1.. _built-dist:
2
3****************************
4Creating Built Distributions
5****************************
6
7.. include:: ./_setuptools_disclaimer.rst
8
9A "built distribution" is what you're probably used to thinking of either as a
10"binary package" or an "installer" (depending on your background).  It's not
11necessarily binary, though, because it might contain only Python source code
12and/or byte-code; and we don't call it a package, because that word is already
13spoken for in Python.  (And "installer" is a term specific to the world of
14mainstream desktop systems.)
15
16A built distribution is how you make life as easy as possible for installers of
17your module distribution: for users of RPM-based Linux systems, it's a binary
18RPM; for Windows users, it's an executable installer; for Debian-based Linux
19users, it's a Debian package; and so forth.  Obviously, no one person will be
20able to create built distributions for every platform under the sun, so the
21Distutils are designed to enable module developers to concentrate on their
22specialty---writing code and creating source distributions---while an
23intermediary species called *packagers* springs up to turn source distributions
24into built distributions for as many platforms as there are packagers.
25
26Of course, the module developer could be their own packager; or the packager could
27be a volunteer "out there" somewhere who has access to a platform which the
28original developer does not; or it could be software periodically grabbing new
29source distributions and turning them into built distributions for as many
30platforms as the software has access to.  Regardless of who they are, a packager
31uses the setup script and the :command:`bdist` command family to generate built
32distributions.
33
34As a simple example, if I run the following command in the Distutils source
35tree::
36
37   python setup.py bdist
38
39then the Distutils builds my module distribution (the Distutils itself in this
40case), does a "fake" installation (also in the :file:`build` directory), and
41creates the default type of built distribution for my platform.  The default
42format for built distributions is a "dumb" tar file on Unix, and a simple
43executable installer on Windows.  (That tar file is considered "dumb" because it
44has to be unpacked in a specific location to work.)
45
46Thus, the above command on a Unix system creates
47:file:`Distutils-1.0.{plat}.tar.gz`; unpacking this tarball from the right place
48installs the Distutils just as though you had downloaded the source distribution
49and run ``python setup.py install``.  (The "right place" is either the root of
50the filesystem or  Python's :file:`{prefix}` directory, depending on the options
51given to the :command:`bdist_dumb` command; the default is to make dumb
52distributions relative to :file:`{prefix}`.)
53
54Obviously, for pure Python distributions, this isn't any simpler than just
55running ``python setup.py install``\ ---but for non-pure distributions, which
56include extensions that would need to be compiled, it can mean the difference
57between someone being able to use your extensions or not.  And creating "smart"
58built distributions, such as an RPM package or an executable installer for
59Windows, is far more convenient for users even if your distribution doesn't
60include any extensions.
61
62The :command:`bdist` command has a :option:`!--formats` option, similar to the
63:command:`sdist` command, which you can use to select the types of built
64distribution to generate: for example, ::
65
66   python setup.py bdist --format=zip
67
68would, when run on a Unix system, create
69:file:`Distutils-1.0.{plat}.zip`\ ---again, this archive would be unpacked
70from the root directory to install the Distutils.
71
72The available formats for built distributions are:
73
74+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
75| Format      | Description                  | Notes   |
76+=============+==============================+=========+
77| ``gztar``   | gzipped tar file             | \(1)    |
78|             | (:file:`.tar.gz`)            |         |
79+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
80| ``bztar``   | bzipped tar file             |         |
81|             | (:file:`.tar.bz2`)           |         |
82+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
83| ``xztar``   | xzipped tar file             |         |
84|             | (:file:`.tar.xz`)            |         |
85+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
86| ``ztar``    | compressed tar file          | \(3)    |
87|             | (:file:`.tar.Z`)             |         |
88+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
89| ``tar``     | tar file (:file:`.tar`)      |         |
90+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
91| ``zip``     | zip file (:file:`.zip`)      | (2),(4) |
92+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
93| ``rpm``     | RPM                          | \(5)    |
94+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
95| ``pkgtool`` | Solaris :program:`pkgtool`   |         |
96+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
97| ``sdux``    | HP-UX :program:`swinstall`   |         |
98+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
99| ``wininst`` | self-extracting ZIP file for | \(4)    |
100|             | Windows                      |         |
101+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
102| ``msi``     | Microsoft Installer.         |         |
103+-------------+------------------------------+---------+
104
105.. versionchanged:: 3.5
106   Added support for the ``xztar`` format.
107
108
109Notes:
110
111(1)
112   default on Unix
113
114(2)
115   default on Windows
116
117(3)
118   requires external :program:`compress` utility.
