uvpacker 0.5.0

A Windows-oriented CLI packer for Python projects using uv and the Python Embedded Runtime.

uvpacker

Windows-oriented CLI packer for Python projects using uv and the CPython Embedded Runtime; run it on Linux, macOS, or Windows to produce a self-contained win_amd64 app directory (not a single-file exe).

简体中文

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Overview

uvpacker builds a directory you can zip or copy as-is. It contains:

• the official CPython Embedded Runtime for Windows (64-bit)
• your third-party dependencies installed for win_amd64
• your project package embedded into each generated launcher .exe
• launchers derived from [project.scripts] (console) and [project.gui-scripts] (no console window), as .exe when templates are available

The goal is to run on machines without a system Python, while keeping the build declarative (standard pyproject.toml) and predictable.

Repository: touken928/uvpacker

Requirements (target projects)

The project you pack must have:

Requirement	Notes
pyproject.toml	Standard layout
[project.scripts] and/or [project.gui-scripts]	At least one entry; names must not overlap between the two tables
[build-system]	Used to reproduce the build environment
project.requires-python	Must be ==X.Y.* (e.g. ==3.11.*, ==3.12.*)

uvpacker picks the latest patch for that minor that has embed-amd64 on python.org.

Output layout

Default path: dist/<project-name>/

dist/<project-name>/
  runtime/          # Windows embedded CPython
  packages/         # Third-party dependencies only (win_amd64)
  <script>.exe      # Console vs GUI template from scripts / gui-scripts

Launchers load runtime\python3.dll, patch the embedded ._pth / .pth file so ..\packages is on sys.path, and import your project package from an archive appended to the end of the .exe — no dependency on a global Python install.

Installation & usage

Recommended: run with uvx.

# Build package output (default output: ./dist/<project-name>)
uvx uvpacker build path/to/project

# Explicit output directory
uvx uvpacker build path/to/project -o path/to/output

# Cache management
uvx uvpacker cache clear

uvpacker cache clear only removes embedded Python runtime cache (~/.cache/uvpacker/embed or $XDG_CACHE_HOME/uvpacker/embed); dependency-package cache is managed by uv.

Note: Tested with uv 0.11.x. Newer uv releases may change CLI behavior; report or pin versions if something breaks.

Packing pipeline

1. Read and validate pyproject.toml (scripts, gui-scripts, build-system, requires-python)
2. Resolve Python version and obtain python-<version>-embed-amd64.zip (downloaded once, then cached under ~/.cache/uvpacker/embed, or $XDG_CACHE_HOME/uvpacker/embed if set)
3. Build a wheel for the target project
4. uv pip install into packages/ with --python-platform x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
5. Remove host-style script shims from packages/bin / packages/Scripts
6. Patch embedded runtime _pth to include ..\packages
7. For your package tree: compile .py → .pyc with the target minor via uv run, then remove .py (light obfuscation; not encryption)
8. Bundle your project package into an in-memory zip archive, append it to each generated launcher .exe, and remove the duplicated project package / project .dist-info from packages/
9. Generate .exe launchers (console.exe / gui.exe templates, or skip if missing)

Cross-platform builds

Dependency resolution targets win_amd64, so you can pack from a non-Windows host when:

• the project is pure Python, or
• any native extensions are already buildable as Windows wheels

uvpacker does not cross-compile your own C extensions; use Windows for those projects.

If your project package itself contains native binaries such as .pyd / .dll, the current in-memory embedding mode is not supported and the build will fail. Third-party native dependencies can still remain in packages/.

Examples

Path	What it shows
example/web-demo	FastAPI + importlib.resources for static assets
example/qt-demo	PySide6 GUI via generated launcher

Notes

• Your project package is imported from inside each launcher .exe, not from packages/.
• packages/ is reserved for third-party dependencies needed at runtime.
• The project's own .dist-info metadata is removed from packages/ after embedding.
• Resource access via importlib.resources is supported for embedded project files.

License

GNU General Public License v3.0 — see LICENSE.