Provided by: nuitka_1.3.5+ds-1_all 
NAME
nuitka - the Python compiler
SYNOPSIS
nuitka [--module] [--run] [options] main_module.py
OPTIONS
--help show this help message and exit
--version
Show version information and important details for bug reports, then exit. Defaults to off.
--module
Create an extension module executable instead of a program. Defaults to off.
--standalone
Enable standalone mode for output. This allows you to transfer the created binary to other
machines without it using an existing Python installation. This also means it will become big. It
implies these option: "--follow-imports" and "--python-flag=no_site". Defaults to off.
--onefile
On top of standalone mode, enable onefile mode. This means not a folder, but a compressed
executable is created and used. Defaults to off.
--python-debug
Use debug version or not. Default uses what you are using to run Nuitka, most likely a non-debug
version.
--python-flag=FLAG
Python flags to use. Default is what you are using to run Nuitka, this enforces a specific mode.
These are options that also exist to standard Python executable. Currently supported: "-S" (alias
"no_site"), "static_hashes" (do not use hash randomization), "no_warnings" (do not give Python run
time warnings), "-O" (alias "no_asserts"), "no_docstrings" (do not use doc strings), "-u" (alias
"unbuffered") and "-m". Default empty.
--python-for-scons=PATH
If using Python3.3 or Python3.4, provide the path of a Python binary to use for Scons. Otherwise
Nuitka can use what you run Nuitka with or a Python installation from Windows registry. On Windows
Python 3.5 or higher is needed. On non-Windows, Python 2.6 or 2.7 will do as well.
Control the inclusion of modules and packages in result:
--include-package=PACKAGE
Include a whole package. Give as a Python namespace, e.g. "some_package.sub_package" and Nuitka
will then find it and include it and all the modules found below that disk location in the binary
or extension module it creates, and make it available for import by the code. To avoid unwanted
sub packages, e.g. tests you can e.g. do this "--nofollow-import-to=*.tests". Default empty.
--include-module=MODULE
Include a single module. Give as a Python namespace, e.g. "some_package.some_module" and Nuitka
will then find it and include it in the binary or extension module it creates, and make it
available for import by the code. Default empty.
--include-plugin-directory=MODULE/PACKAGE
Include also the code found in that directory, considering as if they are each given as a main
file. Overrides all other inclusion options. You ought to prefer other inclusion options, that go
by names, rather than filenames, those find things through being in "sys.path". This option is for
very special use cases only. Can be given multiple times. Default empty.
--include-plugin-files=PATTERN
Include into files matching the PATTERN. Overrides all other follow options. Can be given multiple
times. Default empty.
--prefer-source-code
For already compiled extension modules, where there is both a source file and an extension module,
normally the extension module is used, but it should be better to compile the module from
available source code for best performance. If not desired, there is --noprefer-source-code to
disable warnings about it. Default off.
Control the following into imported modules:
--follow-imports
Descend into all imported modules. Defaults to on in standalone mode, otherwise off.
--follow-import-to=MODULE/PACKAGE
Follow to that module if used, or if a package, to the whole package. Can be given multiple times.
Default empty.
--nofollow-import-to=MODULE/PACKAGE
Do not follow to that module name even if used, or if a package name, to the whole package in any
case, overrides all other options. Can be given multiple times. Default empty.
--nofollow-imports
Do not descend into any imported modules at all, overrides all other inclusion options and not
usable for standalone mode. Defaults to off.
--follow-stdlib
Also descend into imported modules from standard library. This will increase the compilation time
by a lot and is also not well tested at this time and sometimes won't work. Defaults to off.
Onefile options:
--onefile-tempdir-spec=ONEFILE_TEMPDIR_SPEC
Use this as a folder to unpack to in onefile mode. Defaults to '%TEMP%/onefile_%PID%_%TIME%',
i.e. user temporary directory and being non-static it's removed. Use e.g. a string like
'%CACHE_DIR%/%COMPANY%/%PRODUCT%/%VERSION%' which is a good static cache path, this will then not
be removed.
