{"id":182087,"date":"2024-03-13T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/?p=182087"},"modified":"2026-02-06T08:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:25:34","slug":"cx-freeze-compile-and-distribute-your-python-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/cx-freeze-compile-and-distribute-your-python-program","title":{"rendered":"Cx Freeze: compile and distribute your Python program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}

Cx Freeze is a Python program that transforms a script into a stand-alone executable on Linux, MacOS or Windows. Making a program executable, i.e. compiling the code, is important for easy distribution.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\n\t\t

Cx Freeze<\/strong> is the program that compiles the Python script and all its dependencies into an executable file.<\/p>

So how does Cx Freeze work?<\/em><\/p>

Why use it?<\/em><\/p>

How do you install and use it?<\/em><\/p>

Answers to your questions in this article.<\/p>\t\t\n\t\t\t

How does Cx Freeze work?<\/h3>\t\t\n\t\t

A Python script<\/strong> depends on several modules. It needs the libraries and files of the Python system. Cx Freeze analyzes the script’s dependencies to create a stand-alone executable.<\/p>

The name Cx Freeze<\/strong> is used because this program “freezes” the Python script<\/a> and its dependencies in an executable file.<\/p>

The program analyzes the dependencies to identify the imported Python modules, resources and external libraries required to run the file.<\/p>

It then creates a virtual environment in which to copy the necessary files and modules.<\/p>

Finally, Cx Freeze<\/strong> creates the stand-alone executable: no external Python installation is required.<\/p>

 <\/p>

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Matplotlib: Master Data Visualization in Python <\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Python Crash Course: Get started <\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Mastering Machine Learning in Python: Data-Driven Success <\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Python Programming for Beginners – Episode 3<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
Django: All about the Python web development framework<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\t\t\n\t\t\t

Why use it?<\/h3>\t\t\n\t\t

The Python program cx_Freeze<\/strong> offers several advantages (it exists for a reason!). Need to share a Python script? Your colleague or partner may find it tedious to install Python and all its dependencies.<\/p>

The cx_Freeze program<\/strong> allows you to bypass this installation thanks to a single executable file that’s easy to distribute.<\/p>

Another strong point is the confidentiality of the Python script.<\/strong> You don’t need to disclose the source code: by creating an executable, you simply share the file rather than your code.<\/p>

Finally, cx_Freeze<\/strong> is easy for developers to use. Although you’ll need to test the executable to make sure it’s working properly, creating it is quick and intuitive.<\/p>\t\t\n\t\t\t\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=”.svg”]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\n
Learn how to use cx_Freeze<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t

How do I install and use Cx Freeze?<\/h3>\t\t\n\t\t

You can install the latest version of cx_Freeze using the pip command:<\/strong><\/p>

pip install --upgrade cx_Freeze<\/pre>
Some operating systems may require you to use Python3 and pip3<\/strong> rather than other versions.<\/p>
You can also use the pipenv command to install and update cx_Freeze :<\/p>
pipenv install cx_Freeze
pipenv update cx_Freeze<\/pre>
If you’re using Anaconda, it’s best to install cx_Freeze via the conda command:<\/p>
conda install -c conda-forge cx_freeze<\/pre>
Once cx_Freeze<\/strong> has been installed, we need to create a python file to compile the program: we’ll call it setup.py. The code is as follows (modify the parameters if you wish to customize the executable):<\/p>
import sys<\/strong>
from cx_Freeze import setup, Executable<\/strong><\/p>
# Dependencies are automatically detected, but may need to be adjusted.
build_exe_options = {
“excludes”: [“tkinter”, “unittest”],
“zip_include_packages”: [“encodings”, “PySide6”],
}<\/p>
# base=”Win32GUI” should only be used with the Windows GUI app 
base = “Win32GUI” if sys.platform == “win32” else None<\/p>
setup(
name=”guifoo”,
version=”0.1″,
description=”My GUI application!”,
options={“build_exe”: build_exe_options},
executables=[Executable(“guifoo.py”, base=base)],
)<\/p>
Replace “guifoo”<\/strong> and “guifoo.py”<\/strong> with the file you wish to transform.<\/p>
Next, run the command:<\/p>
python setup.py build<\/pre>
This command will create a subfolder called “build” with another subfolder beginning with the letters “exe.” and ending with the identification of the platform or your version of Python.<\/strong> This allows multiple platforms to be created without problems.<\/p>\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t
Cx_Freeze: the Python program in a nutshell<\/h3>\t\t\n\t\t
The cx_Freeze program<\/strong> is a great asset for developers: it compiles code and makes it executable on its own. The program identifies the modules required to execute the file and copies them into a virtual environment.<\/p>
Cx_Freeze<\/strong> offers simplified distribution, unrivalled portability and source code confidentiality. To install and use Cx_Freeze, simply follow the user guide above.<\/p>\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
Start a Data training<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px} Cx Freeze is a Python program that transforms a script into a stand-alone executable on Linux, MacOS or Windows. Making a program executable, i.e. compiling the code, is important for easy distribution. Cx Freeze is the program that compiles the Python script and all its dependencies into an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":182090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2434],"class_list":["post-182087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cloud-dev"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205999,"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182087\/revisions\/205999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liora.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}