How to call Python functions from C++, good description

Question

Where do I find a good description of how to call Python functions from a C++ program ?

Answer 1

Thank you for sharing details.

Authoritative and Practical Guides

1. Official Python Docs – Embedding Python

• The most complete and authoritative guide to embedding Python in C/C++.
• Covers initialization, calling functions, managing Python objects, and finalizing the interpreter.
  • Embedding Python in Another Application – Python Docs

1. Python/C API Reference Manual

• Detailed documentation of the Python C API used to interact with Python objects and functions.
  • Visit: docs.python.org/3/c-api/index.html [1]

1. Coveros Guide – Calling Python Code from C++

• A practical, developer-friendly walkthrough with examples.
• https://www.coveros.com/calling-python-code-from-cpp [2]

1. pybind11 Documentation

• A modern C++11 header-only library that simplifies calling Python from C++ and vice versa.
• Ideal for clean, readable code and minimal boilerplate.
• https://pybind11.readthedocs.io/ [2]

1. Stack Overflow – Calling Python from C/C++

• Offers community-tested code examples and troubleshooting tips.
  • Visit: stackoverflow.com/questions/3286448 [1]

Internal Microsoft Learn Resources

• Write C++ extensions for Python - Visual Studio (Windows)
  This guide explains how to use the CPython API to expose C++ functions to Python, including how to use PyObject*, PyMethodDef, and PyModuleDef to register and call functions .
• The Working Programmer - Python: Functions | Microsoft Learn
  Offers foundational understanding of Python functions, including eval, exec, and dir, which are useful when dynamically interacting with Python from C++.
  References

[1] Calling a python method from C/C++, and extracting its return value

[2] Calling Python From C++: A Quick Guide to Integration

[3] Write C++ extensions for Python - Visual Studio (Windows) | Microsoft Learn

[4] The Working Programmer - Python: Functions | Microsoft Learn

Answer 2

The python documentation is the best source that I know of here. I don't know if there is a C++ library to encapsulate this, so it uses the C interface.