Data files:
--include-package-data=PACKAGE
Include data files for the given package name. DLLs and extension modules are not data files and
never included like this. Can use patterns the filenames as indicated below. Data files of
packages are not included by default, but package configuration can do it. This will only include
non-DLL, non-extension modules, i.e. actual data files. After a ":" optionally a filename pattern
can be given as well, selecting only matching files. Examples:
"--includepackage-data=package_name" (all files) "--includepackage-data=package_name=*.txt" (only
certain type) "--include-package-data=package_name=some_filename.dat (concrete file) Default
empty.
--include-data-files=DESC
Include data files by filenames in the distribution. There are many allowed forms. With
'--include-datafiles=/path/to/file/*.txt=folder_name/some.txt' it will copy a single file and
complain if it's multiple. With '--include-datafiles=/path/to/files/*.txt=folder_name/' it will
put all matching files into that folder. For recursive copy there is a form with 3 values that
'--includedata-files=/path/to/scan=folder_name=**/*.txt' that will preserve directory structure.
Default empty.
--include-data-dir=DIRECTORY
Include data files from complete directory in the distribution. This is recursive. Check
'--includedata-files' with patterns if you want non-recursive inclusion. An example would be
'--include-datadir=/path/some_dir=data/some_dir' for plain copy, of the whole directory. All files
are copied, if you want to exclude files you need to remove them beforehand, or use
'--noinclude-data-files' option to remove them. Default empty.
--noinclude-data-files=PATTERN
Do not include data files matching the filename pattern given. This is against the target
filename, not source paths. So to ignore a file pattern from package data for "package_name"
should be matched as "package_name/*.txt". Or for the whole directory simply use "package_name".
Default empty.
DLL files:
--noinclude-dlls=PATTERN
Do not include DLL files matching the filename pattern given. This is against the target filename,
not source paths. So ignore a DLL "someDLL" contained in the package "package_name" it should be
matched as "package_name/someDLL.*". Default empty.
--list-package-dlls=LIST_PACKAGE_DLLS
Output the DLLs found for a given package name. Default not done.
Control the warnings to be given by Nuitka:
--warn-implicit-exceptions
Enable warnings for implicit exceptions detected at compile time.
--warn-unusual-code
Enable warnings for unusual code detected at compile time.
--assume-yes-for-downloads
Allow Nuitka to download external code if necessary, e.g. dependency walker, ccache, and even gcc
on Windows. To disable, redirect input from nul device, e.g. "</dev/null" or "<NUL:". Default is
to prompt.
--nowarn-mnemonic=MNEMONIC
Disable warning for a given mnemonic. These are given to make sure you are aware of certain
topics, and typically point to the Nuitka website. The mnemonic is the part of the URL at the end,
without the HTML suffix. Can be given multiple times and accepts shell pattern. Default empty.
Immediate execution after compilation:
--run Execute immediately the created binary (or import the compiled module). Defaults to off.
--debugger
Execute inside a debugger, e.g. "gdb" or "lldb" to automatically get a stack trace. Defaults to
off.
--execute-with-pythonpath
When immediately executing the created binary or module using '--run', don't reset 'PYTHONPATH'
environment. When all modules are successfully included, you ought to not need PYTHONPATH anymore,
and definitely not for standalone mode.
Compilation choices:
--user-package-configuration-file=YAML_FILENAME
User provided Yaml file with package configuration. You can include DLLs, remove bloat, add
hidden dependencies. Check User Manual for a complete description of the format to use. Can be
given multiple times. Defaults to empty.
--full-compat
Enforce absolute compatibility with CPython. Do not even allow minor deviations from CPython
behavior, e.g. not having better tracebacks or exception messages which are not really
incompatible, but only different or worse. This is intended for tests only and should *not* be
used.
