pex
The PEX packaging toolchain.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Pex is actively maintained with a release 1 day ago, has zero known vulnerabilities, and low install friction. It solves a real deployment problem by turning projects into portable, dependency-bundled executables. Well-suited for teams shipping applications or tools that need to run on multiple systems. The Apache-2.0 permissive license poses no restrictions.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low install friction with no runtime dependencies.
- Active maintenance with a release 1 day ago and 4220 repository stars.
- Supports modern versions including PyPy.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-08-13 (1 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 4,220 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 6,582,503 downloads/mo, #1,885 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
$ pip install pex
$ pex requests flask -o myapp.pex
$ ./myapp.pex- Whether .pex files built on one OS reliably execute on different OS targets without rebuilding
- Performance overhead of .pex startup compared to traditional virtualenv execution
- Compatibility guarantees across the full range of supported Python versions (2.7 through 3.15)
What it is and what it does
Pex is a command-line tool and library for building .pex files—self-contained, executable Python environments that function as portable binaries. Rather than shipping a virtualenv or requiring installation on the target system, pex bundles dependencies into a single executable file that runs without additional setup. The tool supports specifying dependencies, entry points, and platform-specific Python distributions, enabling cross-platform portability.
Pex is used to freeze dependencies into portable executables for application deployment, create standalone CLI tools, or integrate into build systems like Pants and Buck. It eliminates the need to manage virtualenvs on target machines and provides a simple distribution mechanism for Python applications.
Use it for
- Deploy a Python web service as a single executable file without requiring virtualenv or pip on the target server.
- Create a standalone CLI tool that bundles all dependencies and runs on Linux or macOS systems.
- Freeze a development environment into a reproducible .pex file for consistent testing across machines.
- Build entry-point-based executables as self-contained binaries for distribution.
- Run ephemeral scripts with specific dependencies without modifying the host environment.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Pex is actively maintained with a release 1 day ago, has zero known vulnerabilities, and low install friction. It solves a real deployment problem by turning projects into portable, dependency-bundled executables. Well-suited for teams shipping applications or tools that need to run on multiple systems. The Apache-2.0 permissive license poses no restrictions.
Install
pex on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Active maintenance with a release 1 day ago and 4220 repository stars. Supports modern versions including PyPy.
License in practice
Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in commercial and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
$ pip install pex
$ pex requests flask -o myapp.pex
$ ./myapp.pexVerify before relying
- Whether .pex files built on one OS reliably execute on different OS targets without rebuilding
- Performance overhead of .pex startup compared to traditional virtualenv execution
- Compatibility guarantees across the full range of supported Python versions (2.7 through 3.15)
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release !=3.0.*,!=3.1.*,!=3.2.*,!=3.3.*,!=3.4.*,<3.16,>=2.7 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 1 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 6,582,503 / month, #1,885 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: MacOS :: MacOS XOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxOperating System :: UnixProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 2Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.15Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: Build ToolsTopic :: System :: Archiving :: PackagingTopic :: System :: Software DistributionTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: pex-2.100.4-py2.py35.py36.py37.py38.py39.py310.py311-none-any.whl; pex-2.100.4-py3.py312-none-any.whl
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See also cx-Freeze · shiv · pyinstaller · pefile · pickley · relenv · pipenv · pip-chill · venv-pack · freeze-core