actions / actions/setup-python

Versioned executables (e.g., python3.13.exe) missing on Windows

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#1,079 8 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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feature request
Dominant language
TypeScript
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Description:
Versioned executables (e.g., python3.13.exe) are not installed on Windows while python313.dll, python-3.13.2-amd64.exe, and pip3.13.exe are installed. However, this is not the case on Linux or macOS, where versioned executables (or symlinks) are always present. This is inconvenient when using multiple versions at once.

Action version:
v5

Platform:

  • Ubuntu
  • macOS
  • Windows

Runner type:

  • Hosted
  • Self-hosted

Tools version:
I tested 3.9 and 3.13.

Repro steps:

      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: |
            3.9
            3.13

Expected behavior:
Versioned executables (or symlinks) are present on all platforms.

Actual behavior:
Versioned executables (or symlinks) are missing on Windows.

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 by running the provided GitHub Actions workflow with Python 3.9 and 3.13 on a hosted Windows runner, then inspect this action's Windows installation handling. Done means versioned executables or symlinks such as python3.13.exe are available after setup, matching the behavior described for Linux and macOS.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
github-actions, python, typescript
Domain
ci-cd
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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