The SIP Command Line

The syntax of the SIP command line is:

sip [options] [specification]

specification is the name of the specification file for the module. If it is omitted then stdin is used.

The full set of command line options is:

-h

Display a help message.

-V

Display the SIP version number.

-a <FILE>

Deprecated since version 4.18.

The name of the QScintilla API file to generate. This file contains a description of the module API in a form that the QScintilla editor component can use for auto-completion and call tips. (The file may also be used by the SciTE editor but must be sorted first.) By default the file is not generated.

-b <FILE>

The name of the build file to generate. This file contains the information about the module needed by the SIP build system to generate a platform and compiler specific Makefile for the module. By default the file is not generated.

-B <TAG>

New in version 4.16.

The tag is added to the list of backstops. The option may be given more than once if multiple timelines have been defined. See the %Timeline directive for more details.

-c <DIR>

The name of the directory (which must exist) into which all of the generated C or C++ code is placed. By default no code is generated.

-d <FILE>

Deprecated since version 4.12: Use the -X option instead.

The name of the documentation file to generate. Documentation is included in specification files using the %Doc and %ExportedDoc directives. By default the file is not generated.

-D

New in version 4.19.1.

Code is generated for a debug build of Python.

-e

Support for C++ exceptions is enabled. This causes all calls to C++ code to be enclosed in try/catch blocks and C++ exceptions to be converted to Python exceptions. By default exception support is disabled.

-f

New in version 4.18.

Warnings are handled as if they were errors and the program terminates.

-g

The Python GIL is released before making any calls to the C/C++ library being wrapped and reacquired afterwards. See The Python Global Interpreter Lock and the ReleaseGIL and HoldGIL annotations.

-I <DIR>

The directory is added to the list of directories searched when looking for a specification file given in an %Include or %Import directive. Directory separators must always be /. This option may be given any number of times.

-j <NUMBER>

The generated code is split into the given number of files. This makes it easier to use the parallel build facility of most modern implementations of make. By default 1 file is generated for each C structure or C++ class.

-k

New in version 4.10.

Deprecated since version 4.12: Use the keyword_arguments="All" %Module directive argument instead.

All functions and methods will, by default, support passing parameters using the Python keyword argument syntax.

-o

New in version 4.10.

Docstrings will be automatically generated that describe the signature of all functions, methods and constructors.

-p <MODULE>

The name of the %ConsolidatedModule which will contain the wrapper code for this component module.

-P

New in version 4.10.

By default SIP generates code to provide access to protected C++ functions from Python. On some platforms (notably Linux, but not Windows) this code can be avoided if the protected keyword is redefined as public during compilation. This can result in a significant reduction in the size of a generated Python module. This option disables the generation of the extra code.

-r

Debugging statements that trace the execution of the bindings are automatically generated. By default the statements are not generated.

-s <SUFFIX>

The suffix to use for generated C or C++ source files. By default .c is used for C and .cpp for C++.

-t <TAG>

The SIP version tag (declared using a %Timeline directive) or the SIP platform tag (declared using the %Platforms directive) to generate code for. This option may be given any number of times so long as the tags do not conflict.

-T

Deprecated since version 4.16.6: This option is now ignored and timestamps are always disabled.

By default the generated C and C++ source and header files include a timestamp specifying when they were generated. This option disables the timestamp so that the contents of the generated files remain constant for a particular version of SIP.

-w

The display of warning messages is enabled. By default warning messages are disabled.

-x <FEATURE>

The feature (declared using the %Feature directive) is disabled.

-X <ID:FILE>

New in version 4.12.

The extract (defined with the %Extract directive) with the identifier ID is written to the file FILE.

-y <FILE>

New in version 4.18.

The name of the Python type hints stub file to generate. This file contains a description of the module API that is compliant with PEP 484. By default the file is not generated.

-z <FILE>

Deprecated since version 4.16.6: Use the @<FILE> style instead.

The name of a file containing more command line options.

Command line options can also be placed in a file and passed on the command line using the @ prefix.