--file-reference-choice=MODE
Select what value "__file__" is going to be. With "runtime" (default for standalone binary mode
and module mode), the created binaries and modules, use the location of themselves to deduct the
value of "__file__". Included packages pretend to be in directories below that location. This
allows you to include data files in deployments. If you merely seek acceleration, it's better for
you to use the "original" value, where the source files location will be used. With "frozen" a
notation "<frozen module_name>" is used. For compatibility reasons, the "__file__" value will
always have ".py" suffix independent of what it really is.
--module-name-choice=MODE
Select what value "__name__" and "__package__" are going to be. With "runtime" (default for module
mode), the created module uses the parent package to deduce the value of "__package__", to be
fully compatible. The value "original" (default for other modes) allows for more static
optimization to happen, but is incompatible for modules that normally can be loaded into any
package.
Output choices:
--output-filename=FILENAME
Specify how the executable should be named. For extension modules there is no choice, also not for
standalone mode and using it will be an error. This may include path information that needs to
exist though. Defaults to '<program_name>' on this platform. .bin
--output-dir=DIRECTORY
Specify where intermediate and final output files should be put. The DIRECTORY will be populated
with build folder, dist folder, binaries, etc. Defaults to current directory.
--remove-output
Removes the build directory after producing the module or exe file. Defaults to off.
--no-pyi-file
Do not create a ".pyi" file for extension modules created by Nuitka. This is used to detect
implicit imports. Defaults to off.
Debug features:
--debug
Executing all self checks possible to find errors in Nuitka, do not use for production. Defaults
to off.
--unstripped
Keep debug info in the resulting object file for better debugger interaction. Defaults to off.
--profile
Enable vmprof based profiling of time spent. Not working currently. Defaults to off.
--internal-graph
Create graph of optimization process internals, do not use for whole programs, but only for small
test cases. Defaults to off.
--trace-execution
Traced execution output, output the line of code before executing it. Defaults to off.
--recompile-c-only
This is not incremental compilation, but for Nuitka development only. Takes existing files and
simply compile them as C again. Allows compiling edited C files for quick debugging changes to the
generated source, e.g. to see if code is passed by, values output, etc, Defaults to off. Depends
on compiling Python source to determine which files it should look at.
--xml=XML_FILENAME
Write the internal program structure, result of optimization in XML form to given filename.
--generate-c-only
Generate only C source code, and do not compile it to binary or module. This is for debugging and
code coverage analysis that doesn't waste CPU. Defaults to off. Do not think you can use this
directly.
--experimental=FLAG
Use features declared as 'experimental'. May have no effect if no experimental features are
present in the code. Uses secret tags (check source) per experimented feature.
--low-memory
Attempt to use less memory, by forking less C compilation jobs and using options that use less
memory. For use on embedded machines. Use this in case of out of memory problems. Defaults to off.
Backend C compiler choice:
--clang
Enforce the use of clang. On Windows this requires a working Visual Studio version to piggy back
on. Defaults to off.
--mingw64
Enforce the use of MinGW64 on Windows. Defaults to off unless MSYS2 with MinGW Python is used.
--msvc=MSVC_VERSION
Enforce the use of specific MSVC version on Windows. Allowed values are e.g. "14.3" (MSVC 2022)
and other MSVC version numbers, specify "list" for a list of installed compilers, or use "latest".
Defaults to latest MSVC being used if installed, otherwise MinGW64 is used.
--jobs=N
Specify the allowed number of parallel C compiler jobs. Defaults to the system CPU count.
--lto=choice
Use link time optimizations (MSVC, gcc, clang). Allowed values are "yes", "no", and "auto" (when
it's known to work). Defaults to "auto".
--static-libpython=choice
Use static link library of Python. Allowed values are "yes", "no", and "auto" (when it's known to
work). Defaults to "auto".
