pyhabitat 🧭

An Introspection Library for Python Environments and Builds

pyhabitat is a lightweight library for Python build and environment introspection. It accurately and securely determines the execution context of a running script by providing definitive checks for:

• OS and Environments: Operating Systems and common container/emulation environments (e.g., Termux, iSH).
• Build States: Application build systems (e.g., PyInstaller, pipx).
• GUI Backends: Availability of graphical toolkits (e.g., Matplotlib, Tkinter).

Stop writing verbose sys.platform and environment variable checks. Use pyhabitat to implement clean, architectural logic based on the execution habitat.

---

Read the code on github. 🌐

---

📦 Installation

pip install pyhabitat

---

🧠 Motivation

This library is especially useful for leveraging Python in mobile environments (Termux on Android and iSH on iOS), which often have particular limitations and require special handling. For example, it helps automate work-arounds like using localhost plotting when matplotlib is unavailable or web-based interfaces when tkinter is missing.

Our team is fundamentally driven by enabling mobile computing for true utility applications, leveraging environments like Termux (Android) and iSH (iOS). This includes highly practical solutions, such as deploying a lightweight Python web server (e.g., Flask, http.server, FastAPI) directly on a handset, or orchestrating full-stack, utility-grade applications that allow technicians to manage data and systems right from their mobile device in a way that is cross-platform and not overly catered to the App Store.

Another key goal of this project is to facilitate the orchestration of wider system installation for pipx CLI tools for additional touch points, like context menus and widgets.

Ultimately, City-of-Memphis-Wastewater aims to produce reference-quality code for the documented proper approach. We recognize that many people (and bots) are searching for ideal solutions, and our functions are built upon extensive research and testing to go beyond simple platform.system() checks.

---

🚀 Features

• Definitive Environment Checks: Rigorous checks catered to Termux and iSH (iOS Alpine). Accurate, typical modern detection for Windows, macOS (Apple), Linux, FreeBSD, Android.
• GUI Availability: Rigorous, cached checks to determine if the environment supports a graphical popup window (Tkinter/Matplotlib TkAgg) or just headless image export (Matplotlib Agg).
• Build/Packaging Detection: Reliable detection of standalone executables (PyInstaller), Python zipapps (.pyz), Python source scripts (.py), and correct identification/exclusion of pipx-managed virtual environments.
• Executable Type Inspection: Uses file magic numbers (ELF, MZ, Mach-O) to confirm if the running script is a monolithic, frozen binary (non-pipx) or zipapp (.pyz).

---

📚 Function Reference

OS and Environment Checking

Key question: "What is this running on?"

Function	Description
on_windows()	Returns True on Windows.
on_apple()	Returns True on macOS (Darwin).
on_linux()	Returns True on Linux in general.
on_wsl()	Returns True if running inside Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL or WSL2).
on_termux()	Returns True if running in the Termux Android environment.
on_freebsd()	Returns True on FreeBSD.
on_ish_alpine()	Returns True if running in the iSH Alpine Linux iOS emulator.
on_android()	Returns True on any Android-based Linux environment.
on_pydroid()	Returns True Return True if running under the Pydroid 3 Android app (other versions untested).
in_repl()	Returns True is the user is currently in a Python REPL; hasattr(sys,'ps1').

Packaging and Build Checking

Key question: "What is the character of my executable or my build state?"

These functions accept an optional path argument (Path or str), defaulting to sys.argv[0] (e.g., pyhabitat/main.py for python -m pyhabitat, empty in REPL). Path.resolve() is used for stability.

Function	Description
as_frozen()	Returns True if the script is running as a standalone executable (any bundler).
as_pyinstaller()	Returns True if the script is frozen and generated by PyInstaller (has _MEIPASS).
is_python_script(path=None)	Returns True if the script or specified path is a Python source file (.py).
is_pipx(path=None)	Returns True if the script or specified path is from a pipx-managed virtual environment.
is_elf(path=None)	Returns True if the script or specified path is an ELF binary (Linux standalone executable, non-pipx).
is_pyz(path=None)	Returns True if the script or specified path is a Python zipapp (.pyz, non-pipx).
is_windows_portable_executable(path=None)	Returns True if the script or specified path is a Windows PE binary (MZ header, non-pipx).
is_macos_executable(path=None)	Returns True if the script or specified path is a macOS Mach-O binary (non-pipx).

Capability Checking

Key Question: "What could I do next?"

Function	Description
tkinter_is_available()	Checks if Tkinter is imported and can successfully create a window.
matplotlib_is_available_for_gui_plotting(termux_has_gui=False)	Checks for Matplotlib and its TkAgg backend, required for interactive plotting. Set termux_has_gui=True for Termux with GUI support; defaults to False.
matplotlib_is_available_for_headless_image_export()	Checks for Matplotlib and its Agg backend, required for saving images without a GUI.
interactive_terminal_is_available()	Checks if standard input and output streams are connected to a TTY (allows safe use of interactive prompts).
web_browser_is_available()	Check if a web browser can be launched in the current environment (allows safe use of web-based prompts and localhost plotting).

