Buildozer

Buildozer is a development tool for turning Python applications into binary packages ready for installation on any of a number of platforms, including mobile devices.

The app developer provides a single "buildozer.spec" file, which describes the application's requirements and settings, such as title and icons. Buildozer can then create installable packages for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and/or Linux.

Buildozer is managed by the Kivy Team. It relies on its sibling projects: python-for-android and Kivy for iOS. It has features to make building apps using the Kivy framework easier, but it can be used independently - even with other GUI frameworks.

For Android, buildozer will automatically download and prepare the build dependencies. For more information, see Android SDK NDK Information.

Note

This tool is unrelated to the online build service, buildozer.io.

Installation

Buildozer

Installing Buildozer with target Python 3 (default):

Buildozer incorporates a number of technologies, and has a complicated dependencies, including platform dependencies outside of Python.

This means installation is more than a simple pip install; many of our support requests are related to missing dependencies.

So, it is important to follow the instructions carefully.

Please see the Installation documentation specific to this version.

Buildozer Docker image

A Dockerfile is available to use buildozer through a Docker environment.

Build with:

docker build --tag=kivy/buildozer .

For macOS, build with:

docker buildx build --platform=linux/amd64 -t kivy/buildozer .

Run with:

docker run --volume "$(pwd)":/home/user/hostcwd kivy/buildozer --version

Warning

DockerHub contains an obsolete Docker image for Buildozer. It is deprecated. Build your own.

Example Build with Caching

Build and keep downloaded SDK and NDK in ~/.buildozer directory:

docker run -v $HOME/.buildozer:/home/user/.buildozer -v $(pwd):/home/user/hostcwd kivy/buildozer android debug

Buildozer GitHub action

Use ArtemSBulgakov/buildozer-action@v1 to build your packages automatically on push or pull request. See full workflow example.

Warning

This GitHub action may use an obsolete version of Buildozer; use with caution.

Usage

Usage:
    buildozer [--profile <name>] [--verbose] [target] <command>...
    buildozer --version

Available targets:
    android        Android target, based on python-for-android project
    ios            iOS target, based on kivy-ios project

Global commands (without target):
    distclean          Clean the whole Buildozer environment
    help               Show the Buildozer help
    init               Create an initial buildozer.spec in the current directory
    serve              Serve the bin directory via SimpleHTTPServer
    setdefault         Set the default command to run when no arguments are given
    version            Show the Buildozer version

Target commands:
    clean      Clean the target environment
    update     Update the target dependencies
    debug      Build the application in debug mode
    release    Build the application in release mode
    deploy     Deploy the application on the device
    run        Run the application on the device
    serve      Serve the bin directory via SimpleHTTPServer

Target "ios" commands:
    list_identities    List the available identities to use for signing.
    xcode              Open the xcode project.

Target "android" commands:
    adb                Run adb from the Android SDK. Args must come after --, or
                        use --alias to make an alias
    logcat             Show the log from the device
    p4a                Run p4a commands. Args must come after --, or use --alias
                        to make an alias

Examples of Buildozer commands

# buildozer target command
buildozer android clean
buildozer android update
buildozer android deploy
buildozer android debug
buildozer android release

# or all in one (compile in debug, deploy on device)
buildozer android debug deploy

# set the default command if nothing set
buildozer setdefault android debug deploy run

`buildozer.spec`

Run buildozer init to have a new buildozer.spec file copied into the current working directory. Edit it before running your first build.

See buildozer/default.spec for the template.

Default config

You can override the value of any buildozer.spec config token by setting an appropriate environment variable. These are all of the form $SECTION_TOKEN, where SECTION is the config file section and TOKEN is the config token to override. Dots are replaced by underscores.

For example, here are some config tokens from the [app] section of the config, along with the environment variables that would override them.

title -> $APP_TITLE
package.name -> $APP_PACKAGE_NAME
p4a.source_dir -> $APP_P4A_SOURCE_DIR

License

Buildozer is MIT licensed, actively developed by a great community and is supported by many projects managed by the Kivy Organization.

Documentation

Documentation for this repository.

Support

Are you having trouble using Buildozer or any of its related projects in the Kivy ecosystem? Is there an error you don’t understand? Are you trying to figure out how to use it? We have volunteers who can help!

The best channels to contact us for support are listed in the latest Contact Us document.

Contributing

Buildozer is part of the Kivy ecosystem - a large group of products used by many thousands of developers for free, but it is built entirely by the contributions of volunteers. We welcome (and rely on) users who want to give back to the community by contributing to the project.

Contributions can come in many forms. See the latest Contribution Guidelines for how you can help us.

Code of Conduct

In the interest of fostering an open and welcoming community, we as contributors and maintainers need to ensure participation in our project and our sister projects is a harassment-free and positive experience for everyone. It is vital that all interaction is conducted in a manner conveying respect, open-mindedness and gratitude.

Please consult the latest Code of Conduct.