Include __main__.py in sphinx-apidoc generated files

Question

I am not able to add my __main__.py file correctly and its functions while generating RST file with sphinx-apidoc. Other files and classes are generated correctly.

I works only if I run sphinx-apidoc with -P parameter which includes private modules. But I do not want to add private methods of other modules, I need these from __main__.py only.

__main__.py looks like this:

def main():
    """
    main() description here
    """
    f1()
    f2()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

I would like to have main(), f1() and f2() included in RST files generated by sphinx-apidoc.

There is a similar question Documenting python script entry (__name__ == '__main__') using sphinx but it does not answer my question.

Ivar

sphinx-apidoc ignores files starting with _ (except __init__.py). See github.com/sphinx-doc/sphinx/blob/master/sphinx/ext/…. Do you need to have a __main__.py file ? Can you perhaps rename it? – Norty

@Norty How would you automatically document the module then? – Common

Create another RST file in which you add .. automodule:: __main__. – Norty

Answer 1

I think this is an undocumented feature, or a it can also be bug in sphinx-apidoc v.3.2.1. If we look at the documentation for -P option, it reads:

-P, --private
    Include “_private” modules.

Notice this doesn't mention :private-members: from autodoc flag options.

Two different issues are conflated, "private modules" and "private objects inside a module". The options that impact .rst file generation should be different for each according to the official documentation.

sphinx-apidoc will generate the .rst files based of 2 main templates, module.rst_t and package.rst_t. (Using Sphinx with a venv on Windows these are found under /venv/Lib/site-packages/sphinx/templates/apidoc).

The default behaviour (implemented by the templates) is to generate 1 .rst file per package, and within that file place 1 .. automodule:: directive per module. What the -P option does (supposedly) is to add one more directive .. automodule:: your-package.__private-module__ to the .rst file per private module.

An alternative is using -e option with sphinx-apidoc in which case a separate .rst file is generated for each module and package. So using sphinx-apidoc -e -P will cause an extra .rst file to be generated for private modules.

But I do not want to add private methods of other modules

Private classes/methods/variables (objects inside a module) are impacted by the autodoc ':private-members:' option.

sphinx-apidoc sets the default autodoc options of the generated .. automodule:: directives as defined by the SPHINX_APIDOC_OPTIONS environment variable (namely, :members:, :undoc-members: and show-inheritance). These options can't be passed as a command line argument, you have to set the environment variable before running sphinx-apidoc to change the default values. (sphinx-apidoc does not take them from conf.py, unlike autodoc.)

Looking at the source code of apidoc.py

# automodule options
if 'SPHINX_APIDOC_OPTIONS' in os.environ:
    OPTIONS = os.environ['SPHINX_APIDOC_OPTIONS'].split(',')
else:
    OPTIONS = [
        'members',
        'undoc-members',
        # 'inherited-members', # disabled because there's a bug in sphinx
        'show-inheritance',
    ]

Because :private-members: is a default autodoc options that should be set using SPHINX_APIDOC_OPTIONS (as documentation states and source code shows). If you include the -P option, its only (documented) effect should be adding .. automodule:: directives for private modules, what does happen is that it also sets the autodoc option :private-members: on each directive.

The following tree:

your_package
 ├  one_module.py
 ├  __init__.py
 └  __main__.py

With sphinx-apidoc -P will generate:

your_package.__main__ module
----------------------------

.. automodule:: your_package.__main__  <<-- -P option is documented as having this effect.
   :members:
   :undoc-members:
   :show-inheritance:
   :private-members:    <<-- -P option is not documented to have this effect.

So how to achieve the stated aim in the question?

If you use -e option with sphinx-apidoc generating one .rst file per module, you could use the [EXCLUDE_PATTERN …] from the signature. By running sphinx-apidoc twice, once for the __main__.py modules (together with -P option), and a second time for the remaining modules.

If you don't want individual .rst files for you modules, but instead the normal 1 .rst file for each package containing one directive per module. Then there is no practical possibility of achieving that (without resorting to considerable hacking). Your best choice is simply copy-pasting 1 .. automodule:: directive per __main__.py into the .rst files after they are generated.

Deafening