Python tkinter on macOS 10.14.6 frozen/compiled with py2app or pyinstaller

Question

Level 1

11 points

Python tkinter on macOS 10.14.6 frozen/compiled with py2app or pyinstaller

I wanted to inform Apple that Apple/Python users are experiencing the following issue:

Python programs that use Tkinter and are "frozen" as a standalone .exe app using pyinstaller or py2app will immediately crash and return the user to the login screen when run. The error occurs on both the first macOS 10.14.6 upgrade and the supplemental 10.14.6 upgrade that came out a few days later. The following sites are all reporting essentially the same thing:

https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/issues/4334

https://github.com/ContinuumIO/anaconda-issues/issues/11165

https://github.com/PySimpleGUI/PySimpleGUI/issues/1748

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57435896/tkinter-crashes-computer-after-macos-10-14-6-update

https://superuser.com https://github.com/ContinuumIO/anaconda-issues/issues/11165

https://support.google.com/hangouts/thread/11336175?hl=en

It does not seem to matter when or what version of python3 the program was frozen under. The issue immediately occurs after the os upgrade.

As one site reports: the error first occurred with "macOS Catalina 10.15 that was released before 10.14.6 (beta 4, I think) but was then apparently resolved in the beta that arrived after10.14.6 (beta 5)." (see https://github.com/ContinuumIO/anaconda-issues/issues/11165)

So it appears these programs all work fine on any macOS version before 10.14.6.

Can we expect a fix for 10.14.6? Or are we all going to have to wait till Catalina comes out?

Thanks

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 10, 2019 7:20 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

etresoft

Level 9

50,758 points

Aug 11, 2019 5:31 PM in response to munter

munter wrote:

VikingOSX didnt understand the problem, I'm running python 3.7.4 on mac 10.4.6, and my gui totally stopped working this week.

I read through your links. Are you also running Anaconda?

Unfortunately, that doesn’t really change matters. It is the responsibility of developers to test their code on beta versions of the operating system. That includes beta versions of both 10.15 and 10.14.6. Knowing what I do about open source developers, they are likely doing something really funky and that is the cause of the crash, but I’m just speculating.

Regardless, this is not a venue for contacting Apple. The appropriate course of action would be to file a bug report via the Feedback Assistant tool. It is unlikely that a bug like this would be fixed in 10.14 with 10.15 just around the corner. If this is still a problem in 10.15, then if enough people file bug reports about it, then you might see a fix within a few months, assuming that my speculation is totally wrong, of course. You would probably have better luck contacting the developers of Python, Anaconda, Tck/Tk, etc.

Reply

Answer 2

Aug 11, 2019 12:09 AM in response to Hobbes_mac

The System installed Python 2.7.10 still uses the ancient Tcl/Tk 8.5.9. Neither of these have changed since El Capitan 10.11.6. Apple is done with Python, Ruby, and Perl fixes. These scripting languages will be deprecated in Catalina, and slated for removal from a future macOS after Catalina. The assumption is that developers will install their own (cough).

If you want to build a proper py2app application, then start with the 64-bit Python 2.7.16, or Python 3.7.4 from Python.org. These ship with built-in Tcl/Tk 8.6 (Cocoa appearance, not carbon) and OpenSSL, and do not step on the Apple System Python or the dusty Tcl/Tk 8.5.9. Everything goes into /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework with symlinks of the binaries back into /usr/local/bin, and an installation to /Applications. This is what I use.

Discussions of Catalina beta or Apple beta products are out of scope for these open, Apple Support Communites.

Reply

Answer 3

Aug 11, 2019 9:48 AM in response to munter

I understand the problem. Apple is not going to fix the issues that may or may not have caused the challenges you now have with Python 3.7.4 or any GUI that you may be using with it. If you cannot revise your code to make it work, or rebuild the py2app application, then there is no deliverance — without reverting the operating system to a prior release.

Reply

Answer 4

Hobbes_mac Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 11, 2019 7:09 PM in response to etresoft

No, I am not using Anaconda.

I think I'll just wait it out till 10.15 comes out and see how things work then. Perhaps I'll look into sending a report through the Feedback Assistant if it is still a problem. Hopefully, if the user who reported using 10.15 beta5 is true, it may be a known issue and fixed already.

Thank you all for your help and advice. This has been very informative.

Sorry for using the wrong forum.

Reply