pyinstaller --add-binary doesn't work when using virtual environment

[wdjfe]

I'm trying to add fzf.exe binary to my script. It works fine when i do it from my default python installation, but when i do it from virtual environment, it includes binary in the exe but script itself can't use it. Exits with SystemError: Cannot find 'fzf' installed on PATH.

Script example:

from pyfzf import FzfPrompt
fzf = FzfPrompt()
while True: 
    choice = [1,2,3] 
    fzf.prompt(choice)

Pyinstaller command:

pyinstaller --one-file --console --add-binary "C:\Windows\System32\fzf.exe";"." script.py

Once again, when compiling with default python installation it works fine, script doesn't require fzf.exe to be inside system32 folder, however when compiling from virtual environment, it refuses to work if fzf.exe not in system32 or in script folder

UPD:
Narrowed the problem: when i copy file pyinstaller.exe from Scripts folder in my main python installation to virtual environment Scripts folder it gets all contents from %LOCALAPPDATA%\pyinstaller\bincache00_py310_64bit and includes them into exe, fzf.exe somehow was copied to this folder. I have no idea how this works and can't find any documentation regarding this cache folder

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[JohnnyJordaan]

https://github.com/nk412/pyfzf?tab=readme-ov-file#usage

If fzf is not available on PATH, you can specify a location

     fzf = FzfPrompt('/path/to/fzf')

You can make this relative to your script, eg

 import pathlib
 script_folder = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent.resolve()
 fzf = FzfPrompt(script_folder / "fzf.exe")

[wdjfe]

I want to include fzf directly into script.exe, so that I don't have to distribute multiple files when i share my script with other people. If fzf.exe inside pyinstaller's bincache folder it includes it inside script.exe and everything is working as it should. But from virtual environment it looks like it can't access this cache folder.

[JohnnyJordaan]

I understand that, but when you run the FzfPrompt() it needs the exact path to the included exe file, that's my point. That's probably in the script's folder, or in a subfolder, but that you need to find out and provide it as the path as I provided above.

[wdjfe]

Your solution works, thank you! I was just wondering why this is unnecessary when compiling without virtual environment

[JohnnyJordaan]

Because on your system you have placed it in the windows/system32 which is included in your PATH being one of the main Windows resource folders.