Dibyojit Datta [Github] [PyBOX]
04/11/2026
dattadibyojit@gmail.com
Hey Fellas,
I am developing a small self-driven project. It started as a hobby project, but now I think it truly holds some potential. It is actually a fantasy computer (the kind that runs on top of your main computer, mimicking a real computer) written in Python. Actually, I loved how programs like TIC-80, PICO-8, etc. work, having their own Lua-based script and an actual PC-like interface.
My plan was to create a shell that can access certain specially written programs. I developed a user authentication system (which I later removed since I thought it was unnecessary), a package manager utility, and a Neofetch-like alternative (this is mainly to test the package manager).
Most of the people don't realize that PyBOX, if properly developed, can become a great tool for students who are starting to learn programming. What PyBOX is capable of can be defined by the fact that it is not for Lua-based games but for actual programming. It can pack all the dependencies and modules (even an LLM) into a simple shareable and reproducible file that the user can share, and others can unpack it and start developing since the BOX is already packed with the required development tools.
Some more use cases I have been thinking about —
A simple web server image. Pack a lightweight Python HTTP server, your static site files, and a specific version of a text editor. Hand it to a friend; they unpack it, run it, and your site is live on their localhost instantly. No "it works on my machine" nonsense.
- A GameBoy emulator box. Pack a specific emulator build, your ROM collection, and your save states. Carry it on a USB drive. Sit down at any machine, unpack, and your save is right there at the final boss.
- A machine learning experiment box. Pack a frozen Python 3.9 environment, your Jupyter notebooks, your dataset, and the exact library versions you trained on. Six months later, you can still reproduce the results without hunting down deprecated dependencies.
- A music production image. Pack a portable DAW, your sample packs, your VST plugins, and the project file. No reinstalling plugins, no broken paths, no missing samples—just unpack and the session opens exactly as you left it.
- The core idea is always the same: the work and the tools travel together as one unit, and nothing depends on whatever is installed on the host machine. That is what makes PyBOX genuinely captivating.
- A visual novel image. Pack Ren'Py (a specific version you tested against), your script files, sprites, music, and save data all together. When you want to continue writing on a different PC, you unpack the box, and everything—the engine, the assets, the story—is exactly where you left off.
