---
id: buildozer
version: "1.6.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# buildozer — Turns Python applications into binary packages ready for installation on a number of platforms.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 164.9K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Buildozer is a command-line build automation tool that packages Python applications into installable binaries for multiple platforms—Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux—from a single buildozer.spec configuration file. It abstracts away the complexity of platform-specific build toolchains by managing dependencies and orchestrating compilation through its sibling projects python-for-android and Kivy for iOS. The tool is particularly designed to simplify Kivy framework app development but can work with any Python GUI framework.

Developers provide a buildozer.spec file describing their app's title, icons, requirements, and target platforms, then run buildozer commands like `buildozer android debug` or `buildozer ios release` to generate ready-to-install packages. For Android, buildozer automates SDK and NDK setup. The tool is actively maintained by the Kivy Team and supports Python 3.8 through 3.14, with a Docker image and GitHub Actions integration available for CI/CD workflows.

Use it for:

- Package a Kivy-based mobile app for Android and iOS distribution from a single Python codebase.
- Automate cross-platform binary builds in CI/CD pipelines using the GitHub Actions integration.
- Build and deploy Python desktop applications to Windows, macOS, and Linux without learning platform-specific build systems.
- Manage Android SDK/NDK dependencies and compilation automatically instead of configuring them manually.
- Create debug and release builds with different signing and optimization settings via buildozer.spec configuration.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Buildozer turns Python applications into binary packages for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux from a single configuration file.

Yes, if you are building Python applications for mobile (especially Android/iOS) or need cross-platform desktop packaging. The low install friction and active maintenance make it accessible, though you should expect to follow detailed platform-specific setup instructions and have external build tools (Android SDK, Xcode, etc.) available. Not necessary for web-only or pure-server applications.

## Install

pip install buildozer
uv add buildozer
poetry add buildozer

## Installing buildozer

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Depends on pexpect, packaging, and cython. Note that the package itself has low friction, but the description emphasizes that full setup requires platform-specific dependencies outside Python (Android SDK/NDK for Android builds, Xcode for iOS, etc.), so initial configuration can be involved despite the pip install being straightforward.

License in practice: MIT licensed under permissive terms, allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install buildozer
buildozer init
# Edit buildozer.spec, then:
buildozer android debug

Building for Android requires Android SDK and NDK to be downloaded and configured; iOS builds require Xcode. The description notes these are not Python dependencies but external platform tools that buildozer will help manage.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package successfully handles all edge cases across the five target platforms (Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux) in production use.
- Current state of community support and response time for build-related issues, given the complexity of cross-platform compilation.
- Compatibility with the latest versions of Kivy framework and whether non-Kivy GUI frameworks are equally well-supported.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 164.9K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

python to mobile app builder, android ios app packaging, python cross-platform build tool, kivy app compiler, python binary package creation, mobile app deployment automation, python to apk ipa builder, mobile-app-packaging, cross-platform-build, kivy-ecosystem

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/buildozer) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/buildozer/)