Add wheel info subcommand

docs/manpages/wheel.rst

@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ Commands
   ``convert``
     Convert egg or wininst to wheel
 
+  ``info``
+    Show information about a wheel file
+
   ``tags``
     Change the tags on a wheel file
 

docs/news.rst

@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 Release Notes
 =============
 
+**UNRELEASED**
+
+- Added the ``wheel info`` subcommand to display metadata about wheel files without
+  unpacking them (`#639 <https://github.com/pypa/wheel/issues/639>`_)
+
 **0.46.3 (2026-01-22)**
 
 - Fixed ``ImportError: cannot import name '_setuptools_logging' from 'wheel'`` when

docs/reference/index.rst

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Reference Guide
    :maxdepth: 2
 
    wheel_convert
-   wheel_unpack
+   wheel_info
    wheel_pack
    wheel_tags
+   wheel_unpack

docs/reference/wheel_info.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+wheel info
+==========
+
+Usage
+-----
+
+::
+
+    wheel info [OPTIONS] <wheel_file>
+
+
+Description
+-----------
+
+Display information about a wheel file without unpacking it.
+
+This command shows comprehensive metadata about a wheel file including:
+
+* Package name, version, and build information
+* Wheel format version and generator
+* Supported Python versions, ABI, and platform tags
+* Package metadata such as summary, author, and license
+* Classifiers and dependencies
+* File count and total size
+* Optional detailed file listing
+
+
+Options
+-------
+
+.. option:: -v, --verbose
+
+    Show detailed file listing with individual file sizes.
+
+
+Examples
+--------
+
+Display basic information about a wheel::
+
+    $ wheel info example_package-1.0-py3-none-any.whl
+    Name: example-package
+    Version: 1.0
+    Wheel-Version: 1.0
+    Root-Is-Purelib: true
+    Tags:
+      py3-none-any
+    Generator: bdist_wheel (0.40.0)
+    Summary: An example package
+    Author: John Doe
+    License: MIT
+    Files: 12
+    Size: 15,234 bytes
+
+Display detailed information with file listing::
+
+    $ wheel info --verbose example_package-1.0-py3-none-any.whl
+    Name: example-package
+    Version: 1.0
+    ...
+
+    File listing:
+      example_package/__init__.py                                      45 bytes
+      example_package/module.py                                     1,234 bytes
+      example_package-1.0.dist-info/METADATA                         678 bytes
+      example_package-1.0.dist-info/WHEEL                            123 bytes
+      example_package-1.0.dist-info/RECORD                           456 bytes

docs/user_guide.rst

@@ -84,3 +84,31 @@ To install a wheel file, use pip_::
     $ pip install someproject-1.5.0-py2-py3-none.whl
 
 .. _pip: https://pypi.org/project/pip/
+
+
+Inspecting Wheels
+-----------------
+
+To inspect the metadata and contents of a wheel file without installing it,
+use the ``wheel info`` command::
+
+    $ wheel info someproject-1.5.0-py2-py3-none.whl
+
+This will display information about the wheel including:
+
+* Package name and version
+* Supported Python versions and platforms
+* Dependencies and other metadata
+* File count and total size
+
+For more detailed information including a complete file listing, use the
+``--verbose`` flag::
+
+    $ wheel info --verbose someproject-1.5.0-py2-py3-none.whl
+
+This is useful for:
+
+* Verifying wheel contents before installation
+* Debugging packaging issues
+* Understanding wheel structure and metadata
+* Checking supported platforms and Python versions

src/wheel/_commands/__init__.py

@@ -49,6 +49,15 @@ def tags_f(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
         print(name)
 
 
+def info_f(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
+    from .info import info
+
+    try:
+        info(args.wheelfile, args.verbose)
+    except FileNotFoundError as e:
+        raise WheelError(str(e)) from e
+
+
 def version_f(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
     from .. import __version__
 
@@ -129,6 +138,13 @@ def parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     )
     tags_parser.set_defaults(func=tags_f)
 