Cache Control:
--disable-cache=DISABLED_CACHES
Disable selected caches, specify "all" for all cached. Currently allowed values are:
"all","ccache","bytecode". can be given multiple times or with comma separated values. Default
none.
--clean-cache=CLEAN_CACHES
Clean the given caches before executing, specify "all" for all cached. Currently allowed values
are: "all","ccache","bytecode". can be given multiple times or with comma separated values.
Default none.
--disable-bytecode-cache
Do not reuse dependency analysis results for modules, esp. from standard library, that are
included as bytecode. Same as --disable-cache=bytecode.
--disable-ccache
Do not attempt to use ccache (gcc, clang, etc.) or clcache (MSVC, clangcl). Same as
--disablecache=ccache.
PGO compilation choices:
--pgo Enables C level profile guided optimization (PGO), by executing a dedicated build first for a
profiling run, and then using the result to feedback into the C compilation. Note: This is
experimental and not working with standalone modes of Nuitka yet. Defaults to off.
--pgo-args=PGO_ARGS
Arguments to be passed in case of profile guided optimization. These are passed to the special
built executable during the PGO profiling run. Default empty.
--pgo-executable=PGO_EXECUTABLE
Command to execute when collecting profile information. Use this only, if you need to launch it
through a script that prepares it to run. Default use created program.
Tracing features:
--report=REPORT_FILENAME
Report module, data files, compilation, plugin, etc. details in an XML output file. This is also
super useful for issue reporting. Default is off.
--quiet
Disable all information outputs, but show warnings. Defaults to off.
--show-scons
Run the C building backend Scons with verbose information, showing the executed commands, detected
compilers. Defaults to off.
--no-progressbar
Disable progress bars. Defaults to off.
--show-progress
Obsolete: Provide progress information and statistics. Disables normal progress bar. Defaults to
off.
--show-memory
Provide memory information and statistics. Defaults to off.
--show-modules
Provide information for included modules and DLLs Obsolete: You should use '--report' file
instead. Defaults to off.
--show-modules-output=PATH
Where to output '--show-modules', should be a filename. Default is standard output.
--verbose
Output details of actions taken, esp. in optimizations. Can become a lot. Defaults to off.
--verbose-output=PATH
Where to output from '--verbose', should be a filename. Default is standard output.
General OS controls:
--disable-console
When compiling for Windows or macOS, disable the console window and create a GUI application.
Defaults to off.
--enable-console
When compiling for Windows or macOS, enable the console window and create a console application.
This disables hints from certain modules, e.g. "PySide" that suggest to disable it. Defaults to
true.
--force-stdout-spec=FORCE_STDOUT_SPEC
Force standard output of the program to go to this location. Useful for programs with disabled
console and programs using the Windows Services Plugin of Nuitka commercial. Defaults to not
active, use e.g. '%PROGRAM%.out.txt', i.e. file near your program.
--force-stderr-spec=FORCE_STDERR_SPEC
Force standard error of the program to go to this location. Useful for programs with disabled
console and programs using the Windows Services Plugin of Nuitka commercial. Defaults to not
active, use e.g. '%PROGRAM%.err.txt', i.e. file near your program.
Windows specific controls:
--windows-icon-from-ico=ICON_PATH
Add executable icon. Can be given multiple times for different resolutions or files with multiple
icons inside. In the later case, you may also suffix with #<n> where n is an integer index
starting from 1, specifying a specific icon to be included, and all others to be ignored.
--windows-icon-from-exe=ICON_EXE_PATH
Copy executable icons from this existing executable (Windows only).
--onefile-windows-splash-screen-image=SPLASH_SCREEN_IMAGE
When compiling for Windows and onefile, show this while loading the application. Defaults to off.
--windows-uac-admin
Request Windows User Control, to grant admin rights on execution. (Windows only). Defaults to off.
--windows-uac-uiaccess
Request Windows User Control, to enforce running from a few folders only, remote desktop access.
