[somekyle]

I_like_ writing CLI apps in Python, and for various reasons haven't been subjected to the packaging woes, but I think execution latency is an important thing for CLI tools, and I've had enough Python CLI tools spend most of their time (a user-perceptible amount) loading modules that I prefer less dynamic languages for tools that aren't completely trivial.

[jen20]

It makes sense that _you_ as an author don’t think of python packaging as a problem - it’s only really inflicted upon non-developer end users of the products.

[somekyle]

Oh, I'm sure it's a problem; the reason I haven't been subjected to these problems is because I mostly deploy tools to an environment that has pre-existing build system and deployment solutions for this that I don't have to maintain.

[burnished]

Could you write a guide? Pretty please? I've had nothing but woe in this realm, and anytime one asks about this the answers usually contradict each other, or leave out significant detail. I think an article that details your workflow could be tremendously interesting for others.

[maleldil]

What problems do you have with CLI apps? In my experience, the problem is whether you're targeting developers (i.e., people that can run pip install <tool>) or end-users (those that just want to run a binary).

Python is hell for the latter. I support Windows and Linux, so I can bend pyinstaller to my will with enough effort, but I need to have a special Windows VM to "cross-compile".

For the former, though, it's a matter of creating a setup.py and telling the user to pip install the repo on GitHub. Or you can use Poetry, which makes things slightly easier.