PyBibX Desktop

An easy way to run PyBibX on Windows. ➡️ Install PyBibX Desktop and run. No separate Python install needed.

Platform note: The current release is for Windows. macOS and Linux versions are planned for later.

Why this tool?

PyBibX is excellent for bibliometric and scientometric analysis (including a browser-based Web App), but installing Python and dependencies is a hurdle for students. This project ships a one-click wrapper: install, then run.

Installation (end users)

1. Download the latest release.
2. Install.
3. Start PyBibX Desktop from the Start Menu or desktop shortcut. PyBibX opens in your browser.

Logs (if something goes wrong) are written to %LOCALAPPDATA%\PyBibX Desktop\launcher.log (and bootstrap.log / runtime.log in the same folder).

If Windows blocks the installer

Windows SmartScreen (and some browsers or antivirus tools) may warn that the app is from an “unknown publisher.” That is common for new, unsigned open-source installers and does not mean the file is malware.

SmartScreen (“Windows protected your PC”):

1. Click More info.
2. Click Run anyway.

Microsoft Edge / Chrome download warning:

1. Open the browser’s downloads list.
2. Choose Keep / Keep anyway (Edge may ask you to confirm under the ... menu).

Only install builds downloaded from the official GitHub Releases page for this project. If your organisation’s antivirus still blocks the file, ask IT to allowlist it, or open a GitHub Issue.

FAQ

Do I need to install Python?

No. Just download and run the app.

Do I get the same features as pybibx?

Yes. This app launches the official PyBibX Web App (pybibx.web_app()).

The app is slow to open after install?

Release builds ship with core libraries included, so the web UI should open relatively quickly. First launch then downloads heavy Python packages (PyTorch, transformers, BERTopic, …) in the background. Basic bibliometric tools work once the UI opens; AI features (topic modelling, embeddings, LLM helpers) become available after that background install finishes (progress is logged in %LOCALAPPDATA%\PyBibX Desktop\runtime.log). Later launches are faster once AI packages are cached.

Is the latest version of pybibx included?

Each desktop release ships with PyBibX. When online, the app checks for a newer version weekly. If you are offline, the already-installed copy still runs.

Why did you create this tool?

I am a university lecturer. I encourage students to use bibliometric tools for literature analysis and wanted a one-click option, similar to Bibliometrix Desktop.

Licence

This project is distributed under the GNU GPL v3. PyBibX and its dependencies retain their own licences; see upstream projects for details.

Support

• Installer / desktop wrapper: GitHub Issues
• PyBibX itself: contact the pybibx authors / upstream repo

Acknowledgements

• PyBibX by Valdecy Pereira and colleagues
• App icon adapted from Google Material Symbols book_ribbon (Apache 2.0)

Building from source (maintainers)

End users can ignore this section.

Prerequisites

• Windows x64
• Python 3 + pip install -r requirements-build.txt (host machine; used only to package the launcher)
• Inno Setup 7+ (per-user or machine-wide install; 6+ also works)
• Internet access to download the embeddable Python runtime and critical PyPI wheels (numpy, pandas, flask, …)

One-shot Windows build

From the repo root:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\build_windows.ps1

This will:

1. Download / prepare Python-Portable\ (embeddable CPython + pip)
2. Bake critical packages into that portable runtime (scripts/bake_critical_packages.ps1 + scripts/critical_packages.txt) — setup exe grows; first launch stays faster
3. Compile the onedir launcher with PyInstaller (--onedir --noconsole) and stage run_pybibx.exe + _internal\ at the repo root
4. Compile installer_config.iss into Output\PyBibXDesktopSetup_<version>.exe

Useful flags:

• -SkipPreparePython — skip embeddable Python download (only if already prepared)
• -SkipBake — skip critical package bake (not recommended for release builds)
• -SkipInstaller — build the launcher exe only

Manual steps (equivalent)

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\prepare_python_portable.ps1
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\bake_critical_packages.ps1
pip install -r requirements-build.txt
pyinstaller --onedir --noconsole --icon=app_icon.ico --name run_pybibx run_pybibx.py
# Copy dist\run_pybibx\run_pybibx.exe and dist\run_pybibx\_internal to the repo root,
# then compile installer_config.iss in Inno Setup

Optional full offline bake (makes the installer much larger):

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\bootstrap_runtime.ps1

Bump version.txt before each release. Publish only the setup exe on GitHub Releases (not the whole Python-Portable tree).