What’s the correct process to install and run a .py application and its dependencies? Where should I save the .py file, where should I run it from, and can it interfere with the rest of my system?

Often there is an application/script I’d like to use and it is provided as a .py file download, along with a list of other applications/scripts that need to be installed separately for it to work. Often not all of these dependencies are available in my distro’s repository. There seems to be an assumption of prior knowledge as to how to get set up to run .py files, and it is therefore not documented on developers pages. Can anyone fill me in?

I’d like to install this application. Perhaps it could be used as an example to help explain the process.

My distro is Debian 13, in case that’s relevant.

Thanks!

  • doodoo_wizard@lemmy.ml
    4·
    9 hours ago

    Yeah, a python venv has two parts, one part is just a bunch of copies of some basic python shit that you know you’re gonna need, that’s honestly 99% of what you want when you do a venv and need to install a million stupid piles of crap by copy pasting a pip one liner into your shell.

    You use this part by just invoking your python3 or pip command inside the venv folder. So ~./<venv_location>/pip install <joes_dumb_crap> or something.

    The other one percent is actually invoking the venv which is a really important one percent in terms of not being a guy who plays fast and loose with his systems security and privacy when messing around with totally trustworthy python stuff. It’s only one percent because tbh no one is that guy they’re all the “do whatever just make it run” guy.

    So you could have a script file called rectarg in your local path folder that invokes rectarg.py using the python3 executable inside your venv folder and passes whatever you type after “rectarg” straight to rectarg.py.