diff --git a/.github/workflows/merge.yaml b/.github/workflows/merge.yaml
index 37236af..20437ef 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/merge.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/merge.yaml
@@ -28,6 +28,24 @@ jobs:
   deploy_nwx_docs:
     uses: NWChemEx/.github/.github/workflows/deploy_nwx_docs.yaml@master
     with:
-      doc_target: "friendzone_cxx_api"
-      generate_module_docs: true
+      doc_target: "Sphinx"
     secrets: inherit
+
+  # No platform_matrix / cibw_build needed: FriendZone is pure Python, so
+  # build_pypi_dist's plain path (cibw_build left unset) applies -- a single
+  # platform-independent sdist+wheel, same shape as NWXCMake's own working
+  # merge.yaml.
+  deploy_to_pypi:
+    needs: tag-commit
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      id-token: write
+    steps:
+      - name: Build PyPI Distribution
+        uses: NWChemEx/.github/.github/actions/build_pypi_dist@master
+        with:
+
+      - name: Publish to PyPI
+        uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
+        with:
+          packages-dir: dist/
diff --git a/.github/workflows/nightly.yaml b/.github/workflows/nightly.yaml
index 51a975b..b0dcec3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nightly.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nightly.yaml
@@ -14,13 +14,16 @@
 #
 
 name: Nightly Workflow
+# Re-runs the same build/test jobs pull_request.yaml runs, on a schedule, to
+# catch breakage that originates outside the repo (upstream dependency
+# releases, refreshed GitHub runner images) rather than from a code change.
+# Both callers share test_python_build.yaml, so there is nothing to keep in
+# sync by hand.
 
 on:
   schedule:
     - cron: "0 6 * * *" # Every day at 06:00 UTC (00:00 CST)
 
 jobs:
-  test_library:
-    uses: NWChemEx/.github/.github/workflows/test_nwx_library.yaml@master
-    with:
-      compilers: '["gcc-14", "clang-18"]'
+  test_python_build:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/test_python_build.yaml
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pull_request.yaml b/.github/workflows/pull_request.yaml
index ce1669a..5abd8c9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pull_request.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pull_request.yaml
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@ jobs:
   test_nwx_docs:
     uses: NWChemEx/.github/.github/workflows/test_nwx_docs.yaml@master
     with:
-      doc_target: "friendzone_cxx_api"
+      doc_target: "Sphinx"
 
-  test_library:
-    uses: NWChemEx/.github/.github/workflows/test_nwx_library.yaml@master
-    with:
-      compilers: '["gcc-14", "clang-18"]'
+  # Shared with nightly.yaml -- see that file's comments for why this repo
+  # doesn't use the shared test_nwx_cmake_build/test_nwx_pip_build workflows.
+  test_python_build:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/test_python_build.yaml
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_python_build.yaml b/.github/workflows/test_python_build.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..72a4ba1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_python_build.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+# Copyright 2026 NWChemEx-Project
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+name: Test Python Build
+# Builds FriendZone's distribution and runs its test suite. pull_request.yaml
+# and nightly.yaml both need exactly these jobs, so they live here instead of
+# being duplicated in each.
+#
+# This is a repo-local reusable workflow rather than one of the shared
+# NWChemEx/.github ones because FriendZone is pure Python (no CMakeLists.txt):
+# test_nwx_cmake_build/test_nwx_pip_build both drive a scikit-build-core CMake
+# build and don't apply. It isn't a composite action because the duplication
+# includes the job's matrix and runs-on, which an action can't own.
+#
+# Callers reference it as `uses: ./.github/workflows/test_python_build.yaml`,
+# which resolves at the caller's own commit -- so a PR that edits this file
+# tests the edited version.
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+
+jobs:
+  # Dry-run of the actual sdist/wheel build (not just an editable install via
+  # test_python below) -- catches e.g. files missing from the sdist manifest
+  # that an editable install wouldn't. Matches NWXCMake's own pull_request.yaml.
+  test_pypi_deploy:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Build PyPI Distribution
+        uses: NWChemEx/.github/.github/actions/build_pypi_dist@master
+
+  # FriendZone is pure Python (no CMakeLists.txt), so there's nothing to
+  # compile and the compiler axis of the shared dev matrix is meaningless
+  # here -- just a lean OS-only matrix. setup_nwx_dev_env still runs (via its
+  # unconditional MPI/Boost install) because nwchemex-simde's prebuilt wheel
+  # dynamically links against libmpi at import time, and bare GitHub runners
+  # have no MPI by default.
+  test_python:
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest]
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout Source
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      # Pinned to 3.12, not "3.x" (whatever's newest, e.g. 3.14 today):
+      # nwchemex-simde and its own transitive deps are only published as
+      # prebuilt wheels for cp312 (platform_matrix.yaml's release_matrix).
+      # Under a newer ambient Python, pip falls back to building those from
+      # source, which succeeds (setup_nwx_dev_env provides MPI/Boost/etc.)
+      # but produces a binary missing the rpath-bundled shared libs that
+      # cibuildwheel+delocate/auditwheel normally provide for the real
+      # published wheel, so it fails to import at runtime.
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.12"
+      - name: Setup NWX Dev Environment
+        uses: NWChemEx/.github/.github/actions/setup_nwx_dev_env@master
+        with:
+          compiler: gcc-14
+          needs_nwchem: "true"
+      - name: Sanity-check NWChem Is On PATH
+        shell: bash
+        run: which nwchem
+      - name: Install
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          # molssi/ase are optional friends (extra deps only needed if the
+          # corresponding external program is present); install them
+          # explicitly here since needs_nwchem above means this job now has
+          # a real NWChem to exercise both wrapper paths against, rather
+          # than everything just no-op'ing via is_molssi_enabled()/
+          # is_ase_enabled().
+          pip install -e ".[dev,molssi,ase]"
+      - name: Test Python
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set +e
+          pytest -v
+          pytest_exit=$?
+          set -e
+
+          if [ "$pytest_exit" -eq 5 ]; then
+              echo "::error::zero pytest tests were found."
+              exit 1
+          fi
+          exit "$pytest_exit"
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 23c79ec..e87a55f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -80,3 +80,6 @@ uuid.db
 
