---
name: "pycentral"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "python-central"
version: "0.6.17"
release: "Debian 7 (Wheezy)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pycentral"
---

# pycentral(1)

register and build utility for Python packages

## NAME

pycentral - register and build utility for Python packages

## SYNOPSIS

**pycentral** *\[-h\] \[-v\] \<cmd\> \[\<cmd options\>\] \[\<args\>\]*

## DESCRIPTION

**pycentral**\
  provides support for installing python modules independent\
  of the current installed Python version and handling\
  byte-compilation and -removal tasks in installation scripts.

## OPTIONS

- *-v, --version*

  Limit the output to the version numbers of the python versions.

- *-h, --help*

  Print a help text.

pycentral has the following sub commands. For fine grained help, call: pycentral \<cmd\>.

- *bccompile*

  Byte compile .py files in a package.

- *bcremove*

  Remove the byte compiled .py files.

- *list*

  List all managed files.

- *pkginstall*

  Make a package available for all supported runtimes.

- *pkgprepare*

  Prepare a package for all supported runtimes.

- *pkgremove*

  Remove a package installed for all supported runtimes.

- *pkglist*

  List pycentral-managed files of a package for all supported runtimes.

- *rtinstall*

  Make installed packages available for this runtime.

- *rtremove*

  Remove packages installed for this runtime.

- *updatedefault*

  Update the default python version.

- *debhelper*

  move files to pycentral locaation, variable substitutions (called by dh\_pycentral).

- *pycentraldir \<package\>*

  Show the installation directory used by pycentral for \<package\>.

- *showdefault*

  Show default python version number. Deprecated, use [pyversions(1)](/pyversions/1.md)

- *showsupported*

  Show the supported python versions. Deprecated, use [pyversions(1)](/pyversions/1.md)

- *showversions*

  Show version numbers of supported python versions. Deprecated, use [pyversions(1)](/pyversions/1.md) dh\_pycentral, should not be called directly).

- *version*

  Show the pycentral version.

## FILES

**/etc/python/debian\_config** is searched for the attribute *overwrite-local.* If set to 1, or True, existing files in /usr/lib/pythonX.Y/\*-packages are overwritten with symbolic links to the pycentral install area. The default is to abort the installation of a package, when files already exist. This behaviour may be useful, when python libraries were manually installed into this directory. The attribute *byte-compile* can be set to a comma separated list of the values *standard* and *optimze* to indicate how files should be byte-compiled.

## SEE ALSO

[pyversions(1)](/pyversions/1.md), Python policy.

## AUTHOR

Matthias Klose