macos - How do I make a python script executable?

Question

How can I run a python script with my own command line name like 'myscript' without having to do 'python myscript.py' in the terminal?

Answer 1

1. Add a shebang line to the top of the script:

   #!/usr/bin/env python

2. Mark the script as executable:

   chmod +x myscript.py

3. Add the dir containing it to your PATH variable. (If you want it to stick, you'll have to do this in .bashrc or .bash_profile in your home dir.)

   export PATH=/path/to/script:$PATH

Answer 2

The best way, which is cross-platform, is to create setup.py, define an entry point in it and install with pip.

Say you have the following contents of myscript.py:

def run():
    print('Hello world')

Then you add setup.py with the following:

from setuptools import setup
setup(
    name='myscript',
    version='0.0.1',
    entry_points={
        'console_scripts': [
            'myscript=myscript:run'
        ]
    }
)

Entry point format is terminal_command_name=python_script_name:main_method_name

Finally install with the following command.

pip install -e /path/to/script/folder

-e stands for editable, meaning you'll be able to work on the script and invoke the latest version without need to reinstall

After that you can run myscript from any directory.

Answer 3

I usually do in the script:

#!/usr/bin/python
... code ...

And in terminal:

$: chmod 755 yourfile.py
$: ./yourfile.py

Answer 4

Another related solution which some people may be interested in. One can also directly embed the contents of myscript.py into your .bashrc file on Linux (should also work for MacOS I think)

For example, I have the following function defined in my .bashrc for dumping Python pickles to the terminal, note that the ${1} is the first argument following the function name:

depickle() {
python << EOPYTHON
import pickle
f = open('${1}', 'rb')
while True:
   try:
      print(pickle.load(f))
   except EOFError:
      break
EOPYTHON
}

With this in place (and after reloading .bashrc), I can now run depickle a.pickle from any terminal or directory on my computer.

Answer 5

The simplest way that comes to my mind is to use "pyinstaller".

1. create an environment that contains all the lib you have used in your code.
2. activate the environment and in the command window write pip install pyinstaller
3. Use the command window to open the main directory that codes maincode.py is located.
4. remember to keep the environment active and write pyinstaller maincode.py
5. Check the folder named "build" and you will find the executable file.

I hope that this solution helps you. GL