distutils setup script¶
In order to make use of distutils a setup script must be created. This is
called setup.py by convention, although it can have any name. It looks
something like this:
import sys
from cx_Freeze import setup, Executable
# Dependencies are automatically detected, but it might need fine tuning.
build_exe_options = {"packages": ["os"], "excludes": ["tkinter"]}
# GUI applications require a different base on Windows (the default is for a
# console application).
base = None
if sys.platform == "win32":
base = "Win32GUI"
setup( name = "guifoo",
version = "0.1",
description = "My GUI application!",
options = {"build_exe": build_exe_options},
executables = [Executable("guifoo.py", base=base)])
There are more examples in the samples/ directory of the source.
The script is invoked as follows:
python setup.py build
This command will create a subdirectory called build with a further
subdirectory starting with the letters exe. and ending with the typical
identifier for the platform that distutils uses. This allows for multiple
platforms to be built without conflicts.
On Windows, you can build a simple installer containing all the files cx_Freeze includes for your application, by running the setup script as:
python setup.py bdist_msi
On Mac OS X, you can use bdist_dmg to build a Mac disk image.
distutils commands¶
cx_Freeze creates four new commands and subclasses four others in order to
provide the ability to both build and install executables. In typical distutils
fashion they can be provided in the setup script, on the command line or in
a setup.cfg configuration file. They are described in further detail below.
To specify options in the script, use underscores in the name. For example:
setup(...
options = {'build_exe': {'init_script':'Console'}} )
To specify the same options on the command line, use dashes, like this:
python setup.py build_exe --init-script Console
Some options also have a short form to use on the command line. These are given in brackets below.
build¶
This command is a standard command which has been modified by cx_Freeze to build any executables that are defined. The following options were added to the standard set of options for the command:
| option name | description |
|---|---|
| build_exe (-b) | directory for built executables and dependent files,
defaults to build/ |
build_exe¶
This command performs the work of building an executable or set of executables. It can be further customized:
| option name | description |
|---|---|
| build_exe (-b) | directory for built executables and dependent files,
defaults to build/ |
| optimize (-o) | optimization level, one of 0 (disabled), 1 or 2 |
| excludes (-e) | comma separated list of names of modules to exclude |
| includes (-e) | comma separated list of names of modules to include |
| packages (-p) | comma separated list of packages to include, which includes all submodules in the package |
| namespace_packages | comma separated list of packages to be treated as namespace packages (path is extended using pkgutil) |
| replace_paths | Modify filenames attached to code objects, which appear in tracebacks. Pass a comma separated list of paths in the form <search>=<replace>. The value * in the search portion will match the directory containing the entire package, leaving just the relative path to the module. |
| path | comma separated list of paths to search; the default value is sys.path |
| compressed (-c) | create a compressed zip file |
| constants | comma separated list of constant values to include in the constants module called BUILD_CONSTANTS in form <name>=<value> |
| include_files | list containing files to be copied to the target directory; it is expected that this list will contain strings or 2-tuples for the source and destination; the source can be a file or a directory (in which case the tree is copied except for .svn and CVS directories); the target must not be an absolute path |
| include_msvcr | include the Microsoft Visual C runtime DLLs and (if necessary) the manifest file required to run the executable without needing the redistributable package installed |
| zip_includes | list containing files to be included in the zip file directory; it is expected that this list will contain strings or 2-tuples for the source and destination |
| bin_includes | list of names of files to include when determining dependencies of binary files that would normally be excluded; note that version numbers that normally follow the shared object extension are stripped prior to performing the comparison |
| bin_excludes | list of names of files to exclude when determining dependencies of binary files that would normally be included; note that version numbers that normally follow the shared object extension are stripped prior to performing the comparison |
| bin_path_includes | list of paths from which to include files when determining dependencies of binary files |
| bin_path_excludes | list of paths from which to exclude files when determining dependencies of binary files |
| silent (-s) | suppress all output except warnings |
install¶
This command is a standard command which has been modified by cx_Freeze to install any executables that are defined. The following options were added to the standard set of options for the command:
| option name | description |
|---|---|
| install_exe | directory for installed executables and dependent files |
install_exe¶
This command performs the work installing an executable or set of executables. It can be used directly but most often is used when building Windows installers or RPM packages. It can be further customized:
| option name | description |
|---|---|
| install_dir (-d) | directory to install executables to; this defaults to a subdirectory called <name>-<version> in the “Program Files” directory on Windows and <prefix>/lib on other platforms; on platforms other than Windows symbolic links are also created in <prefix>/bin for each executable. |
| build_dir (-b) | build directory (where to install from); this defaults to the build_dir from the build command |
| force (-f) | force installation, overwriting existing files |
| skip_build | skip the build steps |
bdist_msi¶
This command is a standard command in Python 2.5 and higher which has been modified by cx_Freeze to handle installing executables and their dependencies. The following options were added to the standard set of options for the command:
| option name | description |
|---|---|
| add_to_path | add the target directory to the PATH environment variable; the default value is True if there are any console based executables and False otherwise |
| upgrade_code | define the upgrade code for the package that is created; this is used to force removal of any packages created with the same upgrade code prior to the installation of this one |
bdist_rpm¶
This command is a standard command which has been modified by cx_Freeze to ensure that packages are created with the proper architecture for the platform. The standard command assumes that the package should be architecture independent if it cannot find any extension modules.
