actions / actions/setup-python

Fails to run on self hosted Windows runner if pip is not in PATH

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bug
Dominant language
TypeScript
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Description

Description:

Downstream issue: https://github.com/msys2/msys2-autobuild/commit/fe4bcd08a9fbdd4a2874a67b4491991a76d784a7#commitcomment-153600091

Running the following on a self-hosted Windows runner leads to:

    - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
      id: python
      with:
        python-version: '3.13'
        cache: 'pip'
        cache-dependency-path: 'requirements.txt'
        architecture: 'x64'
        update-environment: false

error:

[error]Command failed: pip cache dir
'pip' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

The problematic thing being "update-environment" (which we need to set, so it doesn't set cmake and pkg-config variables interfering with our builds. I don't mind the PATH, but setup-python only does all or nothing)

It looks like the cache code depends on pip being globally available, while it might not be: https://github.com/actions/setup-python/blob/9e62be81b28222addecf85e47571213eb7680449/src/cache-distributions/pip-cache.ts#L35-L41. This likely just works on the hosted runners since there pip is installed already.

In other places this is handled correctly by explicitly going through the just installed python/pip, for example: https://github.com/actions/setup-python/blob/9e62be81b28222addecf85e47571213eb7680449/src/install-pypy.ts#L177-L182

Action version:
actions/setup-python@v5

Platform:

  • Ubuntu
  • macOS
  • Windows

Runner type:

  • Hosted
  • Self-hosted

Tools version:

3.13, but any really

Repro steps:
See above

Expected behavior:
The action to run

Actual behavior:
It errors out

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the pip cache logic in src/cache-distributions/pip-cache.ts at the referenced lines, then compare how src/install-pypy.ts invokes the installed Python tooling. Reproduce the Windows self-hosted workflow with update-environment disabled and verify that pip caching succeeds when pip is absent from PATH.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
github-actions, typescript
Domain
ci-cd
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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