Build binary on linux

.gitignore

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # Setup/Install
 /MANIFEST
 /build/
+/build_*/
 /deploy/
 /dist/
 /dist_*/

novelwriter/config.py

@@ -109,10 +109,10 @@ class Config:
 
         self._appPath = Path(__file__).parent.absolute()
         self._appRoot = self._appPath.parent
-        if self._appRoot.is_file():
-            # novelWriter is packaged as a single file
-            self._appRoot = self._appRoot.parent
-            self._appPath = self._appRoot
+        if getattr(sys, "frozen", False):
+            # novelWriter is packaged as an exe
+            self._appPath = Path(__file__).parent.parent.absolute()
+            self._appRoot = self._appPath
 
         # Runtime Settings and Variables
         self._hasError = False  # True if the config class encountered an error

pkgutils.py

@@ -1509,6 +1509,12 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
     )
     cmdBuildSetupExe.set_defaults(func=makeWindowsEmbedded)
 
+    # Build Binary
+    cmdBuildBinary = parsers.add_parser(
+        "build-bin", help="Build a standalone binary package."
+    )
+    cmdBuildBinary.set_defaults(func=utils.binary_dist.main)
+
     # Build Clean
     cmdBuildClean = parsers.add_parser(
         "build-clean", help="Recursively delete all build folders."

utils/binary_dist.py

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+"""
+novelWriter – Binary Dist Tools
+===============================
+
+This file is a part of novelWriter
+Copyright (C) 2025 Veronica Berglyd Olsen and novelWriter contributors
+
+This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+(at your option) any later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
+General Public License for more details.
+
+You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+
+import PyInstaller.__main__
+
+
+def runPyinstaller() -> None:
+    """Run the pyinstaller."""
+    build = ["novelWriter.py", "--clean", "--windowed", "--onedir", "--noconfirm"]
+    build += ["--name", "novelwriter"]
+    build += ["--workpath", "build_bin"]
+    build += ["--distpath", "dist_bin"]
+    build += ["--hidden-import", "pyenchant"]
+    build += ["--add-data", "novelwriter/assets:assets"]
+    PyInstaller.__main__.run(build)
+    return
+
+
+def main(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
+    """Entry point function."""
+    runPyinstaller()
+    return

utils/common.py

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+"""
+novelWriter – Common Utils
+==========================
+
+This file is a part of novelWriter
+Copyright (C) 2025 Veronica Berglyd Olsen and novelWriter contributors
+
+This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+(at your option) any later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
+General Public License for more details.
+
+You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+ROOT_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent