Minimal set of files required to distribute an embed-Cython-compiled code and make it work on any machine

Question

TL;DR: how to use Cython as a distribution method instead of Py2exe, cx_freeze, pyinstaller, etc.

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Following Making an executable in Cython, I'd like to see how it could be possible to distribute a Python program to any Windows user (who doesn't have Python already installed on his machine) by compiling it first with Cython --embed.

Let's use a test.py:

import json
print(json.dumps({'key': 'hello world'}))

and compile it:

cython test.py --embed
call "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\VC\vcvarsall.bat" x64
cl test.c /I C:\Python37\include /link C:\Python37\libs\python37.lib

It works and produces a 140KB test.exe executable.

Running test.exe on another machine doesn't work out-of-the-box, it requires:

• python37.dll in the same folder
• to install the usual vc_redist.x64.exe file

Even with this, it still does not work ^{(screenshot below instead of copy/paste because I didn't manage the copy/paste in the VM - off topic here)}:

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'encodings'

Question: what is the minimal set of files required to distribute an --embed-Cython-compiled code and make it work on any machine (without Python previously installed on it)?

Answer 1

After further research (I tried in an empty Win 7 x64 bit VM, without any VCredist previously installed), it seems that these files are enough:

• the program itself, test.exe (produced by cython --embed and compilation with cl.exe)

• python37.dll

• python37.zip coming from packages named "Windows x86-64 embeddable zip file" in https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/

• vcruntime140.dll, as mentioned in Can I bundle the Visual Studio 2015 C++ Redistributable DLL's with my application? or ask the user to install vc_redist.x64.exe before

• ucrtbase.dll

• more than 30 files api-ms-win-*.dll were required too; if not you will have the following error:

  ... api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing ...

Notes:

• if you require another library, like pygame, just copy/paste the folder from C:\Python37\Lib\site-packages\pygame seems to work

• for me, concrt140.dll, msvcp140.dll, vccorlib140.dll did not seem necessary

Useful to test all this: Prevent a Python-embedded to look in my default path C:\Python38 for modules.