Build Integration

To compile a Python extension using Pycairo you need to know where Pycairo and cairo are located and what flags to pass to the compiler and linker.

1. Variant:

   Similar to variant 2 but doesn’t require pycairo to be loaded, which can be problematic on Windows where by default cairo isn’t in the dll search path since Python 3.8.

   def get_include_path():
       import os
       from importlib.util import find_spec
       spec = find_spec("cairo")
       assert spec is not None
       return os.path.join(os.path.dirname(spec.origin), 'include')
   

   Compiler Flags:

   • python -c "get_include_path()"

   • pkg-config --cflags cairo

   Linker Flags:

   • pkg-config --libs cairo

2. Variant:

   Only available since version 1.16.0.

   While Pycairo installs a pkg-config file, in case of virtualenvs, installation to the user directory or when using wheels/eggs, pkg-config will not be able to locate the .pc file. The get_include() function should work in all cases, as long as Pycairo is in your Python search path.

   Compiler Flags:

   • python -c "import cairo; print(cairo.get_include())"

   • pkg-config --cflags cairo

   Linker Flags:

   • pkg-config --libs cairo

3. Variant:

   This works with older versions, but with the limitations mentioned above. Use it as a fallback if you want to support older versions or if your module does not require virtualenv/pip support.

   Compiler Flags:

   • pkg-config --cflags py3cairo

   Linker Flags:

   • pkg-config --libs py3cairo