diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 50a73c9..8235f36 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,153 +1,176 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 # Copyright (C) 2015-2020  The Software Heritage developers
 # See the AUTHORS file at the top-level directory of this distribution
 # License: GNU General Public License version 3, or any later version
 # See top-level LICENSE file for more information
 
 from distutils.cmd import Command
-from distutils.command.build import build
 from io import open
 from os import environ, path, system
 
 from setuptools import find_packages, setup
+from setuptools.command.build_py import build_py
+from setuptools.command.sdist import sdist
 
 here = path.abspath(path.dirname(__file__))
 
 # Get the long description from the README file
 with open(path.join(here, "README.md"), encoding="utf-8") as f:
     long_description = f.read()
 
 
 def parse_requirements(name=None):
     if name:
         reqf = "requirements-%s.txt" % name
     else:
         reqf = "requirements.txt"
 
     requirements = []
     if not path.exists(reqf):
         return requirements
 
     with open(reqf) as f:
         for line in f.readlines():
             line = line.strip()
             if not line or line.startswith("#"):
                 continue
             requirements.append(line)
     return requirements
 
 
 yarn = environ.get("YARN", "yarn")
 
 
 class TSCommand(Command):
     user_options = []
 
     def initialize_options(self):
         pass
 
     def finalize_options(self):
         pass
 
 
 class TSInstallCommand(TSCommand):
     description = "Installs node_modules related to query language"
 
     def run(self):
         system(f"{yarn} install")
 
 
 class TSGenerateCommand(TSCommand):
     description = "Generates parser related files from grammar.js"
 
     def run(self):
         system(f"{yarn} generate")
 
 
 class TSBuildSoCommand(TSCommand):
     description = "Builds swh_ql.so"
 
     def run(self):
         system(f"{yarn} build-so && echo 'swh_ql.so file generated'")
 
 
 class TSBuildWasmCommand(TSCommand):
     description = "Builds swh_ql.wasm"
 
     def run(self):
         system(f"{yarn} build-wasm && echo 'swh_ql.wasm file generated'")
 
 
 class TSBuildCommand(TSCommand):
     description = "Builds swh_ql.so and swh_ql.wasm"
 
     def run(self):
         self.run_command("ts_build_so")
         self.run_command("ts_build_wasm")
 
 
 class TSBuildExportCommand(TSCommand):
     description = "Builds swh_ql.so and swh_ql.wasm and exports them to static/"
 
+    def initialize_options(self):
+        self.build_lib = None
+        super().initialize_options()
+
+    def finalize_options(self):
+        self.set_undefined_options("build", ("build_lib", "build_lib"))
+        super().finalize_options()
+
     def run(self):
         self.run_command("ts_install")
         self.run_command("ts_build")
 
-        system("echo 'static files generated. copying them to static/ dir'")
-        system("mkdir static")
-        system("cp query_language/swh_ql.so static/swh_ql.so")
-        system("cp query_language/swh_ql.wasm static/swh_ql.wasm")
+        system("echo 'static files generated. copying them to package dir'")
+        system(f"cp query_language/swh_ql.so {self.build_lib}/swh/search/swh_ql.so")
+        system(f"cp query_language/swh_ql.wasm {self.build_lib}/swh/search/swh_ql.wasm")
 
 
-class custom_build(build):
+class custom_build(build_py):
     def run(self):
+        super().run()
+
         if not self.dry_run:
             self.run_command("ts_build_export")
 
-        super().run()
+
+class custom_sdist(sdist):
+    def make_release_tree(self, base_dir, files):
+        super().make_release_tree(base_dir, files)
+        # TODO: build the .c file and .wasm but not .so, because it's architecture-
+        # dependent, and shouldn't be in a sdist (aka *source* distribution)
+        if not self.dry_run:
+            self.run_command("ts_install")
+            self.run_command("ts_build")
+
+            system("echo 'static files generated. copying them to package dir'")
+            system(f"cp query_language/swh_ql.so {base_dir}/swh/search/swh_ql.so")
+            system(f"cp query_language/swh_ql.wasm {base_dir}/swh/search/swh_ql.wasm")
 
 
 setup(
     name="swh.search",
     description="Software Heritage search service",
     long_description=long_description,
     long_description_content_type="text/markdown",
     python_requires=">=3.7",
     author="Software Heritage developers",
     author_email="swh-devel@inria.fr",
     url="https://forge.softwareheritage.org/diffusion/DSEA",
     packages=find_packages(),  # packages's modules
     install_requires=parse_requirements() + parse_requirements("swh"),
     tests_require=parse_requirements("test"),
     entry_points="""
         [swh.cli.subcommands]
         search=swh.search.cli
     """,
     setup_requires=["setuptools-scm"],
     use_scm_version=True,
     extras_require={"testing": parse_requirements("test")},
     include_package_data=True,
     classifiers=[
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
         "Intended Audience :: Developers",
         "License :: OSI Approved :: GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3)",
         "Operating System :: OS Independent",
         "Development Status :: 3 - Alpha",
     ],
     project_urls={
         "Bug Reports": "https://forge.softwareheritage.org/maniphest",
         "Funding": "https://www.softwareheritage.org/donate",
         "Source": "https://forge.softwareheritage.org/source/swh-search",
         "Documentation": "https://docs.softwareheritage.org/devel/swh-search/",
     },
     cmdclass={
-        "build": custom_build,
+        "build_py": custom_build,
+        "sdist": custom_sdist,
         "ts_install": TSInstallCommand,
         "ts_generate": TSGenerateCommand,
         "ts_build_so": TSBuildSoCommand,
         "ts_build_wasm": TSBuildWasmCommand,
         "ts_build": TSBuildCommand,
         "ts_build_export": TSBuildExportCommand,
     },
-    data_files=[("share/swh/search", ["static/swh_ql.so", "static/swh_ql.wasm"])],
+    zip_safe=False,
 )