Say I made Python script with a GUI, which depends on a few libraries (e.g. Pandas). I want to share this application with users who know nothing about programming, and who are used to simply click an install file or open an executable.
What are the options for bundling my script, its dependencies, and the Python runtime together so that my users can "just" use it ? This can be either as an executable, or an online app.
EDIT : some users pointed to this page as a duplicate. This obviously true, but most answers are pretty old. I'm looking for up-to-date solutions as of 2019.
I have been using PyInstaller for a while now, seems like it would do exactly what you
want.
You need to use pyinstaller package
PyInstaller freezes (packages) Python applications into stand-alone
executables, under Windows, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Solaris and
AIX.
pyinstaller.org
Related
I need to package my Python application, its dependencies, and Python itself into a single MSI installer for distribution to users. The end result should desirably be:
Python is installed in the standard location
the package and its dependencies are installed in a separate directory (possibly site-packages)
the installation directory should contain the Python uncompressed and a standalone executable is not required
Kind of a dup of this question about how to make a python into an executable.
It boils down to:
py2exe on windows, Freeze on Linux, and
py2app on Mac.
I use PyInstaller (the svn version) to create a stand-alone version of my program that includes Python and all the dependencies. It takes a little fiddling to get it to work right and include everything (as does py2exe and other similar programs, see this question), but then it works very well.
You then need to create an installer. NSIS Works great for that and is free, but it creates .exe files not .msi. If .msi is not necessary, I highly recommend it. Otherwise check out the answers to this question for other options.
My company uses the free InnoSetup tool. It is a moderately complex program that has tons of flexibility for building installers for windows. I believe that it creates .exe and not .msi files, however. InnoSetup is not python specific but we have created an installer for one of our products that installs python along with dependencies to locations specified by the user at install time.
I've had much better results with dependencies and custom folder structures using pyinstaller, and it lets you find and specify hidden imports and hooks for larger dependencies like numpy and scipy. Also a PITA, though.
py2exe will make windows executables with python bundled in.
py2exe is the best way to do this. It's a bit of a PITA to use, but the end result works very well.
Ok, I have used py2exe before and it works perfectly except for one thing... It only works on executable windows machines. I then learned about Jython which turn a python script into a .Jar file. Which as you know is executable from any machine that has Java ("To your latest running version") installed. Which is great because both unix, windows, and ios (Most of the time) Run java. That means its executable from all of the following machines. As long as they run Java. No need for "py2mac + py2exe + freeze" just to run on all operating systems. Just Jython
For more information on how it works and how you can use it click here.
http://www.jython.org/
I am currently starting a business where I will be providing support to clients directly on their business offices. I need to be able to go to different computers and be able to run custom python scripts, my question is if there's a way to make my python environment portable?
Assuming that your users are running Windows, I see two options here.
If you have already defined which scripts you will be running, compile them into exe files using py2exe, that way you can just plug a USB and run them as needed. (the caveat is that some antivirus will automatically block the unsigned executables)
The other option is to use WinPython, that is a full python environment with a lot of packages already preinstalled that ives in it's own directory. In case you need to install a new package, just use the Powershell or CMD that comes with it and use the preinstalled "pip".
I found something interesting here Portable Python. I use that method to create portable Python 3.9 and 3.10 and everything works so have a look.
I admit at the beginning that I am a novice python developer, so I apologize in advance for questions that may seem stupid.
I prepared python script with GUI (Tkinter), which use plenty external libraries. I'm working on Windows. Currently, I share my program in the form of an .exe file for Windows users, who do not have Python installed on their PCs. Everything works.
Recently I received a query if I can compile my code on an executable file that is usable for Mac users.
I have a number of questions related to this:
1) can I do it from a PC with Windows or i need Mac? I guess I have to have access to a Mac.
2) will my code work on mac without any editing? What about external libraries? Do you know any easy way to copy/paste my "python with used libraries" from Windows to Mac?
3) will I create a executable file in the same way as Windows, I mean I will use a "Pyinstaller" type library?
Thank you in advance for your help.
1) can I do it from a PC with Windows or i need Mac? I guess I have to have access to a Mac.
You can use a virtual machine and build for mac.
2) will my code work on mac without any editing? What about external libraries? Do you know any easy way to copy/paste my "python with used libraries" from Windows to Mac?
Some libraries have different behavior between macOS and Windows, yes. You should consult the documentation for the libraries you are using.
3) will I create a executable file in the same way as Windows, I mean I will use a "Pyinstaller" type library?
If you're actually using pyinstaller then it is compatible with both mac and windows. You have to check that the library you're using is compatible with both by looking at their docs.
An example of this is to use virtualbox mac image.
Install virtualbox (see this)
Install MacOS (see this)
Install the correct python (obviously python.org)
git clone your repository
Setup your virtual environment (or just pip install -r requirements.txt with your requirements file but I'm a stickler about venvs)
Note: I know you said pyinstaller-like but pyinstaller has a note about macos.
Build!
You shouldn't have any trouble. Just make sure the version of python is the same, as I believe the default on mac is 2.7.
Also, python scripts aren't compiled, rather interpreted, so making the file executable doesn't really mean it's a binary file in this case. I'm not sure what method you used to run python on a computer that doesn't have python on it, as there are a few, but if you can manage to do that on windows, it should work on mac.
I need to automate a cross-platform application build. Entire build runs on Windows machine. Part of it is written in Python and compiles for OS X. Currently this part of build is done manually on OS X.