(Windows only). Defaults to off.
macOS specific controls:
--macos-target-arch=MACOS_TARGET_ARCH
What architectures is this to supposed to run on. Default and limit is what the running Python
allows for. Default is "native" which is the architecture the Python is run with.
--macos-create-app-bundle
When compiling for macOS, create a bundle rather than a plain binary application. Currently
experimental and incomplete. Currently this is the only way to unlock disabling of
console.Defaults to off.
--macos-app-icon=ICON_PATH
Add icon for the application bundle to use. Can be given only one time. Defaults to Python icon if
available.
--macos-signed-app-name=MACOS_SIGNED_APP_NAME
Name of the application to use for macOS signing. Follow "com.YourCompany.AppName" naming results
for best results, as these have to be globally unique, and will potentially grant protected API
accesses.
--macos-app-name=MACOS_APP_NAME
Name of the product to use in macOS bundle information. Defaults to base filename of the binary.
--macos-app-mode=MODE
Mode of application for the application bundle. When launching a Window, and appearing in Docker
is desired, default value "gui" is a good fit. Without a Window ever, the application is a
"background" application. For UI elements that get to display later, "ui-element" is in-between.
The application will not appear in dock, but get full access to desktop when it does open a Window
later.
--macos-sign-identity=MACOS_APP_VERSION
When signing on macOS, by default an ad-hoc identify will be used, but with this option your get
to specify another identity to use. The signing of code is now mandatory on macOS and cannot be
disabled. Default "ad-hoc" if not given.
--macos-sign-notarization
When signing for notarization, using a proper TeamID identity from Apple, use the required runtime
signing option, such that it can be accepted.
--macos-app-version=MACOS_APP_VERSION
Product version to use in macOS bundle information. Defaults to "1.0" if not given.
--macos-app-protected-resource=RESOURCE_DESC
Request an entitlement for access to a macOS protected resources, e.g.
"NSMicrophoneUsageDescription:Microphone access for recording audio." requests access to the
microphone and provides an informative text for the user, why that is needed. Before the colon, is
an OS identifier for an access right, then the informative text. Legal values can be found on
https://developer.apple.com/doc umentation/bundleresources/information_property_list/p
rotected_resources and the option can be specified multiple times. Default empty.
Linux specific controls:
--linux-icon=ICON_PATH
Add executable icon for onefile binary to use. Can be given only one time. Defaults to Python icon
if available.
Binary Version Information:
--company-name=COMPANY_NAME
Name of the company to use in version information. Defaults to unused.
--product-name=PRODUCT_NAME
Name of the product to use in version information. Defaults to base filename of the binary.
--file-version=FILE_VERSION
File version to use in version information. Must be a sequence of up to 4 numbers, e.g. 1.0 or
1.0.0.0, no more digits are allowed, no strings are allowed. Defaults to unused.
--product-version=PRODUCT_VERSION
Product version to use in version information. Same rules as for file version. Defaults to unused.
--file-description=FILE_DESCRIPTION
Description of the file used in version information. Windows only at this time. Defaults to
binary filename.
--copyright=COPYRIGHT_TEXT
Copyright used in version information. Windows only at this time. Defaults to not present.
--trademarks=TRADEMARK_TEXT
Copyright used in version information. Windows only at this time. Defaults to not present.
Plugin control:
--enable-plugin=PLUGIN_NAME
Enabled plugins. Must be plug-in names. Use '--pluginlist' to query the full list and exit.
Default empty.
--disable-plugin=PLUGIN_NAME
Disabled plugins. Must be plug-in names. Use '--plugin-list' to query the full list and exit. Most
standard plugins are not a good idea to disable. Default empty.
--plugin-no-detection
Plugins can detect if they might be used, and the you can disable the warning via
"--disable-plugin=pluginthat-warned", or you can use this option to disable the mechanism
entirely, which also speeds up compilation slightly of course as this detection code is run in
vain once you are certain of which plugins to use. Defaults to off.
