Problem with hl7apy when app is built with PyInstaller

[paw-bor]

When I run my_app.py, it works fine. But when I run my_app.exe built with PyInstaller, I encounter an error:

./my_app.exe
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "my_app.py", line 7, in
File "", line 1360, in _find_and_load
File "", line 1331, in _find_and_load_unlocked
File "", line 935, in _load_unlocked
File "PyInstaller\loader\pyimod02_importers.py", line 378, in exec_module
File "server.py", line 4, in
File "", line 1360, in _find_and_load
File "", line 1331, in _find_and_load_unlocked
File "", line 935, in _load_unlocked
File "PyInstaller\loader\pyimod02_importers.py", line 378, in exec_module
File "tools.py", line 3, in
File "", line 1360, in _find_and_load
File "", line 1331, in find_and_load_unlocked
File "", line 935, in load_unlocked
File "PyInstaller\loader\pyimod02_importers.py", line 378, in exec_module
File "hl7apy_init.py", line 334, in
File "hl7apy_init.py", line 331, in _discover_libraries
FileNotFoundError: [WinError 3] System nie może odnaleźć określonej ścieżki: 'C:\Users\user~1\AppData\Local\Temp\_MEI86002\hl7apy'
[PYI-15820:ERROR] Failed to execute script 'my_app' due to unhandled exception!

A workaround is to use the --add-data clause during the build process:
pyinstaller my_app.py --onefile --add-data "C:\venv\Lib\site-packages\hl7apy;hl7apy"
However, this solution isn't ideal.
I suspect the issue might lie in the _discover_libraries function.

Could you please fix it?

[svituz]

Hi @paw-bor,
I have no experience with PyInstaller so I don't know what the problem is with it or if it is caused by the library. May it be the --onefile option? The discover_libraries function uses os.path functions to check the versions' directories in a dynamic way so if everything is packed together it won't find the directories.

[paw-bor]

Hi @svituz
Yes, I think the problem is due to the --onefile option.
As far as I know, the __file__ doesn't work correctly within the PyInstaller environment. Therefore, we should use the _MEIPASS directory to access the application's resources.

I think, the solution might be to modify the discover_libraries function as follows:

def _discover_libraries():
    base_path = getattr(sys, '_MEIPASS', os.path.dirname(__file__))
    library_path = os.path.join(base_path, 'libraries')
    if os.path.exists(library_path):
        return library_path
    return None