Process to convert simple Python script into Windows executable [duplicate]

PyInstaller will create a single-file executable if you use the --onefile option (though what it actually does is extracts then runs itself).

There's a simple PyInstaller tutorial here. If you have any questions about using it, please post them...


Using py2exe, include this in your setup.py:

from distutils.core import setup
import py2exe, sys, os

sys.argv.append('py2exe')

setup(
    options = {'py2exe': {'bundle_files': 1}},
    windows = [{'script': "YourScript.py"}],
    zipfile = None,
)

then you can run it through command prompt / Idle, both works for me. Hope it helps


i would recommend going to http://sourceforge.net/projects/py2exe/files/latest/download?source=files to download py2exe. Then make a python file named setup.py. Inside it, type

from distutils.core import setup
import py2exe
setup(console=['nameoffile.py'])

Save in your user folder Also save the file you want converted in that same folder

Run window's command prompt type in setup.py install py2exe

It should print many lines of code...

Next, open the dist folder.

Run the exe file.

If there are needed files for the program to work, move them to the folder

Copy/Send the dist folder to person.

Optional: Change the name of the dist folder

Hope it works!:)


I would join @Nicholas in recommending PyInstaller (with the --onefile flag), but be warned: do not use the "latest release", PyInstaller 1.3 -- it's years old. Use the "pre-release" 1.4, download it here -- or even better the code from the svn repo -- install SVN and run svn co http://svn.pyinstaller.org/trunk pyinstaller.

As @Nicholas implies, dynamic libraries cannot be run from the same file as the rest of the executable -- but fortunately they can be packed together with all the rest in a "self-unpacking" executable that will unpack itself into some temporary directory as needed; PyInstaller does a good job at this (and at many other things -- py2exe is more popular, but pyinstaller in my opinion is preferable in all other respects).