sidetool 0.4.8

Python Automation tool for building PySide6 UI and PyInstaller EXE.

🛠️ sidetool

sidetool is a command-line utility and helper module that simplifies execution and building PySide6 Python 3.7+ applications into executables using PyInstaller 5.8.0.

It's especially useful for GUI projects that need embedded resources (e.g., .ui, .qrc) and aim to produce portable .exe builds with minimal setup.

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❤️ Why Use sidetool?

If you build windows desktop apps using PySide6 or PyQt, sidetool:

• Saves time when converting .ui and .qrc files
• Simplifies PyInstaller builds
• Packages your application with minimal commands
• Automates repetitive tasks like building and cleanup
• Integrates easily with .bat scripts or shell commands
• Is great for both beginners and advanced developers using PySide6

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🔧 Commands

1. run

Executes the Python program after recursively builds all .ui and .qrc files in the current directory and subdirectories using pyside6-uic.exe and pyside6-rcc.exe. Then run python source code.

Note: it will ONLY rebuild pyside components that are out of date, so that execution is fast as possible, yet always includes any changes. FYI: python program is run with pythonw.exe so that the terminal window does not appear.

usage: sidetool-run [-h] file

positional parameters:
  file        python file to run

parameters:
  -h, --help  show this help message and exit

2. clean

Removes temporary files and build artifacts, including:

• __pycache__ folders
• *_ui.py, *_rc.py, *.pyc, *.pyo
• PyInstaller build/ and dist/ folders
• .spec files in the current directory

Run it like this:

sidetool-clean

3. compile

Builds your python app into an executable using PyInstaller.

• Compiles .ui and .qrc and image resources
• Generates a PyInstaller .spec file
• Runs PyInstaller with the provided options

usage: sidetool-compile [-h] --file FILE --type {onefile,onedir,console} [--icon="myicon.ico"] [--embed="sqlite3.dll"]

parameters:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  --file FILE           python file to compile to exe
  --type {onefile,onedir,console}
                        type of exe to build
  --icon ICON           ico file
  --embed EMBED         comma delimited list of files to embed

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✨ Features

• 💡 Simple command-line interface for .bat or .sh workflows
• 🔄 Converts all .ui and .qrc files recursively
• 🧹 Cleans up Python build artifacts
• 📦 Packages apps using PyInstaller
• 🛠️ Supports custom .ico icons
• 📎 Supports optional resource embedding

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📦 Requirements

• 🐍 Python 3.7+
• 🪟 PySide6
• 📦 PyInstaller 5.8

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📥 Installation

Install sidetool helper from PyPI with following command:

pip install sidetool

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📝 License

MIT License
© 2025 Alan Lilly