119
120(4)
121   requires either external :program:`zip` utility or :mod:`zipfile` module (part
122   of the standard Python library since Python 1.6)
123
124(5)
125   requires external :program:`rpm` utility, version 3.0.4 or better (use ``rpm
126   --version`` to find out which version you have)
127
128You don't have to use the :command:`bdist` command with the :option:`!--formats`
129option; you can also use the command that directly implements the format you're
130interested in.  Some of these :command:`bdist` "sub-commands" actually generate
131several similar formats; for instance, the :command:`bdist_dumb` command
132generates all the "dumb" archive formats (``tar``, ``gztar``, ``bztar``,
133``xztar``, ``ztar``, and ``zip``), and :command:`bdist_rpm` generates both
134binary and source RPMs.  The :command:`bdist` sub-commands, and the formats
135generated by each, are:
136
137+--------------------------+-------------------------------------+
138| Command                  | Formats                             |
139+==========================+=====================================+
140| :command:`bdist_dumb`    | tar, gztar, bztar, xztar, ztar, zip |
141+--------------------------+-------------------------------------+
142| :command:`bdist_rpm`     | rpm, srpm                           |
143+--------------------------+-------------------------------------+
144| :command:`bdist_wininst` | wininst                             |
145+--------------------------+-------------------------------------+
146| :command:`bdist_msi`     | msi                                 |
147+--------------------------+-------------------------------------+
148
149.. note::
150   bdist_wininst is deprecated since Python 3.8.
151
152The following sections give details on the individual :command:`bdist_\*`
153commands.
154
155
156.. .. _creating-dumb:
157
158.. Creating dumb built distributions
159.. =================================
160
161.. XXX Need to document absolute vs. prefix-relative packages here, but first
162   I have to implement it!
163
164
165.. _creating-rpms:
166
167Creating RPM packages
168=====================
169
170The RPM format is used by many popular Linux distributions, including Red Hat,
171SuSE, and Mandrake.  If one of these (or any of the other RPM-based Linux
172distributions) is your usual environment, creating RPM packages for other users
173of that same distribution is trivial. Depending on the complexity of your module
174distribution and differences between Linux distributions, you may also be able
175to create RPMs that work on different RPM-based distributions.
176
177The usual way to create an RPM of your module distribution is to run the
178:command:`bdist_rpm` command::
179
180   python setup.py bdist_rpm
181
182or the :command:`bdist` command with the :option:`!--format` option::
183
184   python setup.py bdist --formats=rpm
185
186The former allows you to specify RPM-specific options; the latter allows  you to
187easily specify multiple formats in one run.  If you need to do both, you can
188explicitly specify multiple :command:`bdist_\*` commands and their options::
189
190   python setup.py bdist_rpm --packager="John Doe <jdoe@example.org>" \
191                   bdist_wininst --target-version="2.0"
192
193Creating RPM packages is driven by a :file:`.spec` file, much as using the
194Distutils is driven by the setup script.  To make your life easier, the
195:command:`bdist_rpm` command normally creates a :file:`.spec` file based on the
196information you supply in the setup script, on the command line, and in any
197Distutils configuration files.  Various options and sections in the
198:file:`.spec` file are derived from options in the setup script as follows:
199
200+------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
201| RPM :file:`.spec` file option or section | Distutils setup script option                |
202+==========================================+==============================================+
203| Name                                     | ``name``                                     |
204+------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
205| Summary (in preamble)                    | ``description``                              |
206+------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
207| Version                                  | ``version``                                  |
208+------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
209| Vendor                                   | ``author`` and ``author_email``,             |
210|                                          | or  --- & ``maintainer`` and                 |
211|                                          | ``maintainer_email``                         |
212+------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
213| Copyright                                | ``license``                                  |
214+------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
215| Url                                      | ``url``                                      |
216+------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
217| %description (section)                   | ``long_description``                         |
218+------------------------------------------+----------------------------------------------+
219
220Additionally, there are many options in :file:`.spec` files that don't have
221corresponding options in the setup script.  Most of these are handled through
222options to the :command:`bdist_rpm` command as follows:
223
224+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
225| RPM :file:`.spec` file option | :command:`bdist_rpm` option | default value           |
226| or section                    |                             |                         |
227+===============================+=============================+=========================+
228| Release                       | ``release``                 | "1"                     |
229+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
230| Group                         | ``group``                   | "Development/Libraries" |
231+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
232| Vendor                        | ``vendor``                  | (see above)             |
233+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
234| Packager                      | ``packager``                | (none)                  |
235+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
236| Provides                      | ``provides``                | (none)                  |
237+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
238| Requires                      | ``requires``                | (none)                  |
239+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
240| Conflicts                     | ``conflicts``               | (none)                  |
241+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
242| Obsoletes                     | ``obsoletes``               | (none)                  |
243+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
244| Distribution                  | ``distribution_name``       | (none)                  |
245+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
246| BuildRequires                 | ``build_requires``          | (none)                  |
247+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
248| Icon                          | ``icon``                    | (none)                  |
249+-------------------------------+-----------------------------+-------------------------+
250
251Obviously, supplying even a few of these options on the command-line would be
252tedious and error-prone, so it's usually best to put them in the setup
253configuration file, :file:`setup.cfg`\ ---see section :ref:`setup-config`.  If
254you distribute or package many Python module distributions, you might want to
255put options that apply to all of them in your personal Distutils configuration
256file (:file:`~/.pydistutils.cfg`).  If you want to temporarily disable
257this file, you can pass the :option:`!--no-user-cfg` option to :file:`setup.py`.