Utility

Function	Description
edit_textfile(path)	Opens a text file for editing using the default editor (Windows, Linux, macOS) or nano in Termux/iSH. In REPL mode, prints an error. Path argument (str or Path) uses Path.resolve() for stability.
interp_path()	Returns the path to the Python interpreter binary (sys.executable). Returns empty string if unavailable.
main()	Prints a comprehensive environment report with sections: Interpreter Checks (sys.executable), Current Environment Check (sys.argv[0]), Current Build Checks (sys attributes), Operating System Checks (platform.system()), and Capability Checks. Run via python -m pyhabitat or import pyhabitat; pyhabitat.main() in the REPL.

---

💻 Usage Examples

The module exposes all detection functions directly for easy access.

0. Example of PyHabitat in Action

The pipeline-eds package uses the pyhabitat library to handle configuration and plotting, among other things.

1. Running the Environment Report

Run a comprehensive environment report from the command line or REPL to inspect the interpreter (sys.executable), running script (sys.argv[0]), build state, operating system, and capabilities.

# In the terminal
python -m pyhabitat

# In the Python REPL
import pyhabitat as ph
ph.main()

2. Checking Environment and Build Type

from pyhabitat import on_termux, on_windows, is_pipx, is_python_script, as_frozen

if is_pipx():
    print("Running inside a pipx virtual environment. This is not a standalone binary.")

if as_frozen():
    print("Running as a frozen executable (PyInstaller, cx_Freeze, etc.).")

if is_python_script():
    print("Running as a Python source script (.py).")

if on_termux(): 
	# Expected cases: 
	#- pkg install python-numpy python-cryptography
	#- Avoiding matplotlib unless the user explicitly sets termux_has_gui=True in matplotlib_is_available_for_gui_plotting().
	#- Auto-selection of 'termux-open-url' and 'xdg-open' in logic.
	#- Installation on the system, like orchestrating the construction of Termux Widget entries in ~/.shortcuts.
    print("Running in the Termux environment on Android.")
    
if on_windows():
    print("Running on Windows.")

3. Checking GUI and Plotting Availability

Use these functions to determine if you can show an interactive plot or if you must save an image file.

from pyhabitat import matplotlib_is_available_for_gui_plotting, matplotlib_is_available_for_headless_image_export

if matplotlib_is_available_for_gui_plotting():
    # We can safely call plt.show()
    print("GUI plotting is available! Using TkAgg backend.")
    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
    plt.figure()
    plt.show()

elif matplotlib_is_available_for_headless_image_export():
    # We must save the plot to a file or buffer
    print("GUI unavailable, but headless image export is possible.")
    # Code to use 'Agg' backend and save to disk...
    
else:
    print("Matplotlib is not installed or the environment is too restrictive for plotting.")

4. Text Editing

Use this function to open a text file for editing. Ideal use case: Edit a configuration file, if prompted by a CLI command like 'config --textedit'.

from pathlib import Path
import pyhabitat as ph

ph.edit_textfile(path=Path('./config.json'))

---

🏗️ Build Instructions

Follow these steps to build PyHabitat for different distributions (PYZ, EXE, or Wheel):

1. Activate the Virtual Environment

On Windows (PowerShell)

.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

Windows (cmd)

.venv\Scripts\activate.bat

On Unix/macOS

source .venv/bin/activate

2. Install Build Dependencies

bash

pip install -U pip setuptools wheel pyinstaller

(Optional for .pyz: zipapp is included in the standard library.)

3. Build Options

You can build PyHabitat in three ways:

Output	Command	Notes
PYZ (Python Zipapp)	python build_pyz.py	Cross-platform; requires a Python interpreter to run.
EXE (Windows Executable)	python build_executable.py	Windows-only standalone executable with embedded Python.
ELF (Linux Executable)	python build_executable.py	Linux-only standalone executable; generated by PyInstaller on Linux.
Mach-O (macOS Executable)	python build_executable.py	macOS-only standalone executable; generated by PyInstaller on macOS.
Wheel / Source	python -m build	Standard Python package for pip install.

Build Process Diagram

      ┌─────────────────────────────┐
      │       Source Code           │
      │        pyhabitat            │
      └─────────────┬─────────────┘
                    │
                    ▼
      ┌─────────────────────────────┐
      │        Build Outputs        │
      ├─────────────┬───────────────┤
      │             │               │
      ▼             ▼               ▼

┌─────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ Python Zipapp│ │ PyInstaller │ │ Wheel/Source│ │ build_pyz.py │ │ Executable │ │ python -m build│ │─────────────│ │───────────────│ │──────────────│ │ dist/.pyz │ │ dist/.[exe,elf,macho] │ │ dist/*.whl │ │ Cross-plat. │ │ Platform-native standalone │ │ pip install │ │ Requires Python │ │ Requires no Python on host │ │ Source/wheel│ └─────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └──────────────┘ ✅ Notes:

.pyz is cross-platform but requires Python on the host system.

.exe is Windows-only and contains a full Python runtime.

.elf is Linux-only and contains a full Python runtime.

.macho is macOS-only and contains a full Python runtime.

Standard python -m build creates a distributable wheel and source archive suitable for pip/pypi.

---

elf 🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you find an environment or build system that is not correctly detected (e.g., a new container or a specific bundler), please open an issue or submit a pull request with the relevant detection logic.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.