New Python bindings for Mapnik [WIP]

https://github.com/pybind/pybind11

Installation

Prerequisites

Before building from source, you need to install Mapnik and its dependencies:

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

# Install Mapnik and development dependencies
apt-get update
apt-get install -y \
    build-essential \
    pkg-config \
    libmapnik-dev \
    libboost-dev

macOS (Homebrew)

For building from source:

# Install Mapnik and dependencies
brew install mapnik boost icu4c

The build script will automatically detect Homebrew paths on macOS.

For using pre-built wheels: Pre-built wheels bundle all dependencies (including Mapnik) and work standalone without requiring Homebrew installation.

Building from Source

Using uv (recommended)

uv sync

Using pip

pip install . -v

Note: On macOS, the build system automatically configures Homebrew paths for Mapnik, Boost, and ICU. On Linux, standard system paths are used.

Testing

Once you have installed you can test the package by running:

pytest test/python_tests/

UV Sync via Docker

docker run --rm -it \
  -e http_proxy -e https_proxy -e no_proxy \
  -v "$(pwd):/workspace" \
  -w /workspace \
  python-mapnik:local \
  uv sync --verbose