Project Bootstrap Helper

Bootstrap any Python project with a consistent .venv:

• Creates or refreshes .venv automatically
• Upgrades pip/setuptools/wheel
• Reinstalls when requirements.txt / pyproject.toml or other watched files change
• Supports pinned Python version via PYTHON_VERSION or .python-version
• Run projects with a single command: bootstrap-run

Installation

Clone this repository or install via pip (when published to PyPI):

git clone https://github.com/TwistedNonsense/python-bootstrapping.git
cd python-bootstrapping
pip install -e .

This makes the bootstrap-run command available system-wide.

Usage

From any project directory (containing requirements.txt or pyproject.toml):

bootstrap-run

On first run this will:

• Create .venv if it doesn’t exist
• Install/upgrade pip, setuptools, wheel
• Install dependencies from requirements.txt (or pyproject.toml)
• Save environment state to .venv/.env_state.json

Example usage

export APP_FACTORY="myapp:create_app"
bootstrap-run

or

export APP_CMD="flask run"
bootstrap-run

or run any explicit command inside the bootstrapped environment:

bootstrap-run python -m pytest -q

Configuration

• APP_FACTORY="pkg.module:create_app"
  Import a Flask app factory and run it.

• APP_CMD="flask run"
  Run an arbitrary shell command inside the environment.

• PYTHON_VERSION="3.12" or a .python-version file
  Forces a specific Python version for the venv.

• BOOTSTRAP_WATCH="requirements.txt,pyproject.toml,src/**.py"
  Override the list of files that trigger reinstall.

Optional ignores

Add file/directory patterns to .bootstrapignore to prevent unnecessary reinstalls when unrelated files change.

Example .bootstrapignore:

.git/**
**/__pycache__/**
node_modules/**

Development

Build and test locally:

python -m pip install --upgrade pip build
python -m build
python -m pip install -e .
bootstrap-run --help

Notes

• Works on macOS, Linux, Windows
• No shell scripts required
• Idempotent: reuses .venv unless dependencies change

License

MIT