 # This is a generated file
 # src/python/friendzone/friends.py
+
+# Automatically installed in dev mode
+.pre-commit-config.yaml
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index c05c26a..0000000
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,84 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2022 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.14)
-
-#Downloads common CMake modules used throughout NWChemEx
-include(cmake/get_nwx_cmake.cmake)
-
-#Sets the version to whatever git thinks it is
-include(get_version_from_git)
-get_version_from_git(friendzone_version "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}")
-project(friendzone VERSION "${friendzone_version}" LANGUAGES CXX)
-set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
-
-include(get_cmaize)
-include(nwx_cxx_api_docs)
-
-### Files and Paths ###
-set(python_src_directory "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/src/python")
-
-# # Doxygen docs
-nwx_cxx_api_docs("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include")
-
-### Options ###
-cmaize_option_list(
-    BUILD_TESTING OFF "Should we build the tests?"
-    BUILD_PYBIND11_PYBINDINGS ON "Use Pybind11 to build Python bindings?"
-    ENABLE_NWCHEM ON "Should we build support for friend: NWChem ?"
-    ENABLE_MOLSSI ON "Build support for the MolSSI interface?"
-    ENABLE_ASE ON "Build support for the Atomic Simulation Environment?"
-)
-
-## Build FriendZone's dependencies ##
-cmaize_find_or_build_dependency(
-    simde
-    URL github.com/NWChemEx/SimDE
-    BUILD_TARGET simde
-    FIND_TARGET nwx::simde
-    CMAKE_ARGS BUILD_TESTING=OFF
-               BUILD_PYBIND11_PYBINDINGS=${BUILD_PYBIND11_PYBINDINGS}
-)
-
-## Get the CMake utilities for this project ##
-set(
-    CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}" "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake"
-    CACHE STRING "" FORCE
-)
-
-## Find friends ##
-include(ase)
-include(molssi)
-include(nwchem)
-
-#TOOD: Replace cmaize_add_library when it supports Python
-add_library(${PROJECT_NAME} INTERFACE)
-target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} INTERFACE simde)
-
-if("${BUILD_TESTING}")
-    include(CTest)
-    include(nwx_pybind11)
-    set(PYTHON_TEST_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/tests/python")
-
-    nwx_pybind11_tests(
-        py_${PROJECT_NAME}
-        "${PYTHON_TEST_DIR}/unit_tests/test_friendzone.py"
-        SUBMODULES simde chemist pluginplay parallelzone tensorwrapper
-    )
-endif()
-
-install(
-    DIRECTORY "${python_src_directory}/friendzone"
-    DESTINATION "${NWX_MODULE_DIRECTORY}"
-)
diff --git a/cmake/ase.cmake b/cmake/ase.cmake
deleted file mode 100644
index 99d97ab..0000000
--- a/cmake/ase.cmake
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2024 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-include_guard()
-
-if("${BUILD_PYBIND11_PYBINDINGS}")
-    include(python/python)
-
-    #[[[ Determines if ASE is installed.
-    #
-    #  At present FriendZone can not install
-    #]]
-    function(find_ase)
-        assert_python_module("ase")
-        message(STATUS "Found ASE: ${ASE_FOUND}")
-    endfunction()
-
-    if("${ENABLE_ASE}")
-        find_ase()
-    endif()
-endif()
diff --git a/cmake/get_nwx_cmake.cmake b/cmake/get_nwx_cmake.cmake
deleted file mode 100644
index c99674d..0000000
--- a/cmake/get_nwx_cmake.cmake
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2024 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-include_guard()
-
-macro(get_nwx_cmake)
-    include(FetchContent)
-    FetchContent_Declare(
-        nwx_cmake
-        GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/NWChemEx/NWXCMake
-    )
-    FetchContent_MakeAvailable(nwx_cmake)
-    set(
-        CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}" "${nwx_cmake_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake"
-        CACHE STRING ""
-        FORCE
-    )
-endmacro()
-
-get_nwx_cmake()
diff --git a/cmake/molssi.cmake b/cmake/molssi.cmake
deleted file mode 100644
index 3341ee5..0000000
--- a/cmake/molssi.cmake
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2023 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-include_guard()
-
-if("${BUILD_PYBIND11_PYBINDINGS}")
-    include(python/python)
-
