While Python developers have access to numerous packages and frameworks that can help ease their work, there are few options out there when it comes to build automation software. The default choice is a community-developed plugin known as Setuptools that doesn’t lend itself particularly well to large-scale application projects. Fortunately, LinkedIn Inc. has come up with an alternative.

The social networking giant today released a project called {py}gradle that aims to make Python code more easily manageable in modern enterprise settings. As its name suggests, the extension achieves this goal by making the language compatible with Gradle, a popular open-source build automation system that LinkedIn uses extensively in its internal development efforts. The framework has been around for nearly a decade and provides a number of major advantages over Setuptools, starting with the fact that it makes dependences easier to manage.

Whereas Setuptools is designed to handle self-contained Python applications that have few external components, Gradle is capable of powering complex projects with upwards of thousands of piece-parts. That includes code written in other programming languages, which is a major benefit in and of itself for LinkedIn. The social networking giant and most modern organizations for that matter employ a broad mix of different technologies that are expected to work seamlessly work with one another. They also use custom build logic to optimize the manner in which the different elements of an application are put together, a requirement that {py}gradle accommodates as well.

LinkedIn claims that the extension can enable organizations to take advantage of their existing Gradle scripts for Python projects with minimal tweaking. At the same time, however, the company insists that it’s not looking to upend Setuptools but rather merely address its shortcomings. To prove the point, it made {py}gradle reliant on the system for a number of key build steps and designed its users-facing component it in a way that won’t require Python developers to change the way they manage their code.

LinkedIn says that it’s been using the extension for over a year now across nearly 1,000 projects and has seen major productivity improvements since making the switch. That means {py}gradle is stable enough for other organizations to implement it in their environments now that it’s open-source. Nonetheless, the social networking giant plans to continue tweaking the project and add support for more Python features over time.

The source-code for {py}gradle is available on GitHub.

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