code: def get_authors(project_dir=os.curdir):
      
      authors = set()
      pkg_info_file = os.path.join(project_dir, 'PKG-INFO')
      authors_file = os.path.join(project_dir, 'AUTHORS')
      if os.path.exists(pkg_info_file) and os.path.exists(authors_file):
          with open(authors_file) as authors_fd:
              authors = set(authors_fd.read().splitlines())
      else:
          authors = api.get_authors(repo_path=project_dir)
  
      return authors
docs: Retrieves the authors list, from the AUTHORS file (if in a package) or
      generates it from the git history.
  
      Returns:
          list(str): List of authors
  
      Raises:
          RuntimeError: If the authors could not be retrieved