# Applicability of \_\_debug\_\_ for console\_scripts **URL:** \ **Category:** Packaging\ **Created:** [January 14, 2025, 2:52am UTC](https://discuss.python.org/t/applicability-of-debug-for-console-scripts/77055 "2025-01-14T02:52:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![itcarroll](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discuss.python.org/itcarroll/32/18244_2.png) [@itcarroll](https://discuss.python.org/u/itcarroll)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 2:52am UTC](https://discuss.python.org/t/applicability-of-debug-for-console-scripts/77055/1 "2025-01-14T02:52:45Z")
I’m interested in any route(s) to making the `-O` argument, and thus the ` __debug__ ` builtin, useful in console scripts. On some systems, you can manually change the shebang in the executable written during installation to `#!python -O` to turn off ` __debug__ `. How could that be automated? I see that a prior discussion ([23842](https://discuss.python.org/t/packaging-console-scripts-with-interpreter-options/23842)) on interpreter options led @jack1142 to [mention](https://discuss.python.org/t/packaging-console-scripts-with-interpreter-options/23842/11) the `-O` argument (and not for the first time, apparently ;). The action suggested was to see if any of the “wheel installers” would consider. Sorry for my ignorance, but who is that? Is `pip` a wheel installer? Is hatchling/setuptools/flit/pdm a wheel installer? Is there any alternative to modifying the shebang? My understanding is that the `-O` flag influences the import mechanism to create or use ` __pycache__ ` files with the `.opt-1.pyc` extension. Sorry (again) if this is way off base, but can the import mechanism be configured after startup to create or use `.opt-1.pyc` files? My idea here is whether the executable itself can configure the import of the callable specified as the entry point. ---
**Author:** ![brettcannon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discuss.python.org/brettcannon/32/34895_2.png) [@brettcannon](https://discuss.python.org/u/brettcannon)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://discuss.python.org/t/applicability-of-debug-for-console-scripts/77055/2 "2025-01-14T22:09:57Z")
> [@itcarroll](#): > > The action suggested was to see if any of the “wheel installers” would consider. Sorry for my ignorance, but who is that? Is `pip` a wheel installer? Is hatchling/setuptools/flit/pdm a wheel installer? Yes, they all are. Any tool that installs Python packages would be a “wheel installer”. > [@itcarroll](#): > > My understanding is that the `-O` flag influences the import mechanism to create or use ` __pycache__ ` files with the `.opt-1.pyc` extension. Correct, ignoring the dropping of `assert` statements and ` __debug__ ` to `False`. > [@itcarroll](#): > > but can the import mechanism be configured after startup to create or use `.opt-1.pyc` files? With some effort, yes. You would have to swap out all the import-related parts with finders that returned loaders that only loaded `opt-1.pyc` files. You may want to also set it up so you write out the `.opt-1.pyc` files. The sys module has the places to update and importlib has the code to help you. But I will say it’s a lot of state to update and it can be easy to miss something. ---
**Author:** ![pitrou](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discuss.python.org/pitrou/32/28_2.png) [@pitrou](https://discuss.python.org/u/pitrou)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 8:08am UTC](https://discuss.python.org/t/applicability-of-debug-for-console-scripts/77055/3 "2025-01-15T08:08:19Z")
> [@itcarroll](#): > > I’m interested in any route(s) to making the `-O` argument, and thus the ` __debug__ ` builtin, useful in console scripts. Note that the `-O` option doesn’t achieve much. You should measure if it gives you any practical benefit (chances are it doesn’t) before trying to enable it in your build chain.