How do I make a python script executable?

Question

How can I run a python script with my own command line name like 'myscript' without having to do 'python myscript.py' in the terminal?

See also: [python - setup.py and adding file to /bin/ - Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4840182/setup-py-and-adding-file-to-bin/35896132#35896132) for detailed instruction on the setuptools `console_scripts` method. — user202729, Dec 06 '21 at 06:31

score 118 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 15 '14 at 23:13

118

Add a shebang line to the top of the script:

#!/usr/bin/env python
Mark the script as executable:

chmod +x myscript.py
Add the dir containing it to your PATH variable. (If you want it to stick, you'll have to do this in .bashrc or .bash_profile in your home dir.)

export PATH=/path/to/script:$PATH

answered Dec 15 '14 at 23:13

tzaman

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still cant run by my name 'square': -bash: /usr/bin/square: No such file or directory – ctrlz Dec 15 '14 at 23:23
My program is called square and i have exported the dir in PATH – ctrlz Dec 15 '14 at 23:23
2

@bingo14 What is the output of `echo $PATH`? And the absolute path to your script? – Ismail Badawi Dec 15 '14 at 23:29
It is: /usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/opt/X11/bin:/usr/local/git/bin:/Development/adt-bundle/sdk/platform-tools:/Development/adt-bundle/sdk/tools – ctrlz Dec 16 '14 at 20:51
And where does your script reside? – tzaman Dec 16 '14 at 21:27
2

So that needs to be added to your path, like I showed in point 3 in my answer. – tzaman Dec 16 '14 at 22:12
Doesn't work for scripts that have dependencies our other scripts + resources they require. – Destaq Jul 09 '20 at 10:09

merrydeath · Answer 2 · 2018-05-23T11:57:28.103

73

The best way, which is cross-platform, is to create setup.py, define an entry point in it and install with pip.

Say you have the following contents of myscript.py:

def run():
    print('Hello world')

Then you add setup.py with the following:

from setuptools import setup
setup(
    name='myscript',
    version='0.0.1',
    entry_points={
        'console_scripts': [
            'myscript=myscript:run'
        ]
    }
)

Entry point format is terminal_command_name=python_script_name:main_method_name

Finally install with the following command.

pip install -e /path/to/script/folder

-e stands for editable, meaning you'll be able to work on the script and invoke the latest version without need to reinstall

After that you can run myscript from any directory.

edited May 23 '18 at 11:57

answered May 22 '18 at 13:01

merrydeath

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Is it possible to call entry points like `myscript update` or only `myscript_update` – Nikita Prokaiev Aug 14 '21 at 20:04
1

@NikitaProkaiev In `myscript update`, `update` is a command line argument to the script -- the same as if you ran `python myscript.py update`. It would have no effect unless you wrote code in your script to handle command line arguments. You could define another entry in `console_scripts` like `myscript_update=myscript:update` to call, in this case, a function called `update`. – cosmicFluke Sep 13 '21 at 20:19

score 10 · Answer 3 · edited May 22 '18 at 12:56

10

I usually do in the script:

#!/usr/bin/python
... code ...

And in terminal:

$: chmod 755 yourfile.py
$: ./yourfile.py

permission table

edited May 22 '18 at 12:56

anothernode

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answered May 22 '18 at 12:34

dAn

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avoid hardcoding path to python, prefer ``/usr/bin/env python`` – Thomas Decaux Oct 02 '19 at 14:30

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 29 '21 at 13:59

Another related solution which some people may be interested in. One can also directly embed the contents of myscript.py into your .bashrc file on Linux (should also work for MacOS I think)

For example, I have the following function defined in my .bashrc for dumping Python pickles to the terminal, note that the ${1} is the first argument following the function name:

depickle() {
python << EOPYTHON
import pickle
f = open('${1}', 'rb')
while True:
   try:
      print(pickle.load(f))
   except EOFError:
      break
EOPYTHON
}

With this in place (and after reloading .bashrc), I can now run depickle a.pickle from any terminal or directory on my computer.

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 28 '21 at 16:09

The simplest way that comes to my mind is to use "pyinstaller".

create an environment that contains all the lib you have used in your code.
activate the environment and in the command window write pip install pyinstaller
Use the command window to open the main directory that codes maincode.py is located.
remember to keep the environment active and write pyinstaller maincode.py
Check the folder named "build" and you will find the executable file.

I hope that this solution helps you. GL

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 30 '21 at 08:57

I've struggled for a few days with the problem of not finding the command py -3 or any other related to pylauncher command if script was running by service created using Nssm tool.
But same commands worked when run directly from cmd.
What was the solution? Just to re-run Python installer and at the very end click the option to disable path length limit.
I'll just leave it here, so that anyone can use this answer and find it helpful.

How do I make a python script executable?

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