-    #[[[ Determines if the MolSSI Python interface are installed.
-    #
-    #  At present FriendZone can not install
-    #]]
-    function(find_molssi)
-        assert_python_module("qcelemental")
-        message(STATUS "Found qcelemental: ${QCELEMENTAL_FOUND}")
-        assert_python_module("qcengine")
-        message(STATUS "Found qcengine: ${QCENGINE_FOUND}")
-        assert_python_module("networkx")
-        message(STATUS "Found networkx: ${NETWORKX_FOUND}")
-    endfunction()
-
-    if("${ENABLE_MOLSSI}")
-        find_molssi()
-    endif()
-endif()
diff --git a/cmake/nwchem.cmake b/cmake/nwchem.cmake
deleted file mode 100644
index 26f1879..0000000
--- a/cmake/nwchem.cmake
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2023 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-include_guard()
-
-if("${BUILD_PYBIND11_PYBINDINGS}")
-    #[[[ Determines if NWChem and the necessary Python interface are installed.
-    #
-    #  At present FriendZone can not install
-    #]]
-    function(find_nwchem)
-        find_program(NWCHEM_FOUND nwchem REQUIRED)
-        message(STATUS "Found nwchem: ${NWCHEM_FOUND}")
-    endfunction()
-
-    if("${ENABLE_NWCHEM}")
-        find_nwchem()
-    endif()
-endif()
diff --git a/cmake/python/find_python.cmake b/cmake/python/find_python.cmake
deleted file mode 100644
index 5a378f7..0000000
--- a/cmake/python/find_python.cmake
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2023 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-include_guard()
-
-#[[[ Wraps the process of finding the Python interpreter.
-#
-# At the moment this is a thin wrapper around find_package with our preffered
-# options.
-#]]
-function(find_python)
-    find_package(Python COMPONENTS Interpreter QUIET REQUIRED)
-    message(STATUS "Found Python: ${Python_EXECUTABLE}")
-endfunction()
-
-find_python()
diff --git a/cmake/python/find_python_module.cmake b/cmake/python/find_python_module.cmake
deleted file mode 100644
index 426584e..0000000
--- a/cmake/python/find_python_module.cmake
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,59 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2023 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-include_guard()
-
-#[[[ Attempts to find a Python module, returns whether it was found or not.
-#
-# This function will invoke the pip module through the Python interpreter and
-# see if the specified module appears in the list of installed modules. The
-# result of this inquiry is then returned
-#
-# :param was_found: Used to return the result
-# :type was_found: *bool
-# :param module_name: The name of the Python module to look for.
-# :type module_name: str
-#]]
-function(find_python_module fpm_was_found fpm_module_name)
-    execute_process(
-        COMMAND "${Python_EXECUTABLE}" "-m" "pip" "list"
-        COMMAND grep -w "${fpm_module_name}"
-        OUTPUT_VARIABLE _fpm_modules
-    )
-    if("${_fpm_modules}" STREQUAL "")
-        set("${fpm_was_found}" FALSE PARENT_SCOPE)
-    else()
-        set("${fpm_was_found}" TRUE PARENT_SCOPE)
-    endif()
-endfunction()
-
-#[[[ Raises a fatal error if a Python module is not installed.
-#
-#  This function is a thin wrapper around ``find_python_module`` that asserts
-#  that the return value of ``find_python_module`` is TRUE. If the value
-#  returned from ``find_python_module`` is not TRUE this function will raise
-#  a fatal error.
-#
-#  :param module_name: The name of the Python module which must be installed.
-#  :type module_name: str
-#]]
-function(assert_python_module apm_module_name)
-    find_python_module(_apm_was_found "${apm_module_name}")
-    if(NOT "${_apm_was_found}")
-        message(
-            FATAL_ERROR
-            "Unable to locate Python module: ${apm_module_name}"
-        )
-    endif()
-endfunction()
diff --git a/cmake/python/python.cmake b/cmake/python/python.cmake
deleted file mode 100644
index 9a4b7f8..0000000
--- a/cmake/python/python.cmake
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2023 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-
-include_guard()
-include(python/find_python)
-include(python/find_python_module)
diff --git a/docs/source/conf.py b/docs/source/conf.py
index 34aa938..63124e2 100644
--- a/docs/source/conf.py
+++ b/docs/source/conf.py
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@
 
