Installation — SIP v4.19.25 Reference Guide

# Installation

## Downloading

You can get the latest release of the SIP source code from https://www.riverbankcomputing.com/software/sip/download.

SIP is also included with all of the major Linux distributions. However, it may be a version or two out of date.

## Configuring

After unpacking the source package (either a `.tar.gz` or a `.zip` file depending on your platform) you should then check for any `README` files that relate to your platform.

Next you need to configure SIP by executing the configure.py script. For example:

    python configure.py

This assumes that the Python interpreter is on your path. Something like the following may be appropriate on Windows:

    c:\python37\python configure.py

If you have multiple versions of Python installed then make sure you use the interpreter for which you wish SIP to generate bindings for.

The full set of command line options is:

`--version```

  Display the SIP version number.

`-h````,` `--help```

  Display a help message.

`--arch``<ARCH>`

  Binaries for the MacOS/X architecture `<ARCH>` will be built. This option should be given once for each architecture to be built. Specifying more than one architecture will cause a universal binary to be created.

`-b``<DIR>``,` `--bindir``<DIR>`

  The SIP code generator will be installed in the directory `<DIR>`.

`--configuration``<FILE>`

  New in version 4.16.

  `<FILE>` contains the configuration of the SIP build to be used instead of dynamically introspecting the system and is typically used when cross-compiling. See Configuring with Configuration Files.

`-d``<DIR>``,` `--destdir``<DIR>`

  The `sip` module will be installed in the directory `<DIR>`.

`--deployment-target``<VERSION>`

  New in version 4.12.1.

  Each generated Makefile will set the `MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET` environment variable to `<VERSION>`. In order to work around bugs in some versions of Python, this should be used instead of setting the environment variable in the shell.

`-e``<DIR>``,` `--incdir``<DIR>`

  The SIP header file will be installed in the directory `<DIR>`.

`-k````,` `--static```

  The `sip` module will be built as a static library. This is useful when building the `sip` module as a Python builtin.

`-n````,` `--universal```

  The SIP code generator and module will be built as universal binaries under MacOS/X. If the `--arch` option has not been specified then the universal binary will include the `i386` and `ppc` architectures.

`--no-dist-info```

  New in version 4.19.9.

  This disables the creation of the PEP 376 `.dist-info` directory. Starting with this version a `.dist-info` is created. This contains meta-data about the installation including version information for dependent packages. It also means that `pip` can be used to uninstall the package.

`--no-module```

  New in version 4.19.12.

  The `sip` module will not be installed.

`--no-stubs```

  New in version 4.19.

  This disables the installation of the `sip.pyi` type hints stub file.

`--no-tools```

  New in version 4.16.

  The SIP code generator, `sip.h` header file and `sipconfig` module will not be installed.

`-p``<PLATFORM>``,` `--platform``<PLATFORM>`

  Explicitly specify the platform/compiler to be used by the build system, otherwise a platform specific default will be used. The `--show-platforms` option will display all the supported platform/compilers.

`-s``<SDK>``,` `--sdk``<SDK>`

  If the `--universal` option was given then this specifies the name of the SDK directory. If a path is not given then it is assumed to be a sub-directory of `/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs` or `/Developer/SDKs`.

`--stubsdir``<DIR>`

  New in version 4.19.

  `<DIR>` is the name of the directory where the `sip.pyi` type hints stub file is installed. By default this is the directory where the `sip` module is installed.

`-u````,` `--debug```

  The `sip` module will be built with debugging symbols.

`-v``<DIR>``,` `--sipdir``<DIR>`

  By default `.sip` files will be installed in the directory `<DIR>`.

`--show-platforms```

  The list of all supported platform/compilers will be displayed.

`--show-build-macros```

  The list of all available build macros will be displayed.

`--sip-module``<NAME>`

  The `sip` module will be created with the fully qualified name `<NAME>` rather than the default `sip`. See Configuring a Private Copy of the sip Module for how to use this to create a private copy of the `sip` module. Also see the `-n` option of the code generator.

`--sysroot``<DIR>`

  New in version 4.16.

  `<DIR>` is the name of an optional directory that replaces `sys.prefix` in the names of other directories (specifically those specifying where the various SIP components will be installed and where the Python include directories can be found). It is typically used when cross-compiling or when building a static version of SIP. See Configuring with Configuration Files.

`--target-py-version``<VERSION>`

  New in version 4.16.

  `<VERSION>` is the major and minor version (e.g. `3.4`) of the version of Python being targetted. By default the version of Python being used to run the configure.py script is used. It is typically used when cross-compiling. See Configuring with Configuration Files.

`--use-qmake```

  New in version 4.16.

