Issue: Meson Build Error on Raspberry Pi (ARM64) – “test keyword argument ‘args’” type mismatch

[Yuvanesh24]

I’m trying to build py4godot on my Raspberry Pi (ARM64, Debian-based OS), and I’m running into a build error during the meson setup step. I followed the instructions and added the correct Godot binary to my PATH, but the Meson build fails with a type error in meson.build.

[niklas2902]

Hey,
I'm sorry about that — Arm64 builds aren't currently supported, as I don't have the necessary hardware to develop and test them properly.

[Yuvanesh24]

Thanks for the quick response!

Totally understand — ARM64 can be tricky without the hardware to test. If you’re open to it, I’d be happy to help test and debug ARM64 compatibility on my Raspberry Pi. Even if it’s not officially supported yet, maybe I can contribute patches or help document the process as I go.

Let me know if there’s a specific area you’d like me to focus on. Also, please do let me know if you manage to solve this issue on your end — I’d love to try it out!

Thanks again!

[niklas2902]

Thank you very much for your offer!

Over the past two days, I’ve been working on setting up an emulator for ARM64, and I believe you should now be able to compile for Raspberry Pi. It would be great if you could verify that.

The code is available on the branch: 130-support-linuxarm64.

To compile, follow the Linux build section in the README. Just replace this command:

python build.py --target_platform=linux64 --compiler=gcc

with

python build.py --target_platform=linuxarm64 --compiler=gcc

If you run into any issues or have feedback, feel free to reach out!

[Yuvanesh24]

Thank you for the update and for setting up the ARM64 emulator!

I’ll pull the 130-support-linuxarm64 branch and follow the updated build instructions. I’ll let you know if I run into any issues or have any feedback after testing.

Appreciate your effort in getting this up and running!

[gr3vios]

Hi there! I'm pretty interested, can I collaborate?, Can I try similar command in my Windows 11 Arm64? Any insight in the build command for target platform?

[niklas2902]

Hi,

Thank you for your offer.

To get everything set up, I recommend taking a look at these changes, where I worked on configuring the project for Linux ARM64. They should serve as a good starting point.

The most important files to review and adapt are:

• Meson cross file:
  First, you’ll need to create a Meson cross file (e.g., windowsarm64) under the platforms directory. This file should define the platform architecture appropriately.

• copy_tools.py:
  In this script, make sure to add a case for the new platform (windowsarm64) so it’s properly handled.

• download_python.py:
  Specify the interpreter to download here. These interpreters are what eventually get shipped to users. I usually use this repository for standalone Python builds.

• platform_check:
  You’ll likely need to add detection for arm64, similar to what I did for Linux.

• main.h:
  Define the correct path to the Python interpreter here. You can refer to the existing configuration for Windows 64-bit and adapt it as needed.

Once you’ve made all the necessary changes, you should be able to compile everything by running:

python build.py --target_platform=windowsarm64 --compiler=gcc

Meson should then automatically use the appropriate cross file.

I hope this helps! Feel free to reach out if you run into any issues. I’ll do my best to assist.

[gr3vios]

Hi Niklas,
I’ve been making progress on local changes but got stuck when it came to testing. I couldn’t find a Python 12 standalone build that works for ARM. The build you’re using doesn’t yet support ARM, and I’m debating whether to wait for this PR to merge: astral-sh/python-build-standalone#387, or try compiling it myself.
I also found an alternative standalone Python 3.9 build here: jay0lee/CPython-Windows-ARM64.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the best way forward!

PD: I just create a draft pull request in order to expose the changes: #136