python setup.py bdist --format=rpm

[ByteOven]

running install_scripts
Installing easy_install script to /home/builder/tmp/setuptools-26.0.0/build/bdist.linux-x86_64/rpm/BUILDROOT/setuptools-26.0.0-1.x86_64/usr/bin
Installing easy_install-2.7 script to /home/builder/tmp/setuptools-26.0.0/build/bdist.linux-x86_64/rpm/BUILDROOT/setuptools-26.0.0-1.x86_64/usr/bin
writing list of installed files to 'INSTALLED_FILES'

• /usr/lib/rpm/find-debuginfo.sh --strict-build-id -m --run-dwz --dwz-low-mem-die-limit 10000000 --dwz-max-die-limit 110000000 /home/builder/tmp/setuptools-26.0.0/build/bdist.linux-x86_64/rpm/BUILD/setuptools-26.0.0
  /usr/lib/rpm/sepdebugcrcfix: Updated 0 CRC32s, 0 CRC32s did match.
  find: ‘debug’: No such file or directory
• /usr/lib/rpm/check-rpaths /usr/lib/rpm/check-buildroot
• /usr/lib/rpm/redhat/brp-compress
• /usr/lib/rpm/redhat/brp-strip-static-archive /usr/bin/strip
• /usr/lib/rpm/brp-python-bytecompile /usr/bin/python 1
  Bytecompiling .py files below /home/builder/tmp/setuptools-26.0.0/build/bdist.linux-x86_64/rpm/BUILDROOT/setuptools-26.0.0-1.x86_64/usr/lib/python2.7 using /usr/bin/python2.7
• /usr/lib/rpm/redhat/brp-python-hardlink
• /usr/lib/rpm/redhat/brp-java-repack-jars
  Processing files: setuptools-26.0.0-1.noarch
  error: File must begin with "/": (dev).tmpl

RPM build errors:
File must begin with "/": (dev).tmpl
error: command 'rpmbuild' failed with exit status 1

[ByteOven]

The reason is the space you have space in file name:

setuptools/script (dev).tmpl

[jaraco]

Setuptools does have spaces in some of the filenames in the package. I believe it generates everything properly.

I'm a little surprised that rpm can't handle spaces properly. I'm pretty sure this issue would have been reported before if RPM had issues handling spaces in package filenames.

If there's something Setuptools could do to better support RPM, we can consider that, but renaming the files will only be considered as a last resort.