 # -- Extension configuration -------------------------------------------------
 autoapi_dirs = [
-    "../../src",
+    "../../python",
     # '../../tests',
 ]
 autoapi_add_toctree_entry = False
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 7e50ebe..3fafe29 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -12,35 +12,18 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-# This file defines the pip-installable Python package.
-
 [build-system]
-requires = ["setuptools>=46.1.0", "setuptools_scm[toml]>=5"]
+requires = ["setuptools>=64", "setuptools-scm>=8"]
 build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
-[tool.setuptools_scm]
-# For smarter version schemes and other configuration options,
-# check out https://github.com/pypa/setuptools_scm
-version_scheme = "no-guess-dev"
-
-# To create a pip-installable package that uses CMake in the backend,
-# scikit-build-core is used as the build backend, recommended by Pybind11.
-#
-# scikit-build-core: https://scikit-build-core.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
-# Pybind11 scikit-build-core example: https://github.com/pybind/scikit_build_example
-# [build-system]
-# requires = ["scikit-build-core>=0.11", "pybind11>=3.0"]
-# build-backend = "scikit_build_core.build"
-
-
 [project]
-name = "friendzone"
-license = "Apache-2.0"
-license-files = ["LICENSE"]
+name = "nwchemex-friendzone"
 description = "Provides SimDE compatible APIs so that NWChemEx can play nicely with its friends."
 readme = "README.md"
+license = "Apache-2.0"
+license-files = ["LICENSE"]
 authors = [
-    { name = "zachcran", email = "zachcran@iastate.edu" },
+    { name = "zachcran",    email = "zachcran@iastate.edu" },
     { name = "jwaldrop107", email = "jwaldrop@ameslab.gov" },
 ]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
@@ -52,40 +35,36 @@ classifiers = [
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14",
-    "Private :: Do Not Upload",
 ]
-# Dynamic project attributes
-#
-# Set the project version dynamically according to git tags.
-# Git tag version info: https://github.com/pypa/setuptools-scm/blob/fb261332d9b46aa5a258042d85baa5aa7b9f4fa2/README.rst#default-versioning-scheme
 dynamic = ["version"]
-# NOTE: Invisible dependency for now until Python bindings at SimDE are
-# packaged properly and available here
-# dependencies = ["simde"]
-
+dependencies = ["nwchemex-simde>=0.0.77"]
 
