Python toolchain

Python support is experimental. Elide runs Python 3.13 with its standard library and optional package tooling. Python formatting and test discovery under elide test remain unavailable.

Add Python

Python is an optional component:

elide setup python

Without it, Python commands print Python support is not installed. Run 'elide setup python' to add it. and exit 2. See Python with Elide for channels and package-manager installs.

Run Python

elide python takes the same arguments as python; elide run and a bare elide app.py run .py files too:

elide python app.py --name Elide
elide python -m json.tool input.json
elide run app.py

Interpreter flags (-I, -B, -u, -W, …) are listed in Python with Elide.

Run project scripts

elide run NAME runs a [project.scripts] entry point from the pyproject.toml in the current directory. No elide.pkl is needed.

# pyproject.toml
[project]
name = "greet"
version = "0.1.0"
requires-python = ">=3.13"

[project.scripts]
greet = "greet.cli:main"

# greet/cli.py
import sys


def greeting(name: str) -> str:
    return f"Hello, {name}!"


def main() -> int:
    print(greeting(sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "world"))
    return 0

elide run greet Elide
Hello, Elide!

elide greet Elide does the same. Arguments after the name go to sys.argv, and the function’s integer return value is the exit code. A file named greet, an elide.pkl script or a package.json script of the same name wins; see Project setup.

Packages

Use elide install --ecosystems=pypi for declared dependencies, or elide uv install PACKAGE. Packages go into the project’s automatic environment with no activation. See Packages and virtual environments.

Tests

Run unittest or pytest through elide python -m; see Python tests. elide test runs JavaScript, TypeScript and JUnit tests only.

Samples

• Python calling JavaScript
• JavaScript importing Python
• Python script

elide init has no Python template.

Known limitations

• C extensions: some C extension modules do not load.
• pip: not bundled; elide python -m pip fails with No module named pip.
• More: Python with Elide.