How to create an executable file from a Python script?
This little project shows you how to build an executable file of your Python code.
Here, hello.py
is the main file. It uses a module (helper.py
),
it imports the os
module from the stdlib, and it even uses
a 3rd-party library (requests
).
With PyInstaller, you can easily create a single executable file from this project.
$ pyinstaller --onefile hello.py
Under Windows you might have a problem with this. If the .exe
complains that
a DLL is missing, then try this variation:
$ pyinstaller --onefile --noupx hello.py
You'll find the exe in the dist/
folder.
EXE is a file extension for an executable file format. It makes distributing your program much easier. The exe produced by PyInstaller is standalone. It means that it's enough to give this exe to your friend and (s)he can run it right away. There is no need to install Python on his/her machine, no need to create a virtual environment, etc. Under Windows you can simply start an exe with a double click.
Of course, if your friend uses Windows (Linux), then create the exe under Windows (Linux).
No. PyInstaller simply creates a bundle that contains everything: your code,
the necessary modules / packages, the virtual environment, the Python interpreter, etc.
When you launch the EXE, it is extracted to your temp folder (under Linux
it's the /tmp
folder), and your application is started from there. So the
runtime will be approximately the same.
For a demo, check out my simple Fibonacci implementation in the folder speed_test
.
pynt is a minimalistic build tool. If you installed everything
with poetry (poetry install
), then you can also create the executable with the following commands:
$ pynt exe
or (using pyinstaller's --noupx
switch)
$ pynt exe2
Click on the image below to open a YouTube video that shows you everything step-by-step:
Changes since the video was made: