I originally made it for my own development workflow because I kept needing the same packaging operations and did not particularly want to rebuild the process every time.

It can produce Windows builds, Windows installers and, for supported web projects, Android APKs.

I still use it for my own projects.

Packages supported offline/static HTML, CSS and JavaScript projects as standalone Windows applications using a PyWebView + PyInstaller workflow.

Suitable for browser games, offline web applications and downloadable desktop versions of HTML5 projects.

Builds Python applications as ONEFILE or ONEDIR distributions, in GUI or console mode.

Project configuration can include application metadata, icons, data files, hidden imports and dependency staging.

Creates a Windows installer from an existing EXE or ONEDIR build.

The generated Setup can include shortcuts, version metadata, a stable AppId, upgrade handling and uninstall support.

Supported static web projects can also be prepared and built as Android APKs when the required Android development tools are installed and correctly configured.

Rubra Packager checks the project and the selected target before starting the build.

Missing files, unresolved references and unavailable prerequisites are considerably less interesting when discovered twenty minutes earlier.

Rubra Packager started as an internal utility.

As I used it, I added project handling, preflight checks, Windows packaging, installer creation, Android support and better diagnostics.

Eventually it was stable enough to separate from the projects it had originally been written for and release on its own.

That is about as complicated as the origin story gets.

Projects are processed locally.

Rubra Packager does not upload your source code to a remote packaging service.

Some optional operations, such as installing npm or Python dependencies, may execute code contained in the project or its dependencies. Rubra Packager therefore asks for explicit trust before performing them.

The itch.io release contains the ready-to-use Windows version of Rubra Packager.

Current release:

Included:

The source code is public on GitHub.

If you prefer to inspect, modify or build Rubra Packager yourself, you can use the repository. The itch.io version is simply the packaged and tested Windows release for people who would rather install it and get on with whatever they were doing.

Rubra Packager currently runs on Windows.

Web projects must be compatible with the supported offline/static HTML, CSS and JavaScript workflow.

Python packaging depends on the requirements and dependencies of the project being built.

Android APK builds require a working Android development toolchain.

Preflight diagnostics check the common prerequisites before the build starts.

Version 1.0 covers the workflows I currently use and validate.

Web

Offline/static projects are supported.

Server backends, SSR applications and runtime server APIs are not automatically packaged.

Android

APK builds are available for supported projects when the required Android toolchain is installed.

Store publishing and production signing are outside the current validated workflow.

Desktop

Windows is currently supported.

macOS and Linux packaging are not.

I will add other workflows when I can actually test and support them. Before that, no.

Support

If you find a bug or a project behaves differently from what Rubra Packager expects, let me know.

Useful reports include the project type, selected target and the relevant preflight or build output. It saves some archaeology.

gvibedev@gmail.com