-[tool.setuptools]
-# Cannot automatically find the friendzone namespace so we set it here
-package-dir = { "" = "src/python" }
-
-# Optional dependencies represent optional features that can be enabled
-# during installation
-# Example: pip install friendzone[ase]
 [project.optional-dependencies]
-ase = ["ase"]
+ase    = ["ase"]
 molssi = ["qcengine", "qcelemental", "networkx"]
+test   = ["pytest", "numpy"]
+dev    = ["nwchemex-friendzone[test]", "tox", "pre-commit"]
+
+# Python source lives under python/ (analogous to cxx/ in C++ repos).
+[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
+where = ["python"]
 
-# Dependency groups are optional dependencies that are not intented to appear
-# after packaging, usually used to help with testing or development
-# Example: pip install --group dev
-[dependency-groups]
-test = ["pytest"]
-dev = [{ include-group = "test" }, "tox", "pre-commit"]
+[tool.setuptools_scm]
+fallback_version = "0.0.0"
 
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
 minversion = "8.0"
 addopts = ["-ra", "--showlocals", "--strict-markers", "--strict-config"]
 xfail_strict = true
 log_cli_level = "INFO"
-filterwarnings = ["error", "ignore::pytest.PytestCacheWarning"]
+filterwarnings = [
+    "error",
+    "ignore::pytest.PytestCacheWarning",
+    # ase's own Atoms.new_array (ase/atoms.py) still does `a.shape = (-1,)
+    # + shape` on an empty array, which numpy >=2.5 deprecates in favor of
+    # np.reshape. Unrelated to anything NWChemEx-side; ase's own bug, not
+    # ours to fix -- ignore rather than let it hard-fail every ASE-backed
+    # friend test.
+    "ignore:Setting the shape on a NumPy array has been deprecated:DeprecationWarning:ase\\..*",
+]
 testpaths = ["tests"]
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/__init__.py b/python/friendzone/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/__init__.py
rename to python/friendzone/__init__.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/friends.py b/python/friendzone/friends.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/friends.py
rename to python/friendzone/friends.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/__init__.py b/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/__init__.py
rename to python/friendzone/nwx2ase/__init__.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/chemical_system_conversions.py b/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/chemical_system_conversions.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/chemical_system_conversions.py
rename to python/friendzone/nwx2ase/chemical_system_conversions.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/nwchem_via_ase.py b/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/nwchem_via_ase.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/nwx2ase/nwchem_via_ase.py
rename to python/friendzone/nwx2ase/nwchem_via_ase.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/__init__.py b/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/__init__.py
rename to python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/__init__.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/call_qcengine.py b/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/call_qcengine.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/call_qcengine.py
rename to python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/call_qcengine.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/chemical_system_conversions.py b/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/chemical_system_conversions.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/chemical_system_conversions.py
rename to python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/chemical_system_conversions.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/nwchem_via_molssi.py b/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/nwchem_via_molssi.py
similarity index 98%
rename from src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/nwchem_via_molssi.py
rename to python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/nwchem_via_molssi.py
index 124b250..ef82619 100644
--- a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/nwchem_via_molssi.py
+++ b/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/nwchem_via_molssi.py
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ def load_nwchem_via_molssi_modules(mm):
     """
     if is_nwchem_enabled():
         for method in ["SCF", "B3LYP", "MP2", "CCSD", "CCSD(T)"]:
-            egy_key = "nwchem" + " : " + method
+            egy_key = "NWChem" + " : " + method
             grad_key = egy_key + " Gradient"
             mm.add_module(egy_key, QCEngineEnergy())
             mm.add_module(grad_key, QCEngineGradient())
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/system_via_molssi.py b/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/system_via_molssi.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/system_via_molssi.py
rename to python/friendzone/nwx2molssi/system_via_molssi.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/utils/__init__.py b/python/friendzone/utils/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/utils/__init__.py
rename to python/friendzone/utils/__init__.py
diff --git a/src/python/friendzone/utils/unwrap_inputs.py b/python/friendzone/utils/unwrap_inputs.py
similarity index 100%
rename from src/python/friendzone/utils/unwrap_inputs.py
rename to python/friendzone/utils/unwrap_inputs.py
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 1fd6065..0000000
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-ase
-networkx
-pydantic>=1.10.13
-qcengine
diff --git a/tests/python/conftest.py b/tests/python/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9c5a96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/python/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+#
+# Copyright 2026 NWChemEx-Project
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+import parallelzone as pz
+import pytest
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session", autouse=True)
+def _session_runtime_view():
+    """
+    Holds a single RuntimeView for the whole pytest session.
+
+    MPI may only be initialized/finalized once per process. The first
+    RuntimeView constructed owns that responsibility; individual test
+    modules construct their own RuntimeView per test (e.g. in setUp),
+    which is safe only as long as this session-scoped instance is still
+    alive to keep MPI initialized in between. Without this, pytest would
+    run each test module independently and MPI would be finalized after
+    the first module's tests finished, breaking every module after it.
+    """
+    rv = pz.runtime.RuntimeView()
+    yield rv
diff --git a/tests/python/unit_tests/test_friendzone.py b/tests/python/unit_tests/test_friendzone.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 980b434..0000000
--- a/tests/python/unit_tests/test_friendzone.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-#
-# Copyright 2023 NWChemEx-Project
-#
-# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-# You may obtain a copy of the License at
-#
-# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-#
-# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-# limitations under the License.
-#
-
-import os
-import sys
-import unittest
-
-import parallelzone as pz
-
-if __name__ == "__main__":
-    rv = pz.runtime.RuntimeView()
-
-    my_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__))
-    root_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(my_dir)))
-    src_dir = os.path.join(root_dir, "src", "python")
-    sys.path.append(src_dir)
-
-    loader = unittest.TestLoader()
-    tests = loader.discover(my_dir)
-    testrunner = unittest.runner.TextTestRunner()
-    ret = not testrunner.run(tests).wasSuccessful()
-    sys.exit(ret)