Installer Builder

A Python package that simplifies creating Windows and macOS installers for Python applications.

Features

• Create Windows installers using InnoSetup
• Create macOS DMG installers
• Automatic code signing support
• Bundle Visual C++ runtime libraries
• Support for COM servers and Windows services
• Automatic startup registration
• Localization support
• Update archive creation

Requirements

Windows

• Python 3.8.6 or later
• py2exe
• pywin32
• InnoSetup

macOS

• py2app

Installation

pip install installer_builder

Testing

Run the tracked test suite with:

uv run pytest

CI runs the complete suite on Windows with CPython 3.8 and 3.14. The tests mock freezer, compiler and signing operations; they do not create or sign installers. Python 3.8 covers the declared minimum, and 3.14 is the latest minor supported by the current py2exe dependency. This matrix does not establish Python 3.15 support.

Build this library's wheel and source distribution without building an installer:

uv build

CI builds these packages after the tests and requires both artifacts. No lockfile is tracked, so the test command resolves the existing declared dependencies.

Basic Usage

from installer_builder import InstallerBuilder

builder = InstallerBuilder(
    main_module="your_app.py",
    name="YourApp",
    version="1.0.0",
    author="Your Name",
    author_email="your.email@example.com",
    url="https://yourapp.example.com",
)

builder.build()

Advanced Usage

from installer_builder import InstallerBuilder

builder = InstallerBuilder(
    main_module="your_app.py",
    name="YourApp",
    version="1.0.0",
    author="Your Name",
    author_email="your.email@example.com",
    url="https://yourapp.example.com",
    datafiles=[("", ["README.md", "LICENSE"])],
    includes=["module1", "module2"],
    excludes=["module3", "module4"],
    extra_packages=["package1", "package2"],
    create_update=True,
    certificate_file="path/to/certificate.pfx",
    register_startup=True,
    has_translations=True,
)

builder.build()

AppInstallerBuilder

For applications that follow a specific structure, you can use the AppInstallerBuilder:

from installer_builder import AppInstallerBuilder

class MyApp:
    name = "MyApp"
    version = "1.0.0"
    author = "Your Name"
    website = "https://myapp.example.com"
    
    # Optional attributes
    register_startup = True
    update_endpoint = "https://myapp.example.com/updates"
    
app = MyApp()

builder = AppInstallerBuilder(
    application=app,
    certificate_file="path/to/certificate.pfx",
    has_translations=True,
)

builder.build()

Integration with app_framework

The AppInstallerBuilder is designed to work seamlessly with applications built using the app_framework. It automatically handles:

• Configuration files and specs
• Internationalization and localization
• Sound output and UI sounds
• Activation and product key management
• Autoupdater integration
• Debug shell configuration

For app_framework applications, simply pass your application object:

import app_framework
from installer_builder import AppInstallerBuilder

# Your app_framework application
import application

builder = AppInstallerBuilder(
    application=application,
    certificate_file="path/to/certificate.pfx",
    has_translations=True,
)

builder.build()

The builder will automatically detect app_framework-specific attributes like:

• config_file and config_spec
• output for accessibility
• sound and UI_sounds
• update_endpoint
• activation_module
• main_window_class
• debug_port and debug_host

Code Signing

To sign your Windows executables and installer:

builder = InstallerBuilder(
    # ... other parameters
    certificate_file="path/to/certificate.pfx",
    certificate_password="your_password",  # Optional, will prompt if not provided
    extra_files_to_sign=["additional.exe", "library.dll"],
)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.