Wrap Go Binaries in Python Wheels: A New Tool from Simon Willison

Simon Willison, the mind behind Datasette, has released a tool that wraps Go binaries into Python wheels. Now you can distribute Go programs via pip, as if they always belonged to the Python ecosystem.

Why bother? Imagine you wrote a blazing fast image processing tool in Go, but your Pythonista colleagues break into a cold sweat at the sight of a Makefile. With this tool, a simple pip install magically places the Go binary into their PATH.

How it works: it compiles your Go code into a binary, then packages it into a wheel along with a small Python wrapper script. On installation, the binary is copied to the appropriate directory. No magic, just CI pipelines and a few bash commands.

Of course, this isn't a replacement for deep integration — for complex scenarios, stick with cgo or gRPC. But for small CLI utilities you want to distribute quickly to your team, it's perfect. Especially if your team isn't ready to learn go install.

METABYTE's take: We love cross-pollinating technologies, especially when it makes developers' lives easier. Need to combine Go and Python in one project? We can help — with minimal headache. Mostly.