How do I make a custom system command out of my Python program?

Question

If I have a command-line program written in Python (specifically using docopt which uses argparse I think), and I want to run it as my-program command1 args instead of python my-program.py command1 args, what do I have to do? For now, this is for Debian-based OS (e.g Ubuntu).

I normally make my module a package so I already have setup.py but that doesn't grant me a free command.

Thanks!

EDIT

@pyrospade gave a very good link below. I am going to share my result.

Suppose we have

top-level-directory
    setup.py
    package/
         __init__.py
         cli.py

You can use scripts=['package/cli.py'] if you want to access cli.py in the shell.

If you want to run as my-cli, you can use

entry_points={
    'console_scripts':
        ['my-cli=package.cli:main']
}

Since I use docopt, I have this

def dispatcher(...)
def fun1(....)


def main():    
    arguments = docopt(COMMAND, version="xxxx")
    dispatcher(arguments)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

You can even put it under __init__.py by saying ['my-cli=package:main'] but again, you need a function called main(). But you can name it whatever you want. Just saying.

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 22 '14 at 04:26

2

Make sure your program has a shebang line at the top:

#!/usr/bin/python

Make the file executable:

chmod a+x my-program.py

Make a link with the desired command name:

ln -s my-program.py /usr/local/bin/my-program

edited May 22 '14 at 04:26

bignose

30,281
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answered Feb 19 '13 at 05:36

pyrospade

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Hi. Thanks Okay, so you make it executable, now how do you run it anywhere within your system? – CppLearner Feb 19 '13 at 05:39
Updated the answer...just symlink to your path – pyrospade Feb 19 '13 at 05:41
hmm that sounds about right to me now. :/ didn't remember this. Thanks a lot. – CppLearner Feb 19 '13 at 05:42
So do we always do this in our install script? Can we leave this to something like, say, PIP installer? I don't think it has the functionality to do what I wish it could do. – CppLearner Feb 19 '13 at 05:43
You'll want to add a bash script to handle this. See this question - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/874521/python-install-script-to-system – pyrospade Feb 19 '13 at 05:47
Great. Just finished it. I shared my current usage in my edit. Thanks a lot. – CppLearner Feb 19 '13 at 06:54

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 19 '13 at 05:37

0

Add the shebang (#!) and make it executable.

#! /usr/bin/python

Have a look here for more info.

answered Feb 19 '13 at 05:37

ebarrenechea

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How do I make a custom system command out of my Python program?

2 Answers2