I tried pyinstaller but it looks like it only building for the platform that it is running on. I also tried py2app but it did not install on Windows.
Are there any tools to compile Python script to OS X app on Windows machine?
Short answer:
Apparently, no simple way to do this with the standard set of tools you have mentioned. I outline a completely unprobable solution in the end that's probably too complex to consider.
End result: Keep doing it manually, it's probably the best option so far.
Drawing from credible and/or official sources:
There's already a long and curated list of options specified in micheal0x2a's excelent answer in Create a single executable from a Python project which outlines most tools available for creating standalone distributions of a Python program. One line stands out:
Also, unless otherwise noted, all programs listed below will produce an exe specifically for the operating system it's running in.
I might have read things wrong but there's no explicit note of cross platform support.
Similar lists can be found in in Distribution Utilities and Freezing Your Code — The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python. From these we can take a look at the Windows supported projects:
bbfreeze: Not maintained, no documentation on limitations generally superceded by the rest in this list.
PyInstaller: According to their documentation:
PyInstaller is tested against Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. However, it is not a cross-compiler: to make a Windows app you run PyInstaller in Windows; to make a Linux app you run it in Linux, etc. PyInstaller has been used successfully with AIX, Solaris, and FreeBSD, but is not tested against them.
PyInstaller once tried to support cross-compilation (From Linux -> Windows) but later dropped the idea.
cx_freeze: Looking at their Freezing for other platforms question in their Frequently Asked Questions list:
cx_Freeze works on Windows, Mac and Linux, but on each platform it only makes an executable that runs on that platform. So if you want to freeze your program for Windows, freeze it on Windows; if you want to run it on Macs, freeze it on a Mac.
py2app: This is not an option since py2app is supported only OSX machines based on their note:
NOTE: py2app must be used on OSX to build applications, it cannot create Mac applications on other platforms.
So installing it on windows is a no-go.
This wraps out the tools available on for creating standalone applications on Windows. Even if not on Windows though, solutions don't exist for creating an OS agnostic tool.
The general consensus for achieving these sort of things is via Virtual Machines; you create a VM image of the target OS, run the dedicated tool for that OS inside the vm and then tranfer the bundled executable to compatible machines. Since OSX is generally not easy to virtualize, from what I know, you kinda run out of luck here.
One complex probable way:
Now, the reason why I said there is no simple way to do this is because there might be one but, from what I can see, it is so tedious you shouldn't even consider it. The general issue we're facing here is that executables for windows are simply not compatible with OSX, heck, Linux executables aren't either. So what we need is the ability to cross-compile things.
One compiler that I've heard supports cross-compilation is clang. So, in order remedy the incompatibility of executables, you could theoretically use clang as a cross compiler. Problem is, this is not a simple task; it is probably way harder than what you're willing to do since it is riddled with complex issues (From OSX to Windows example).
If you do actually find a way to that you now need a .cpp/.c file from your python scripts. Thankfully this is something that can be done by using tools like Nuitka or Cython.
The gist of these is the same, enter .py exit .cpp/.c. The second tricky part might be setting up the clang compiler to be used with these. I honestly have no idea if anyone has done this.
I haven't looked into them much, but for Nuitka, I know that it can also be used to create a standalone executable when passed the --standalone flag (See: Moving to other machines). So, theoretically you could use Nuitka with clang configured to cross-compile for OSX. Then you can rest; you've earned it.
You can use a docker image https://github.com/sickcodes/Docker-OSX like this to simulate a mac computer.
Then from this simulated mac you could install the pyinstaller and run your command from there.
This would then produce the desired file.
Some people do the same way to create windows executables using pyinstaller on linux.
I dont see why this could not work from windows to mac.
Install fabric (Python module, easily installed with pip) on your Windows machine so that you can run the build on your Mac as part of the same automated build process.
Fabric allows you to utilize SSH from Python. So long as you know how to access the Mac over SSH (just need the IP, username, and password), this is easy. Set it up like this:
from fabric.api import env
env.host_string = '<IP of the Mac Here>'
env.user = '<Username on the Mac>'
env.password = '<Password of the user>'
Then copy over the necessary source files from the Windows machine to the Mac like this (once fabric has been set up as above):
from fabric.operations import put
put(r'\path\to\local\source\files', '/path/to/where/you/want/them')
Now you want to run your build tool, whatever it is. You'll need to use run or sudo for that, depending on if the tool requires admin privileges or not.
from fabric.operations import run, sudo
# sudo works the same as run if you need that instead
run('/path/to/build/tool arguments for build tool')
Finally you have the build output which you can retrieve using get.
from fabric.operations import get
get('/path/to/dist/on/mac', '\local\path\to\store\on\windows')
There we go. Pretty simple. No VM needed - just automate the process that you were already manually doing before. The only real requirement is that your Mac has to be available to be connected to during the build process. If you don't have a readily available Mac server, consider just picking up a used Mac Mini - you can get them for as little as $50 on ebay, if budget is a concern.
I want to distribute my open source python tool.
I created an install shell script for linux systems. What is the easiest way to create a graphical easy to use installer for Windows OS?
PS: I would consider the ability to add shortcut on desktop as a plus point.
Py2Exe is still the best way I'm aware of. You can do tricky things if you're someone like Dropbox.
EDIT If you're looking for advice on creating an installer, start here