

Linux RPMs for Python 2.4

Linux RPMs for Python 2.4

Except where noted, these RPMs are made available by Sean Reifschneider (

Having Problems?

If you are having problems, please see the RPM Frequently Asked Questions section at the end of this document for possible solutions.

RPMs For Other Platforms

For platforms in which binaries aren't available here, you can easily build binary RPMs directly from the Python SRPM. Simply download one of the .src.rpm files below, and run "rpmbuild --rebuild python-<version>.src.rpm". Note toward the end of the output, the lines starting with "Wrote:" indicate where the binary RPMs were written.

The benefit of building binary RPMs in this way is that they are built using exactly the set of libraries and versions of packages that you have installed on your system. Because the SRPMs encompass all the steps required to build binary RPMs, it is a "fire and forget" process -- the simplest source build ever.


Packages of Python Tools

Packages of other Python libraries have been made available by symbiont at

Files, MD5 checksums and sizes

  Based on SRPM:
      e2d04732c850ed291ab4d57cd9a029de python2.4-2.4-1pydotorg.src.rpm (7839258 bytes)

   Fedora Core 3 Binaries:
      eb548833ba525bd4f8c296759f8894c8 python2.4-2.4-1pydotorg.i386.rpm (8064671 bytes)
      89df0a54426cbd856aa2836f327c977f python2.4-devel-2.4-1pydotorg.i386.rpm (711722 bytes)
      c59c0703d6fe32934a6d57e637c3f05c python2.4-tkinter-2.4-1pydotorg.i386.rpm (285655 bytes)
      f5935c47afde4bd37512032f5168920e python2.4-tools-2.4-1pydotorg.i386.rpm (753428 bytes)

   Mandrake 9.2 Binaries (provided by Fabien Wahl):
      3bb053a3d166b9377ad7c2e1094ed61f python2.4-2.4-1pydotorg.i586.rpm (7359837 bytes)
      9b96bcd70f9c922879af85834507977c python2.4-devel-2.4-1pydotorg.i586.rpm (3184990 bytes)
      0d36672858c93703612ff2fb06b2ebea python2.4-docs-2.4-1pydotorg.i586.rpm (2076688 bytes)
      90f2cc1137b23c033c3d56266c042edb python2.4-tkinter-2.4-1pydotorg.i586.rpm (263661 bytes)
      32beacdc724ff2480156823876c4e223 python2.4-tools-2.4-1pydotorg.i586.rpm (746145 bytes)

RPM Frequently Asked Questions

  • Q) When running "rpm -ba", "rpm -ta" or "rpm --rebuild" I get the error "-ba: unknown option" or "--rebuild: unknown option" or "-ta: unknown option".
  • A) With the Red Hat 8.0 release, the building options were removed from the "rpm" command. Use the "rpmbuild" command instead ("rpmbuild --rebuild python2.4-2.4b1-1pydotorg.src.rpm").
  • Q) I'm getting the "-ba: unknown option" when trying to build RPMs using distutils "python bdist_rpm".
  • A) As noted above, Red Hat broke the "build" functionality out of the base "rpm" command with the 8.0 release. Unfortunately, they didn't patch their python RPM to account for this, and they don't appear to be planning to release any errata to fix this. If you upgrade to the 2.2.2-7 or newer RPMs on this page, distutils should work. Note that this seems to be fixed in the Red Hat 9 release (which uses Python 2.2.2 and has a patched distutils).
  • Q) When trying to build RPMs, I get "rpmbuild: command not found".
  • A) The "rpmbuild" command is part of a separate RPM named "rpm-build". You will need to install this package before you can build RPMs.
  • Q) Is it safe to install these RPMs on a Red Hat system? Will they over-write the system python and cause problems with other Red Hat applications that expect a different version of Python?
  • A) The RPMs that start with "python2.4" are built to not interfere with the system Python. They install as "/usr/bin/python2.4" and will not conflict with the system Python unless you are running on a system that ships the a version of Python which has the same major/minor number.

    To invoke the interpreter with these packages, you will explicitly have to run "python2.4". Note that all Python RPMs provided by and Red Hat provide a "/usr/bin/python2.4" (or similar, with major/minor number), even if they also provide "/usr/bin/python". So, yes, it should be safe.

    Note that you may need to build and install a second copy of any packages which you need access to with the supplemental version of Python. You can build packages of these files for the Python 2.4 interpreters for packages which use Distutils, by using the command "python2.4 bdist_rpm".

  • Q) How do I build a version of these RPMs which will install as "/usr/bin/python".
  • A) First of all, realize that you are likely to break many Red Hat provided programs which rely on having a version of Python with the same major/minor version as that which was shipped. Also, any additional packages which were installed will not be available for the new version, you will probably have to rebuild the packages from source or Source RPM.

    You can tweek several settings in the built RPMs by modifying the SPEC file that builds the RPMs. To do this, download the .src.rpm release and install it as you normally would an RPM package. This will install the source and the build control file ("SPEC" file). The .spec file is probably installed in "/usr/src/redhat/SPECS".

    Edit the .spec file and change the "config_binsuffix" line to "none". Build new RPMs with "rpmbuild -ba python.spec" (where "python.spec" is the name of the .spec file you edited). At the end of this process, you should be presented with several lines saying "Wrote". These lines specify where the binary RPMs were saved. You can then install these packages.

  • Q) I'm trying to build the RPMS, but I get:
    RPM build errors:
        File not found by glob:
  • A) You need to have the Tk development package installed. This package is usually called "tk-devel", and can be obtained from the same place that you normally find packages for your system. You may also need to install the "tcl-devel" package, if your distribution includes one.
  • Q) When I try to build the RPM, I get:
    myhost$ rpmbuild -rebuild python2.4-2.4-2pydotorg.src.rpm
    rpmbuild: arguments to --root (-r) must begin with a /
  • A) The option to rpmbuild is not "-rebuild", it's "--rebuild", with two hyphens (-) instead of one. The above command runs "rpmbuild" with the "ebuild" argument to the "-r" option, as the error message above mentions. The second hyphen is not optional. Perhaps you need to change your web-browser to use a font that makes "-" and "--" more distinctive? :-)