script, or you'll need to specify the "assets/*.json", or "assets/data.json". When you create the YXI, you should also see a hidden cache folder in your workspace - under `.ayx_cli.cache/dist` you'll see exactly what goes into the shiv artifact. Try messing around with it until the data.json shows up where it should

[mkhtran · Accepted solution]

Seems I misinterpreted the FAQ, and the `assets` folder needs to be under `backend/ayx_plugins/assets` and not `backend/assets`. Then `package_data={PACKAGE_NAME: ["assets/*"]}` will pick it up.