258
259There are three steps to building a binary RPM package, all of which are
260handled automatically by the Distutils:
261
262#. create a :file:`.spec` file, which describes the package (analogous  to the
263   Distutils setup script; in fact, much of the information in the  setup script
264   winds up in the :file:`.spec` file)
265
266#. create the source RPM
267
268#. create the "binary" RPM (which may or may not contain binary code, depending
269   on whether your module distribution contains Python extensions)
270
271Normally, RPM bundles the last two steps together; when you use the Distutils,
272all three steps are typically bundled together.
273
274If you wish, you can separate these three steps.  You can use the
275:option:`!--spec-only` option to make :command:`bdist_rpm` just create the
276:file:`.spec` file and exit; in this case, the :file:`.spec` file will be
277written to the "distribution directory"---normally :file:`dist/`, but
278customizable with the :option:`!--dist-dir` option.  (Normally, the :file:`.spec`
279file winds up deep in the "build tree," in a temporary directory created by
280:command:`bdist_rpm`.)
281
282.. % \XXX{this isn't implemented yet---is it needed?!}
283.. % You can also specify a custom \file{.spec} file with the
284.. % \longprogramopt{spec-file} option; used in conjunction with
285.. % \longprogramopt{spec-only}, this gives you an opportunity to customize
286.. % the \file{.spec} file manually:
287.. %
288.. % \ begin{verbatim}
289.. % > python setup.py bdist_rpm --spec-only
290.. % # ...edit dist/FooBar-1.0.spec
291.. % > python setup.py bdist_rpm --spec-file=dist/FooBar-1.0.spec
292.. % \ end{verbatim}
293.. %
294.. % (Although a better way to do this is probably to override the standard
295.. % \command{bdist\_rpm} command with one that writes whatever else you want
296.. % to the \file{.spec} file.)
297
298
299.. _creating-wininst:
300
301Creating Windows Installers
302===========================
303
304.. warning::
305   bdist_wininst is deprecated since Python 3.8.
306
307Executable installers are the natural format for binary distributions on
308Windows.  They display a nice graphical user interface, display some information
309about the module distribution to be installed taken from the metadata in the
310setup script, let the user select a few options, and start or cancel the
311installation.
312
313Since the metadata is taken from the setup script, creating Windows installers
314is usually as easy as running::
315
316   python setup.py bdist_wininst
317
318or the :command:`bdist` command with the :option:`!--formats` option::
319
320   python setup.py bdist --formats=wininst
321
322If you have a pure module distribution (only containing pure Python modules and
323packages), the resulting installer will be version independent and have a name
324like :file:`foo-1.0.win32.exe`. Note that creating ``wininst`` binary
325distributions in only supported on Windows systems.
326
327If you have a non-pure distribution, the extensions can only be created on a
328Windows platform, and will be Python version dependent. The installer filename
329will reflect this and now has the form :file:`foo-1.0.win32-py2.0.exe`.  You
330have to create a separate installer for every Python version you want to
331support.
332
333The installer will try to compile pure modules into :term:`bytecode` after installation
334on the target system in normal and optimizing mode.  If you don't want this to
335happen for some reason, you can run the :command:`bdist_wininst` command with
336the :option:`!--no-target-compile` and/or the :option:`!--no-target-optimize`
337option.
338
339By default the installer will display the cool "Python Powered" logo when it is
340run, but you can also supply your own 152x261 bitmap which must be a Windows
341:file:`.bmp` file with the :option:`!--bitmap` option.
342
343The installer will also display a large title on the desktop background window
344when it is run, which is constructed from the name of your distribution and the
345version number.  This can be changed to another text by using the
346:option:`!--title` option.
347
348The installer file will be written to the "distribution directory" --- normally
349:file:`dist/`, but customizable with the :option:`!--dist-dir` option.
