pyenv/plugins/python-build

python-build

python-build is a pyenv plugin that provides a pyenv install command to compile and install different versions of Python on UNIX-like systems.

You can also use python-build without pyenv in environments where you need precise control over Python version installation.

Installation

Installing as an pyenv plugin (recommended)

You need nothing to do since python-build is bundled with pyenv by default.

Installing as a standalone program (advanced)

Installing python-build as a standalone program will give you access to the python-build command for precise control over Python version installation. If you have pyenv installed, you will also be able to use the pyenv install command.

git clone git://github.com/yyuu/pyenv.git
cd pyenv/plugins/python-build
./install.sh

This will install python-build into /usr/local. If you do not have write permission to /usr/local, you will need to run sudo ./install.sh instead. You can install to a different prefix by setting the PREFIX environment variable.

To update python-build after it has been installed, run git pull in your cloned copy of the repository, then re-run the install script.

Usage

Using pyenv install with pyenv

To install a Python version for use with pyenv, run pyenv install with the exact name of the version you want to install. For example,

pyenv install 2.7.4

Python versions will be installed into a directory of the same name under ~/.pyenv/versions.

To see a list of all available Python versions, run pyenv install --list. You may also tab-complete available Python versions if your pyenv installation is properly configured.

Using python-build standalone

If you have installed python-build as a standalone program, you can use the python-build command to compile and install Python versions into specific locations.

Run the python-build command with the exact name of the version you want to install and the full path where you want to install it. For example,

python-build 2.7.4 ~/local/python-2.7.4

To see a list of all available Python versions, run python-build --definitions.

Pass the -v or --verbose flag to python-build as the first argument to see what's happening under the hood.

Custom definitions

Both pyenv install and python-build accept a path to a custom definition file in place of a version name. Custom definitions let you develop and install versions of Python that are not yet supported by python-build.

See the python-build built-in definitions as a starting point for custom definition files.

Special environment variables

You can set certain environment variables to control the build process.

• TMPDIR sets the location where python-build stores temporary files.
• PYTHON_BUILD_BUILD_PATH sets the location in which sources are downloaded and built. By default, this is a subdirectory of TMPDIR.
• PYTHON_BUILD_CACHE_PATH, if set, specifies a directory to use for caching downloaded package files.
• PYTHON_BUILD_MIRROR_URL overrides the default mirror URL root to one of your choosing.
• PYTHON_BUILD_SKIP_MIRROR, if set, forces python-build to download packages from their original source URLs instead of using a mirror.
• CC sets the path to the C compiler.
• CONFIGURE_OPTS lets you pass additional options to ./configure.
• MAKE lets you override the command to use for make. Useful for specifying GNU make (gmake) on some systems.
• MAKE_OPTS (or MAKEOPTS) lets you pass additional options to make.
• PYTHON_CONFIGURE_OPTS and PYTHON_MAKE_OPTS allow you to specify configure and make options for buildling CPython. These variables will be passed to Python only, not any dependent packages (e.g. libyaml).

Checksum verification

If you have the md5, openssl, or md5sum tool installed, python-build will automatically verify the MD5 checksum of each downloaded package before installing it.

Checksums are optional and specified as anchors on the package URL in each definition. (All bundled definitions include checksums.)

Package download mirrors

python-build will first attempt to download package files from a mirror hosted on Amazon CloudFront. If a package is not available on the mirror, if the mirror is down, or if the download is corrupt, python-build will fall back to the official URL specified in the defintion file.

You can point python-build to another mirror by specifying the PYTHON_BUILD_MIRROR_URL environment variable--useful if you'd like to run your own local mirror, for example. Package mirror URLs are constructed by joining this variable with the MD5 checksum of the package file.

If you don't have an MD5 program installed, python-build will skip the download mirror and use official URLs instead. You can force python-build to bypass the mirror by setting the PYTHON_BUILD_SKIP_MIRROR environment variable.

Package download caching

You can instruct python-build to keep a local cache of downloaded package files by setting the PYTHON_BUILD_CACHE_PATH environment variable. When set, package files will be kept in this directory after the first successful download and reused by subsequent invocations of python-build and pyenv install.

The pyenv install command defaults this path to ~/.pyenv/cache, so in most cases you can enable download caching simply by creating that directory.

Keeping the build directory after installation

Both python-build and pyenv install accept the -k or --keep flag, which tells python-build to keep the downloaded source after installation. This can be useful if you need to use gdb and memprof with Python.

Source code will be kept in a parallel directory tree ~/.pyenv/sources when using --keep with the pyenv install command. You should specify the location of the source code with the PYTHON_BUILD_BUILD_PATH environment variable when using --keep with python-build.

Getting Help

Please see the python-build wiki for solutions to common problems.

If you can't find an answer on the wiki, open an issue on the issue tracker. Be sure to include the full build log for build failures.

License

(The MIT License)

• Copyright (c) 2013 Yamashita, Yuu
• Copyright (c) 2012 Sam Stephenson

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.