bdist_mac¶
This command is available on Mac OS X systems, to create a Mac application bundle (a .app directory).
| option name | description |
|---|---|
| iconfile | Path to an icns icon file for the application. This will be copied into the bundle. |
| qt_menu_nib | Path to the qt-menu.nib file for Qt applications. By default, it will be auto-detected. |
| bundle_name | File name for the bundle application without the .app extension. |
| custom_info_plist | File to be used as the Info.plist in the app bundle. A basic one will be generated by default. |
| include_frameworks | A list of Framework directories to include in the app bundle. |
| codesign_identity | The identity of the key to be used to sign the app bundle. |
| codesign_entitlements | The path to an entitlements file to use for your application’s code signature. |
| codesign_deep | Boolean for whether to codesign using the –deep option. |
| codesign_resource_rules | Plist file to be passed to codesign’s –resource-rules option. |
New in version 4.3.
Changed in version 4.3.2: Added the
iconfileandbundle_nameoptions.Changed in version 4.3.3: Added the
include_frameworks,custom_info_plist,codesign_identityandcodesign_entitlementsoptions.Changed in version 4.3.4: Added the
codesign_deepandcodesign_resource_rulesoptions.
bdist_dmg¶
This command is available on Mac OS X systems; it creates an application bundle, then packages it into a DMG disk image suitable for distribution and installation.
| option name | description |
|---|---|
| volume_label | Volume label of the DMG disk image |
| applications-shortcut | Boolean for whether to include shortcut to Applications in the DMG disk image |
New in version 4.3.
Changed in version 4.3.2: Added the
applications-shortcutoption.
cx_Freeze.Executable¶
The options for the build_exe command are the defaults for any executables that are created. The options for the Executable class allow specification of the values specific to a particular executable. The arguments to the constructor are as follows:
| argument name | description |
|---|---|
| script | the name of the file containing the script which is to be frozen |
| initScript | the name of the initialization script that will be executed before the actual script is executed; this script is used to set up the environment for the executable; if a name is given without an absolute path the names of files in the initscripts subdirectory of the cx_Freeze package is searched |
| base | the name of the base executable; if a name is given without an absolute path the names of files in the bases subdirectory of the cx_Freeze package is searched |
| path | list of paths to search for modules |
| targetDir | the directory in which to place the target executable and any dependent files |
| targetName | the name of the target executable; the default value is the name of the script with the extension exchanged with the extension for the base executable |
| includes | list of names of modules to include |
| excludes | list of names of modules to exclude |
| packages | list of names of packages to include, including all of the package’s submodules |
| replacePaths | Modify filenames attached to code objects, which appear in tracebacks. Pass a list of 2-tuples containing paths to search for and corresponding replacement values. A search for ‘*’ will match the directory containing the entire package, leaving just the relative path to the module. |
| compress | boolean value indicating if the module bytecode should be compressed or not |
| icon | name of icon which should be included in the executable itself on Windows or placed in the target directory for other platforms |
| namespacePackages | list of packages to be treated as namespace packages (path is extended using pkgutil) |
| shortcutName | the name to give a shortcut for the executable when included in an MSI package |
| shortcutDir | the directory in which to place the shortcut when being installed by an MSI package; see the MSI Shortcut table documentation for more information on what values can be placed here. |