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.
Buildozer
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.
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 --versionWarning
DockerHub contains an obsolete Docker image for Buildozer. It is deprecated. Build your own.
- Build and keep downloaded SDK and NDK in
~/.buildozerdirectory:
docker run -v $HOME/.buildozer:/home/user/.buildozer -v $(pwd):/home/user/hostcwd kivy/buildozer android debugUse 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:
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# 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 runRun 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.
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_TITLEpackage.name->$APP_PACKAGE_NAMEp4a.source_dir->$APP_P4A_SOURCE_DIR
Buildozer is MIT licensed, actively developed by a great community and is supported by many projects managed by the Kivy Organization.
Documentation for this repository.
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.
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.
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.
This project exists thanks to all the people who contribute. [Become a contributor].
Thank you to all of our backers! 🙏 [Become a backer]
Special thanks to all of our sponsors, past and present. Support this project by [becoming a sponsor].
Here are our top current sponsors. Please click through to see their websites, and support them as they support us.
