Skip to content

Build Instructions

Want to turn Social Media Downloader into a standalone executable? Whether you're building for Windows or Linux, this guide will walk you through everything you need using PyInstaller.

Install PyInstaller

First, make sure you have PyInstaller installed. It converts your Python scripts into standalone executables for easy distribution — no Python installation required on the end user’s system.

pip3 install pyinstaller

Building on Windows

You’ve got a few options depending on how you want your executable to behave:

Console Version

This version will open a terminal/console window when run.

pyinstaller --onefile smd/downloader.py

Silent Version (No Console Window)

If you want to hide the terminal window (for example, when launching from a desktop shortcut or GUI), use:

pyinstaller --onefile --noconsole smd/downloader.py

With a Custom Icon

Want a polished feel? Add your own .ico file to give the executable a custom icon:

pyinstaller --onefile --icon=assets/logo.ico smd/downloader.py

Important

Make sure your icon file is in .ico format. If you’re using .png, you can convert it using an online tool or image editor.

After the build completes, your .exe file will be located in the dist/ folder.

Building on Linux

Building on Linux is just as straightforward. Run:

pyinstaller --onefile smd/downloader.py

Once the build finishes, make the output binary executable:

chmod +x dist/downloader
./dist/downloader

You now have a portable binary that can run on any compatible Linux system.

Font Issues?

Tip

If you're seeing missing fonts or broken ASCII art from pyfiglet, head over to the Troubleshooting page for help resolving that.

Output

By default, PyInstaller creates two folders:

  • dist/ — contains your final executable
  • build/ — temporary build files (you can usually delete this after packaging)

Your single-file executable will always be located in the dist/ directory.

Clean Up (Optional)

Want to clean the extra files after a build?

rm -rf build __pycache__ *.spec

This will leave you with just your source code and the dist/ folder containing your binary.

You're now ready to distribute your own standalone version of Social Media Downloader!

Tip

Need .deb or other platform-specific packages? Stay tuned for packaging instructions in the future or check out our Release Archive.