MoleditPy Installer

This package is a helper utility that automatically installs the correct version of moleditpy or moleditpy-linux for your OS, creates an application menu shortcut, and registers file associations (Windows and macOS).

How to Use

1. Install

   pip install moleditpy-installer
   

   This will automatically install the correct moleditpy package (for Windows/macOS) or moleditpy-linux (for Linux) as a dependency.

2. Run the interactive installer (TUI) Run the following command in your terminal. In an interactive terminal this opens a TUI where you pick the components — Desktop shortcut, application-menu entry, .pmeprj file association — and the scope (per-user or system-wide), then press Install:

   moleditpy-installer
   

   Defaults: Desktop shortcut off, application menu on, file association on, per-user scope.

   Non-interactive / scripted use (also what runs automatically when there is no terminal):

   moleditpy-installer --no-tui                 # install with the defaults
   moleditpy-installer --desktop                # also create a Desktop shortcut
   moleditpy-installer --no-file-assoc          # skip the .pmeprj association
   sudo moleditpy-installer --system            # system-wide (admin terminal on Windows)
   

   Any explicit option skips the TUI.

   Security Note: File associations for .pmeraw files have been intentionally removed. Opening .pmeraw files downloaded from the internet can be potentially unsecure, so they are no longer automatically associated with the application.

   moleditpy-installer
   

   You can also invoke it as a Python module (use an underscore, not a hyphen):

   python -m moleditpy_installer
   

   Note: python -m moleditpy-installer (with a hyphen) is invalid Python syntax and will not work. Always use the underscore form (moleditpy_installer) with -m.

   Tip: Run the installer from the Python environment where moleditpy is installed (e.g. after conda activate <env>). The installer verifies the launch command and warns you if the pairing cannot start MoleditPy.

3. Uninstall To remove the shortcuts, unregister file associations, and clean up extracted icon files, run (add --system for a system-wide install; --remove remains as a deprecated alias):

   moleditpy-installer --uninstall
   # or
   python -m moleditpy_installer --uninstall
   

4. Check Executable Location To search for the moleditpy executable in the search paths and print the located path:

   moleditpy-installer --check
   

   This command returns exit code 0 if the executable is found, and 1 otherwise. On macOS it additionally verifies that the launcher's interpreter/script pairing can actually start MoleditPy.

   For the complete list of directories scanned on Windows, macOS, and Linux, see docs/path.md.

5. Print Version To show the version of the installer:

   moleditpy-installer --version
   

6. Help To see all available options, run:

   moleditpy-installer --help
   

What the installer sets up

Windows

• Start Menu shortcut (icon included); Desktop shortcut when enabled (--desktop or the TUI checkbox). With --system (admin) the shortcuts go to the all-users locations and the association to HKLM.
• .pmeprj files open MoleditPy on double-click (per-user registry, no admin rights needed).
• Icons are stored under %LOCALAPPDATA%\MoleditPy\installer so they survive temp-folder cleanup.

macOS

• A MoleditPy.app launcher in ~/Applications (or /Applications with --system), plus a Desktop copy when enabled, with the MoleditPy icon.
• The launcher pairs the moleditpy script with the Python interpreter of its own environment (detected from the adjacent interpreter or the script's shebang), so it keeps working even when the installer runs from a different environment.
• MoleditPy always opens inside a Terminal window, so Python output and any errors stay visible. The first launch shows a one-time macOS consent prompt ("MoleditPy wants access to control Terminal") — click OK.
• Double-clicking .pmeprj files opens MoleditPy: the app bundle declares the com.moleditpy.pmeprj document type (exported UTI) and is registered with Launch Services. .pmeprj documents get their own file icon, matching the Windows behavior.
• The bundle is ad-hoc code-signed after configuration; required on Apple Silicon.

Linux

• Application-menu .desktop entry (icon included; Desktop copy when enabled), launched in a terminal so output stays visible (matching macOS). With --system the entry goes to /usr/share/applications.
• .pmeprj files open MoleditPy on double-click: a per-user application/x-moleditpy-project MIME type is registered (freedesktop shared-mime-info, no root needed) and set as the default handler.
• .pmeprj documents get their own file icon in file managers, matching Windows and macOS.

moleditpy-installer --uninstall undoes all of the above for the current user (add --system for system-wide installs).

Version 3.0 highlights

• New: interactive Textual TUI — pick components and scope, watch the log, press Install/Remove.
• New: component selection (--desktop, --app-menu, --file-assoc) with safer defaults (no Desktop shortcut unless requested).
• New: system-wide scope on Linux (/usr/share), macOS (/Applications), and Windows (HKLM + all-users Start Menu; admin terminal) — all requiring sudo/admin.
• Per-user Linux paths now honor XDG_DATA_HOME.
• End-to-end smoke tests on all three OSes in CI, including the sudo/system path.

Version 2.0 highlights

• Fixed: silent launch failures on macOS caused by an invalidated app-bundle code signature (Apple Silicon refused to start the app and ignored its icon).
• Fixed: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'moleditpy' when the installer ran in a different Python environment than the one holding moleditpy — the launcher now uses the script's own interpreter and the command is verified at install time.
• New: MoleditPy launches in a visible Terminal window on macOS.
• New: .pmeprj double-click support on macOS via a proper exported UTI + Launch Services registration.
• New: .pmeprj double-click support and document icon on Linux (per-user MIME registration).
• New: --check verifies launchability on macOS; --remove also unregisters the bundle from Launch Services and removes extracted icons.
• Icons no longer live in the temp folder (Windows shortcut/registry icons no longer break after cleanup).