350
351.. _cross-compile-windows:
352
353Cross-compiling on Windows
354==========================
355
356Starting with Python 2.6, distutils is capable of cross-compiling between
357Windows platforms.  In practice, this means that with the correct tools
358installed, you can use a 32bit version of Windows to create 64bit extensions
359and vice-versa.
360
361To build for an alternate platform, specify the :option:`!--plat-name` option
362to the build command.  Valid values are currently 'win32', and  'win-amd64'.
363For example, on a 32bit version of Windows, you could execute::
364
365   python setup.py build --plat-name=win-amd64
366
367to build a 64bit version of your extension.  The Windows Installers also
368support this option, so the command::
369
370   python setup.py build --plat-name=win-amd64 bdist_wininst
371
372would create a 64bit installation executable on your 32bit version of Windows.
373
374To cross-compile, you must download the Python source code and cross-compile
375Python itself for the platform you are targeting - it is not possible from a
376binary installation of Python (as the .lib etc file for other platforms are
377not included.)  In practice, this means the user of a 32 bit operating
378system will need to use Visual Studio 2008 to open the
379:file:`PCbuild/PCbuild.sln` solution in the Python source tree and build the
380"x64" configuration of the 'pythoncore' project before cross-compiling
381extensions is possible.
382
383Note that by default, Visual Studio 2008 does not install 64bit compilers or
384tools.  You may need to reexecute the Visual Studio setup process and select
385these tools (using Control Panel->[Add/Remove] Programs is a convenient way to
386check or modify your existing install.)
387
388.. _postinstallation-script:
389
390The Postinstallation script
391---------------------------
392
393Starting with Python 2.3, a postinstallation script can be specified with the
394:option:`!--install-script` option.  The basename of the script must be
395specified, and the script filename must also be listed in the scripts argument
396to the setup function.
397
398This script will be run at installation time on the target system after all the
399files have been copied, with ``argv[1]`` set to :option:`!-install`, and again at
400uninstallation time before the files are removed with ``argv[1]`` set to
401:option:`!-remove`.
402
403The installation script runs embedded in the windows installer, every output
404(``sys.stdout``, ``sys.stderr``) is redirected into a buffer and will be
405displayed in the GUI after the script has finished.
406
407Some functions especially useful in this context are available as additional
408built-in functions in the installation script.
409
410
411.. function:: directory_created(path)
412              file_created(path)
413
414   These functions should be called when a directory or file is created by the
415   postinstall script at installation time.  It will register *path* with the
416   uninstaller, so that it will be removed when the distribution is uninstalled.
417   To be safe, directories are only removed if they are empty.
418
419
420.. function:: get_special_folder_path(csidl_string)
421
422   This function can be used to retrieve special folder locations on Windows like
423   the Start Menu or the Desktop.  It returns the full path to the folder.
424   *csidl_string* must be one of the following strings::
425
426      "CSIDL_APPDATA"
427
428      "CSIDL_COMMON_STARTMENU"
429      "CSIDL_STARTMENU"
430
431      "CSIDL_COMMON_DESKTOPDIRECTORY"
432      "CSIDL_DESKTOPDIRECTORY"
433
434      "CSIDL_COMMON_STARTUP"
435      "CSIDL_STARTUP"
436
437      "CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS"
438      "CSIDL_PROGRAMS"
439
440      "CSIDL_FONTS"
441
442   If the folder cannot be retrieved, :exc:`OSError` is raised.
443
444   Which folders are available depends on the exact Windows version, and probably
445   also the configuration.  For details refer to Microsoft's documentation of the
446   :c:func:`SHGetSpecialFolderPath` function.
447
448
449.. function:: create_shortcut(target, description, filename[, arguments[, workdir[, iconpath[, iconindex]]]])
450
451   This function creates a shortcut. *target* is the path to the program to be
452   started by the shortcut. *description* is the description of the shortcut.
453   *filename* is the title of the shortcut that the user will see. *arguments*
454   specifies the command line arguments, if any. *workdir* is the working directory
455   for the program. *iconpath* is the file containing the icon for the shortcut,
456   and *iconindex* is the index of the icon in the file *iconpath*.  Again, for
457   details consult the Microsoft documentation for the :class:`IShellLink`
458   interface.
459
460
461Vista User Access Control (UAC)
462===============================
463
464Starting with Python 2.6, bdist_wininst supports a :option:`!--user-access-control`
465option.  The default is 'none' (meaning no UAC handling is done), and other
466valid values are 'auto' (meaning prompt for UAC elevation if Python was
467installed for all users) and 'force' (meaning always prompt for elevation).
468
469.. note::
470   bdist_wininst is deprecated since Python 3.8.
471