Can't hide/remove console even with arguments

[Iuryck]

I am running the latest Pyinstaller version to deploy a Kivy app. I am using all possible arguments to remove the console, even adding the args to the spec files, but it still opens the console. I am using Git Actions and a Yaml file to do this deployments so it could be that, running on windows-latest

Here is my spec:

import os
os.environ['KIVY_GL_BACKEND'] = 'angle_sdl2'

from kivy_deps import sdl2, glew
from kivymd import hooks_path as kivymd_hooks_path

# -*- mode: python ; coding: utf-8 -*-

import argparse

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('--noconsole', action='store_true')
parser.add_argument('--windowed', action='store_true')
options = parser.parse_args()

block_cipher = None


a = Analysis(
    ['main.py'],
    pathex=[],
    binaries=[],
    datas=[('./pages','./pages'),('./assets','./assets'),('./utils','./utils')],
    hiddenimports=[],
    hookspath=[kivymd_hooks_path],
    hooksconfig={},
    runtime_hooks=[],
    excludes=[],
    win_no_prefer_redirects=False,
    win_private_assemblies=False,
    cipher=block_cipher,
    noarchive=False,
)
pyz = PYZ(a.pure, a.zipped_data, cipher=block_cipher)



exe = EXE(
    pyz,
    a.scripts,
    [],
    exclude_binaries=True,
    name='main',
    debug=False,
    bootloader_ignore_signals=False,
    strip=False,
    upx=True,
    console=True,
    disable_windowed_traceback=False,
    argv_emulation=False,
    target_arch=None,
    codesign_identity=None,
    entitlements_file=None,
    icon=['assets\\icon.ico'],
)
coll = COLLECT(
    exe,
    Tree('dist\\main'),
    a.binaries,
    a.zipfiles,
    a.datas,
    *[Tree(p) for p in (sdl2.dep_bins + glew.dep_bins)],
    strip=False,
    upx=True,
    upx_exclude=[],
    name='main',
    console=False
)

Here is my Yaml:

name: Build Recette App Desktop

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - staging
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - staging

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: windows-latest

    steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v4

    - name: Set up Python
      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      with:
        python-version: '3.11.9'

    - name: Create Virtual Env
      run: |
        python -m pip install --upgrade pip
        pip install virtualenv
        mkdir my_env
        cd my_env
        python -m venv . 
        ./Scripts/Activate.ps1
        Write-Host "VIRTUAL_ENV: $env:VIRTUAL_ENV"
        echo "VIRTUAL_ENV=$VIRTUAL_ENV" >> $GITHUB_ENV

        

    - name: Install Dependencies
      run: |
        my_env/Scripts/Activate.ps1
        pip install -r requirements.txt

    - name: Set Kivy GL Backend
      run: |
        my_env/Scripts/Activate.ps1
        echo "KIVY_GL_BACKEND=angle_sdl2" >> $env:GITHUB_ENV
      

    - name: Build with PyInstaller
      run: |
        my_env/Scripts/Activate.ps1
        pyinstaller --windowed --noconsole --onedir --icon assets/icon.ico  main.py
      

    - name: Config main.spec
      run: |
        echo "${{ vars.spec_file }}" >> main.spec
      shell: bash
    
    - name: Recompile with .spec
      run: |
        my_env/Scripts/Activate.ps1
        pyinstaller main.spec -y    


    - name: Recette zip artifact
      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
      with:
        name: recette
        path: dist
        include-hidden-files: true

[bwoodsend]

Are you sure it's your application's console and not that of a subprocess? That catches people out quite often. e.g. #8748

[Iuryck]

Yeah I'm sure. It starts up showing all that Kivy log building up the app, it also shows some print statements I put in to measure building time. Different from the issue you mentioned, the console stays

[rokm]

exe = EXE(
   ...
   console=True,
   ...
)

Surely setting console=False should be a good start?

Otherwise, I imagine that your Build with PyInstaller creates a noconsole build, and then you overwrite the spec (or rather, you seem to be appending to it?), and if your effective spec is what you have shown us, then Recompile with .spec overwrites the previous noconsole build with a console one.

[rokm]

But you're not specifying --windowed/--noconsole in the second build, are you?

Yeah... you can't specify that... it raises an error. Why are you even bringing it up?

Because the point is, --windowed/--noconsole works only when generating spec (e.g., generating it on-the-fly, like you do in your Build with PyInstaller).

Still I tried with

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('--noconsole', action='store_true')
parser.add_argument('--windowed', action='store_true')
options = parser.parse_args()

Yeah, that's another puzzling thing in your .spec - you create a command-line parser instance that accepts those options and supposedly parses the arguments, but you don't use resulting options anywhere in the spec file. But it's all moot anyway, because arguments passed to PyInstaller (which you are re-parsing here) cannot contain --noconsole/--windowed due to the above point.

[Iuryck]

Still I tried with

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('--noconsole', action='store_true')
parser.add_argument('--windowed', action='store_true')
options = parser.parse_args()

Yeah, that's another puzzling thing in your .spec - you create a command-line parser instance that accepts those options and supposedly parses the arguments, but you don't use resulting options anywhere in the spec file. But it's all moot anyway, because arguments passed to PyInstaller (which you are re-parsing here) cannot contain --noconsole/--windowed due to the above point.

Yeah I know it's weird. But it's in the docs so I tried it: https://pyinstaller.org/en/v6.2.0/spec-files.html#adding-parameters-to-spec-files

[rokm]

That's because I'm building a DIR and not a single file. It collects all the needed files and puts it in the final DIR

This should never be required, unless you have some weird co-dependency going on between your first build step (Build with PyInstaller) and the second one (Recompile with .spec).

[rokm]

Still I tried with

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument('--noconsole', action='store_true')
parser.add_argument('--windowed', action='store_true')
options = parser.parse_args()

Yeah, that's another puzzling thing in your .spec - you create a command-line parser instance that accepts those options and supposedly parses the arguments, but you don't use resulting options anywhere in the spec file. But it's all moot anyway, because arguments passed to PyInstaller (which you are re-parsing here) cannot contain --noconsole/--windowed due to the above point.

Yeah I know it's weird. But it's in the docs so I tried it: https://pyinstaller.org/en/v6.2.0/spec-files.html#adding-parameters-to-spec-files

Ah, right, I forgot you can pass additional arguments after -- and parse those instead. But this is not what you are doing - you do not use options in the spec, and you did not pass extra arguments to PyInstaller command after --).

[Iuryck]

Ah, right, I forgot you can pass additional arguments after -- and parse those instead. But this is not what you are doing - you do not use options in the spec, and you did not pass extra arguments to PyInstaller command after --).

Yeah I knew something was wrong about it but Im in such a headache with the app itself I was just hoping to do some magic and just make the thing work.

Anyway, the console=False inside EXE worked. I really really wished they just putt this stuff in all the quick starts and tutorials in the documentation..... Thanks