Pip and virtualenv solve the problem of creating and populating isolated runtimes for things you control.  They don&#x27;t really address distribution to end users, i.e., those who use OS packaging or app stores.<p>Distribution of python &quot;binaries&quot; is a real pain though.  Twitter&#x27;s PEX (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;engineering.twitter.com&#x2F;university&#x2F;videos&#x2F;wtf-is-pex" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;engineering.twitter.com&#x2F;university&#x2F;videos&#x2F;wtf-is-pex</a>) is the best, in my opinion.  (It&#x27;s basically a packaged venv, so in that regard, I guess I agree.)  It&#x27;s still problematic and requires a writable filesystem just to run.<p>I build OS packages for python programs using PEX, and it&#x27;s okay, but it&#x27;s probably my least favorite distribution mechanism.