Get Python from Source

Easily fetch, build, and install any version of Python from source

This rootless script enables you to specify a major/minor (or, at your discretion, a major/minor/patch) version of Python to be downloaded and optionally unpacked, built, and installed into your local /opt directory.

Assumptions

• You have access to Bourne-Again SHell (BASH) on Linux or MacOS
• You have privileges to read/write to /opt
• You have a desire to use:
  • the latest patch of a Python release (e.g. 3.6), or
  • a specific patch of a Python release (e.g. 3.6.8)
• You have already installed the dependencies to build Python (see below)

Generated Files

This script, upon being executed, will generate locally:

Directory/File	Description
downloads/	Directory for Python source archives (.tgz)
src/	Directory for unpacked Python source files
src/Python-N.NN/debug	Directory for configuring/building Python version
/opt/pythonN.NN	Optionally, install directory for built Python

Install Dependencies to Build Python

On Enterprise Linux, the following dependencies are needed:

sudo yum update
sudo yum groups mark install "Development Tools"
sudo yum groups mark convert "Development Tools"
sudo yum groupinstall -y "Development Tools"
sudo yum install \
  zlib-devel     \
  bzip2-devel    \
  gdbm-devel     \
  ncurses-devel  \
  xz-devel       \
  readline-devel \
  tk-devel       \
  openssl-devel  \
  libffi-devel   \
  sqlite-devel   \
  db4-devel      \
  libpcap-devel  \
  expat-devel

NOTE: db4-devel is only required for Python2 builds.

On Ubuntu, the following dependencies are needed:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install \
  build-essential                   \
  libncursesw5-dev                  \
  libreadline-gplv2-dev             \
  libssl-dev                        \
  libgdbm-dev                       \
  libc6-dev                         \
  libsqlite3-dev                    \
  libbz2-dev                        \
  libffi-dev

Other Debian-based distributions should have similarly named dependencies.

On MacOS (Homebrew), the following dependencies are needed:

brew update && brew install \
  openssl                   \
  readline                  \
  sqlite3                   \
  xz                        \
  zlib

Additional MacOS environment configuration may be required to use all features:

export PATH="/usr/local/opt/openssl@1.1/bin:$PATH"
export PATH="/usr/local/opt/sqlite/bin:$PATH"

export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/opt/openssl@1.1/lib:$LDFLAGS"
export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/opt/readline/lib:$LDFLAGS"
export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/opt/sqlite/lib:$LDFLAGS"
export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/opt/zlib/lib:$LDFLAGS"

export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/opt/openssl@1.1/include:$CPPFLAGS"
export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/opt/readline/include:$CPPFLAGS"
export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/opt/sqlite/include:$CPPFLAGS"
export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/opt/zlib/include:$CPPFLAGS"

Using this Script

./get-python-src.sh <version> <params>

The <version> is required:
  - Major/Minor         e.g. 3.6      Fetches latest release
  - Major/Minor/Patch   e.g. 3.6.14   Fetches user-specified release

At least one <param> is required:
  "fetch"   - Only fetch the source (.tgz)
  "build"   - Fetch, unpack, & build the source (.so version)
  "static"  - Build the source as static library (.a version)
  "install" - Install the Python build to /opt/python<version>
  "clean"   - Clean the src/ directory

NOTE: The <params> can be stacked (any order) for increased effect.

References

• Most complete guide (includes LDFLAG hint):
  https://danieleriksson.net/2017/02/08/how-to-install-latest-python-on-centos/

• Info on Additional build flags:
  https://realpython.com/installing-python/#how-to-build-python-from-source-code

• Clarification on build prefixes:
  https://www.devdungeon.com/content/how-build-python-source

• Find Python source downloads:
  https://www.python.org/downloads/