https://github.com/bwoodsend/polycotylus

Convert Python packages/applications to native Linux distribution packages.
https://github.com/bwoodsend/polycotylus

alpine archlinux debian fedora linux manjaro packaging python voidlinux

Last synced: 24 days ago
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Convert Python packages/applications to native Linux distribution packages.

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/bwoodsend/polycotylus
• Owner: bwoodsend
• License: mit
• Created: 2022-09-03T14:32:33.000Z (over 3 years ago)
• Default Branch: main
• Last Pushed: 2025-03-28T00:27:34.000Z (10 months ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-03-28T01:27:27.202Z (10 months ago)
• Topics: alpine, archlinux, debian, fedora, linux, manjaro, packaging, python, voidlinux
• Language: Python
• Homepage:
• Size: 1.82 MB
• Stars: 1
• Watchers: 2
• Forks: 0
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.rst
  • License: LICENSE

Awesome Lists containing this project

README

          
=======================

Welcome to polycotylus!

=======================

∘

`MIT license `_

∘

P̶y̶P̶I

∘

D̶o̶c̶u̶m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n

∘

`Source code `_

∘

`Bug reports `_

Polycotylus converts Python packages into native Linux distribution packages

such as RPMs, DEBs or APKs.

Polycotylus builds on each target Linux distribution, dodging the usual Linux

nightmare that is ABI compatibility, using each distribution's native packaging

system. It uses Docker to virtualize each Linux distribution and Qemu to

virtualize almost any architecture meaning that you can build for any supported

distribution or architecture from a single machine. You can even build on

Windows or macOS. You can build apps for Linux phones: running ``polycotylus

manjaro --architecture aarch64`` will build an app installable on a phone

running Manjaro or ``polycotylus alpine --architecture aarch64`` will build a

`postmarketOS `_ compatible app.

Unlike PyInstaller, Flatpaks or Snaps, polycotylus does not bundle dependencies

into one fat package – instead, dependencies (including Python itself) are

declared as such in the package's metadata where the end user's system package

manager will see and act upon them. This makes the packages tiny, updates

modular and propagation of security patches for vulnerabilities in your

dependencies no longer your problem. Complex system dependencies such as

GStreamer or GTK can be declared in addition to PyPI packages turning them from

packaging nightmares into *just another dependency*. This approach also solves

the standard UNIX question of *should I include libXYZ in my package* to which

the answers *yes* and *no* are often simultaneously wrong.

Polycotylus doesn't just dump code into an archive and hope for the best – it

verifies it as well. Packages are installed into a clean, minimal Docker

container in which it then runs your test suite. It should be almost impossible

to forget a dependency or miss a data file without polycotylus letting you know.

For GUI applications, using a system package manager also allows you to add

*desktop integration*. You can register your application so that launch menus

(e.g. Gnome's App tiles) and file browsers know that your application exists,

have icons and descriptions, and are aware of their supported file types.

Supported distributions

.......................

Polycotylus is limited by a hard constraint in that it can not support any

target Linux distribution that does not provide ``setuptools>=61.0`` in its

official package repositories. This unfortunately rules out most of the

*stable*/long term support distributions including all stable branches of Debian

except 13, Ubuntu <23.04, SLES, OpenSUSE Leap and all of the RedHat/CentOS-like

distributions par Fedora.

=============  ===========================================

Distributions  Supported versions

=============  ===========================================

Alpine_        3.17-3.23, edge

Arch_          rolling

Debian_        13, 14 (prerelease)

Fedora_        37-43, 44 (rawhide)

Manjaro_       rolling

O̶p̶e̶n̶S̶U̶S̶E       Redacted

Ubuntu_        24.04-25.10, 26.04 (prerelease)

Void_          rolling

=============  ===========================================

.. _Alpine: https://alpinelinux.org/

.. _Arch: https://archlinux.org/

.. _Debian: https://www.debian.org/

.. _Fedora: https://fedoraproject.org/

.. _Manjaro: https://manjaro.org/

.. _Ubuntu: https://ubuntu.com/

.. _Void: https://voidlinux.org/

Development status

..................

This project is missing some key functionality that I'd consider it needs before

going on PyPI. To use this project as it is right now, install ``polycotylus``

from version control (instructions below). It does have (what I like to think of

as comprehensive) documentation but it needs to be built from source too:

.. code-block:: bash

    git clone git@github.com:bwoodsend/polycotylus

    cd polycotylus

    # Maybe create and activate a virtual environment

    pip install -e .

    pip install -r docs/requirements.txt

    cd docs

    make html

    xdg-open build/html/index.html

In terms of feature completeness:

* The biggest gaping feature gap is polycotylus's requirement that all

  dependencies are already available on each target distribution's repositories.

  If your application is made up of multiple custom packages or depends on an

  unavailable 3rd party package then polycotylus is useless to you. The plan is

  to facilitate making personal package repositories, where builds for packages

  can depend on other packages in the personal repository. Or possibly it's just

  to create a ``polycotylus --inlcude-project=../other-project`` flag – I'm not

  sure I like either option...

Other, less significant but more achievable things I'd like to do:

* Custom MIME Type support (i.e. declaring a new made-up file suffix and its

  association with an application).

* See if I can get hardware related functionality (audio, USB) to work with

  Docker.

That said, if you don't need any of the above then polycotylus should work for

you.