1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
|
|project| Deployment
====================
Deploying or freezing an application is an important part of a Python project,
this means to bundle all required resources so that the application finds everything it needs to
be able to run on a client's machine.
However, because most large projects aren't based on a single Python file, distributing these
applications can be a challenge.
Here are a few distribution options that you can use:
1. Send a normal ZIP file with the application's content.
2. Build a proper `Python package (wheel) <https://packaging.python.org/>`_.
3. Freeze the application into a single binary file or directory.
If you choose Option 3, consider using one of these tools:
* `fbs`_
* `PyInstaller`_
* `cx_Freeze`_
* `py2exe`_
* `py2app`_
.. _fbs: https://build-system.fman.io/
.. _PyInstaller: https://www.pyinstaller.org/
.. _cx_Freeze: https://anthony-tuininga.github.io/cx_Freeze/
.. _py2exe: http://www.py2exe.org/
.. _py2app: https://py2app.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
Since |project| is a cross-platform framework, we focus on solutions for the three major
platforms that Qt supports: Windows, Linux, and macOS.
The following table summarizes the platform support for those packaging tools:
.. raw:: html
<table class="docutils align-default">
<thead>
<tr>
<th class="head">Name</th>
<th class="head">License</th>
<th class="head">Linux</th>
<th class="head">macOS</th>
<th class="head">Windows</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><p>fbs</p></td>
<td><p>GPL</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p>PyInstaller</p></td>
<td><p>GPL</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p>cx_Freeze</p></td>
<td><p>MIT</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p>py2exe</p></td>
<td><p>MIT</p></td>
<td><p style="color: red;">no</p></td>
<td><p style="color: red;">no</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><p>py2app</p></td>
<td><p>MIT</p></td>
<td><p style="color: red;">no</p></td>
<td><p style="color: green;">yes</p></td>
<td><p style="color: red;">no</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Notice that only *fbs*, *cx_Freeze*, and *PyInstaller* meet our cross-platform requirement.
Since these are command-line tools, you'll need special hooks or scripts to handle resources
such as images, icons, and meta-information, before adding them to your package. Additionally,
these tools don't offer a mechanism to update your application packages.
To create update packages, use the `PyUpdater <https://www.pyupdater.org/>`_, which is a tool
built around PyInstaller.
The `fbs <https://build-system.fman.io>`_ tool offers a nice UI for the user to install the
application step-by-step.
.. note::
Deployment is supported only from Qt for Python 5.12.2 and later.
Here's a set of tutorials on how to use these tools:
.. toctree::
:name: mastertoc
:maxdepth: 2
deployment-fbs.rst
deployment-pyinstaller.rst
deployment-cxfreeze.rst
|
