panda3d-boilerplate

Cross-platform generator for new Panda3D projects. Installs as a global mkpanda command.

Install

Requires Python 3.8+ and pipx (recommended) or pip.

pipx install mkpanda

Or directly from GitHub (for the latest unreleased changes on main):

pipx install git+https://github.com/Bebopskull/panda3d-boilerplate.git

Use

mkpanda /path/to/my-game

Optional second argument sets the display name (defaults to the directory name):

mkpanda /path/to/my-game "My Awesome Game"

Update

pipx upgrade mkpanda

Or to force-reinstall the latest from GitHub (bypasses PyPI cache):

pipx install --force git+https://github.com/Bebopskull/panda3d-boilerplate.git

Releasing a new version (maintainers)

1. Bump version in pyproject.toml (SemVer: patch for fixes, minor for features, major for breaking changes).
2. Commit and push to main.
3. Build and upload:

   rm -rf dist/ build/
   pyproject-build
   twine upload dist/*
   

   (Requires ~/.pypirc with a PyPI API token. See pipx docs and the PyPI token guide.)

Uninstall

pipx uninstall mkpanda

What it creates

my-game/
├── src/
│   ├── main.py              # ShowBase entry point
│   ├── scenes/              # Scene/state system (base + menu example)
│   ├── input/               # Centralized input manager
│   └── utils/logger.py      # Stdout logging
├── assets/
│   ├── models/
│   ├── textures/
│   ├── sounds/
│   ├── fonts/
│   └── shaders/
├── config/config.prc        # Window, audio, model paths
├── tests/
├── requirements.txt         # project-specific deps (Panda3D is expected to be system-installed)
├── .gitignore
├── README.md
├── run.sh                   # Linux/macOS launcher
└── run.bat                  # Windows launcher

Next steps in the generated project

Panda3D must already be installed on your system (e.g. pip install --user panda3d). The generated venv uses --system-site-packages so it inherits that install instead of re-downloading Panda3D per project.

cd /path/to/my-game
python3 -m venv --system-site-packages .venv
source .venv/bin/activate         # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python src/main.py

Contributing

Open to PRs. The repo layout:

• panda3d_boilerplate/cli.py — the mkpanda entry point
• panda3d_boilerplate/templates/ — files copied into new projects (with {{PROJECT_NAME}} substitution)
• pyproject.toml — packaging metadata; bump version for releases

To test changes locally:

git clone https://github.com/Bebopskull/panda3d-boilerplate.git
cd panda3d-boilerplate
pipx install --force .
mkpanda /tmp/test-project "Test"

License

MIT