--plugin-list
Show list of all available plugins and exit. Defaults to off.
--user-plugin=PATH
The file name of user plugin. Can be given multiple times. Default empty.
--show-source-changes
Show source changes to original Python file content before compilation. Mostly intended for
developing plugins. Default False.
Plugin options of 'anti-bloat':
--show-anti-bloat-changes
Annotate what changes are by the plugin done.
--noinclude-setuptools-mode=NOINCLUDE_SETUPTOOLS_MODE
What to do if a 'setuptools' or import is encountered. This package can be big with dependencies,
and should definitely be avoided. Also handles 'setuptools_scm'.
--noinclude-pytest-mode=NOINCLUDE_PYTEST_MODE
What to do if a 'pytest' import is encountered. This package can be big with dependencies, and
should definitely be avoided. Also handles 'nose' imports.
--noinclude-unittest-mode=NOINCLUDE_UNITTEST_MODE
What to do if a unittest import is encountered. This package can be big with dependencies, and
should definitely be avoided.
--noinclude-IPython-mode=NOINCLUDE_IPYTHON_MODE
What to do if a IPython import is encountered. This package can be big with dependencies, and
should definitely be avoided.
--noinclude-dask-mode=NOINCLUDE_DASK_MODE
What to do if a 'dask' import is encountered. This package can be big with dependencies, and
should definitely be avoided.
--noinclude-numba-mode=NOINCLUDE_NUMBA_MODE
What to do if a 'numba' import is encountered. This package can be big with dependencies, and is
currently not working for standalone. This package is big with dependencies, and should definitely
be avoided.
--noinclude-default-mode=NOINCLUDE_DEFAULT_MODE
This actually provides the default "warning" value for above options, and can be used to turn all
of these on.
--noinclude-custom-mode=CUSTOM_CHOICES
What to do if a specific import is encountered. Format is module name, which can and should be a
top level package and then one choice, "error", "warning", "nofollow", e.g. PyQt5:error.
Commercial: None Python: 2.7.18 (default, Jul 14 2021, 08:11:37) Flavor: Debian Python Executable:
/usr/bin/python2 OS: Linux Arch: x86_64 Distribution: Debian 11 Version C compiler: /usr/lib/ccache/gcc
(gcc).
EXAMPLES
Compile a Python file "some_module.py" to a module "some_module.so":
$ nuitka --module some_module.py
Compile a Python program "some_program.py" to an executable "some_program.exe":
$ nuitka some_program.py
Compile a Python program "some_program.py" and the package "some_package" it uses to an executable
"some_program.exe":
$ nuitka --follow-import--to=some_package some_program.py
Compile a Python program "some_program.py" and all the modules it uses to an executable
"some_program.exe". Then execute it immediately when ready:
$ nuitka --run --follow-imports some_program.py
Compile a Python program "some_program.py" and the modules it uses (even standard library) to an
executable "some_program.exe":
$ nuitka --recurse-all --follow-stdlib some_program.py
Compile a Python program "some_program.py" and the modules it uses to an executable "some_program.exe".
Keep the debug information, so valgrind, gdb, etc. work nicely.
Note: This will *not* degrade performance:
$ nuitka --unstripped --follow-imports some_program.py
Compile a Python program "some_program.py" and the modules it uses to an executable "some_program.exe".
Perform all kinds of checks about correctness of the generated C and run-time checks.
Note: This will degrade performance and should only be used to debug Nuitka:
$ nuitka --debug --follow-imports some_program.py
Compile a Python program "some_program.py" and the modules it uses to an executable "some_program.exe".
Perform all kinds of checks about correctness of the generated C and run-time checks. Also use the debug
Python library, which does its own checks.
Note: This will degrade performance and should only be used to debug Nuitka:
$ nuitka --debug --python-debug --follow-imports some_program.py
nuitka 1.3.5 January 2023 NUITKA(1)