  Normally the configure.py script uses SIP’s own build system to create the Makefiles for the code generator and module. This option causes project files (`.pro` files) used by Qt’s qmake program to be generated instead. qmake should then be run to generate the Makefiles. This is particularly useful when cross-compiling.

The configure.py script takes many other options that allows the build system to be finely tuned. These are of the form `name=value` or `name+=value`. The `--show-build-macros` option will display each supported `name`, although not all are applicable to all platforms.

The `name=value` form means that `value` will replace the existing value of `name`.

The `name+=value` form means that `value` will be appended to the existing value of `name`.

For example, the following will disable support for C++ exceptions (and so reduce the size of module binaries) when used with GCC:

    python configure.py CXXFLAGS+=-fno-exceptions

A pure Python module called `sipconfig.py` is generated by configure.py. This defines each `name` and its corresponding `value`. Looking at it will give you a good idea of how the build system uses the different options. It is covered in detail in The Build System.

### Configuring for MinGW

SIP, and the modules it generates, can be built with MinGW, the Windows port of GCC. You must use the `--platform` command line option to specify the correct platform. For example:

    c:\python37\python configure.py --platform win32-g++

### Configuring for the Borland C++ Compiler

SIP, and the modules it generates, can be built with the free Borland C++ compiler. You must use the `--platform` command line option to specify the correct platform. For example:

    c:\python37\python configure.py --platform win32-borland

You must also make sure you have a Borland-compatible version of the Python library. If you are using the standard Python distribution (built using the Microsoft compiler) then you must convert the format of the Python library. For example:

    coff2omf python37.lib python37_bcpp.lib

### Configuring a Private Copy of the `sip` Module

New in version 4.12.

The `sip` module is intended to be be used by all the SIP generated modules of a particular Python installation. For example PyQt4 and PyQt5 are completely independent of each other but, historically, used the same `sip` module. However, this meant that all the generated modules must be built against a compatible version of SIP. If you do not have complete control over the Python installation then this may be difficult or even impossible to achieve.

To get around this problem you can build a private copy of the `sip` module that installed as part of your package. To do this you use the `--sip-module` option to specify the fully qualified name of your private copy. You can also use the `--no-tools` option to specify that nothing else but the `sip` module is installed.

Note that SIP v5 will only support private copies of the `sip` module.

New in version 4.19.9.

In order use the private copy of the `sip` module you must use the `-n` option when generating the bindings code.

New in version 4.19.12.

If you always use private copies of the `sip` module and do not want the legacy shared copy to be installed then specify the `--no-module` option.

## Building

The next step is to build SIP by running your platform’s `make` command. For example:

    make

The final step is to install SIP by running the following command:

    make install

(Depending on your system you may require root or administrator privileges.)

This will install the various SIP components.

## Configuring with Configuration Files

The configure.py script normally introspects the Python installation of the interpreter running it in order to determine the names of the various files and directories it needs. This is fine for a native build of SIP but isn’t appropriate when cross-compiling. In this case it is possible to supply a configuration file, specified using the `--configuration` option, which contains definitions of all the required values.

The format of a configuration file is as follows:

- a configuration item is a single line containing a name/value pair separated by `=`

- a value may include another value by embedding the name of that value surrounded by `%(` and `)`

- comments begin with `#` and continue to the end of the line

- blank lines are ignored.

configure.py provides the following preset values for a configuration:

`py_major`

  is the major version number of the target Python installation.

`py_minor`

  is the minor version number of the target Python installation.

`sysroot`

  is the name of the system root directory. This is specified with the `--sysroot` option.

The following is an example configuration file:

    # The target Python installation.
    py_platform = linux
    py_inc_dir = %(sysroot)/usr/include/python%(py_major)%(py_minor)

    # Where SIP will be installed.
    sip_bin_dir = %(sysroot)/usr/bin
    sip_module_dir = %(sysroot)/usr/lib/python%(py_major)/dist-packages

The following values can be specified in the configuration file:

`py_platform`

  is the target Python platform.

`py_inc_dir`

  is the target Python include directory containing the `Python.h` file.

`py_conf_inc_dir`

  is the target Python include directory containing the `pyconfig.h` file. If this isn’t specified then it defaults to the value of `py_inc_dir`.

`py_pylib_dir`

  is the target Python library directory.

`sip_bin_dir`

  is the name of the target directory where the SIP code generator will be installed. It can be overridden by the `--bindir` option.

`sip_inc_dir`

  is the name of the target directory where the `sip.h` file will be installed. If this isn’t specified then it defaults to the value of `py_inc_dir`. It can be overridden by the `--incdir` option.

`sip_module_dir`

  is the target directory where the `sip` module will be installed. It can be overridden by the `--destdir` option.

`sip_sip_dir`

  is the name of the target directory where generated `.sip` files will be installed by default. It is only used when creating the `sipconfig` module. It can be overridden by the `--sipdir` option.