buildpy-bundler 0.1.0

Build a minimal, bespoke CPython runtime from source with size reduction, static linking, and a zipped standard library.

buildpy-bundler

A lightweight, single-file Python build tool for compiling Python 3.11-3.14 from source with customizable configurations.

Features

• Single-file script with no external dependencies (stdlib only)
• Multiple build configurations (static, shared, framework)
• Automatic dependency building (OpenSSL, bzip2, xz)
• Size optimization options (stdlib zipping, selective module inclusion)
• Cross-platform support (macOS, Linux, Windows)

Requirements

• Python 3.10+ (to run the build script)
• System tools: git, wget, tar, make
• C compiler (gcc/clang)

Quick Start

# Build with default configuration (shared_mid)
buildpy build

# Or use make
make

The built Python will be installed to ./build/install/python/.

Usage

buildpy [options] build

Options

Option	Description
-v, --version VERSION	Python version to build (default: 3.13)
-c, --config NAME	Build configuration (default: shared_mid)
-t, --type TYPE	Build type: static, shared, or framework
-j, --jobs N	Number of parallel build jobs (default: 4)
-o, --optimize	Enable PGO/LTO optimization during build
-d, --debug	Build debug Python
-p, --precompile	Precompile stdlib to bytecode
-m, --package	Package the build for distribution
-r, --reset	Clean and reset build directory
--install-dir DIR	Custom installation directory
-i, --install PKG [PKG ...]	Install packages after build
-w, --write	Write Setup.local configuration
-s, --json	Export configuration to JSON

Examples

# Build Python 3.12 with static linking
buildpy -v 3.12 -t static build

# Build optimized Python with 8 parallel jobs
buildpy -o -j 8 build

# Build and package for distribution
buildpy -m build

# Build to custom directory
buildpy --install-dir /opt/python build

Configurations

Configurations follow the naming pattern <build-type>_<size-type>:

Size Type	Description
max	Maximum modules included
mid	Balanced selection (recommended)
min	Minimal footprint
bootstrap	Absolute minimum for bootstrapping

Static Builds

Statically links libpython into the executable.

Config	Modules Excluded
static_max	_ctypes only
static_mid	_ssl, _hashlib
static_min	Most optional modules
static_bootstrap	Based on Setup.bootstrap

Shared Builds

Uses a shared libpython library.

Config	Modules Excluded
shared_max	None
shared_mid	_ctypes, _ssl, _hashlib, _decimal
shared_min	Most optional modules

Framework Builds (macOS only)

Creates a macOS framework bundle. Not yet implemented.

Build Output

build/
  downloads/     # Cached source archives
  src/           # Extracted source trees
  install/
    python/      # Final Python installation

Output naming convention: py-<type>-<size>-<version>-<platform>-<arch>

Example: py-static-mid-3.13.0-darwin-arm64

Known Issues

• If libb2 is installed on your system, the _blake2 module will link against it, creating a runtime dependency