+    info_parser = s.add_parser("info", help="Show information about a wheel file")
+    info_parser.add_argument("wheelfile", help="Wheel file to show information for")
+    info_parser.add_argument(
+        "--verbose", "-v", action="store_true", help="Show detailed file listing"
+    )
+    info_parser.set_defaults(func=info_f)
+
     version_parser = s.add_parser("version", help="Print version and exit")
     version_parser.set_defaults(func=version_f)
 

src/wheel/_commands/info.py

@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+"""
+Display information about wheel files.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import email.policy
+import sys
+from email.parser import BytesParser
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from ..wheelfile import WheelFile
+
+
+def info(path: str, verbose: bool = False) -> None:
+    """Display information about a wheel file.
+
+    :param path: The path to the wheel file
+    :param verbose: Show detailed file listing
+    """
+    wheel_path = Path(path)
+    if not wheel_path.exists():
+        raise FileNotFoundError(f"Wheel file not found: {path}")
+
+    with WheelFile(path) as wf:
+        # Extract basic wheel information from filename
+        parsed = wf.parsed_filename
+        name = parsed.group("name")
+        version = parsed.group("ver")
+        build_tag = parsed.group("build")
+
+        print(f"Name: {name}")
+        print(f"Version: {version}")
+        if build_tag:
+            print(f"Build: {build_tag}")
+
+        # Read WHEEL metadata
+        try:
+            with wf.open(f"{wf.dist_info_path}/WHEEL") as wheel_file:
+                wheel_metadata = BytesParser(policy=email.policy.compat32).parse(
+                    wheel_file
+                )
+
+                print(
+                    f"Wheel-Version: {wheel_metadata.get('Wheel-Version', 'Unknown')}"
+                )
+                print(
+                    f"Root-Is-Purelib: {wheel_metadata.get('Root-Is-Purelib', 'Unknown')}"
+                )
+
+                # Get all tags
+                tags = wheel_metadata.get_all("Tag", [])
+                if tags:
+                    print("Tags:")
+                    for tag in sorted(tags):  # Sort tags for consistent output
+                        print(f"  {tag}")
+
+                generators = wheel_metadata.get_all("Generator", [])
+                for generator in generators:
+                    print(f"Generator: {generator}")
+        except KeyError:
+            print("Warning: WHEEL metadata file not found", file=sys.stderr)
+
+        # Read package METADATA
+        try:
+            with wf.open(f"{wf.dist_info_path}/METADATA") as metadata_file:
+                pkg_metadata = BytesParser(policy=email.policy.compat32).parse(
+                    metadata_file
+                )
+
+                summary = pkg_metadata.get("Summary", "")
+                if summary and summary != "UNKNOWN":
+                    print(f"Summary: {summary}")
+
+                author = pkg_metadata.get("Author", "")
+                if author and author != "UNKNOWN":
+                    print(f"Author: {author}")
+
+                author_email = pkg_metadata.get("Author-email")
+                if author_email and author_email != "UNKNOWN":
+                    print(f"Author-email: {author_email}")
+
+                homepage = pkg_metadata.get("Home-page")
+                if homepage and homepage != "UNKNOWN":
+                    print(f"Home-page: {homepage}")
+
+                license_info = pkg_metadata.get("License")
+                if license_info and license_info != "UNKNOWN":
+                    print(f"License: {license_info}")
+
+                # Show classifiers
+                classifiers = pkg_metadata.get_all("Classifier", [])
+                if classifiers:
+                    print("Classifiers:")
+                    for classifier in sorted(
+                        classifiers[:5]
+                    ):  # Sort and limit to first 5
+                        print(f"  {classifier}")
+
+                    if len(classifiers) > 5:
+                        print(f"  ... and {len(classifiers) - 5} more")
+
+                # Show dependencies
+                requires_dist = pkg_metadata.get_all("Requires-Dist", [])
+                if requires_dist:
+                    print("Requires-Dist:")
+                    for req in sorted(requires_dist):  # Sort dependencies
+                        print(f"  {req}")
+        except KeyError:
+            print("Warning: METADATA file not found", file=sys.stderr)
+
+        # File information
+        file_count = len(wf.filelist)
+        total_size = sum(zinfo.file_size for zinfo in wf.filelist)
+
+        print(f"Files: {file_count}")
+        print(f"Size: {total_size:,} bytes")
+
+        # Show file listing if verbose
+        if verbose:
+            print("\nFile listing:")
+            for zinfo in wf.filelist:
+                size_str = f"{zinfo.file_size:,}" if zinfo.file_size > 0 else "0"
+                print(f"  {zinfo.filename:60} {size_str:>10} bytes")