actions / actions/setup-python
pip is broken after downgrade on Windows pypy-3.11
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Description
Description:
When using the setup-python action with pypy-3.11 on Windows, installing a version of pip older than the version pre-installed by setup-python results in a completely broken pip.
Here is an example workflow run that demonstrates the issue:
https://github.com/bashonly/setup-python-pypy-pip-bug/actions/runs/30870303776
Action version:
reproducible on v7.0.0, v6.3.0, v6.2.0, possibly older versions
Platform:
- Windows
(not reproducible on Ubuntu)
Runner type:
- Hosted
Tools version:
pypy-3.11
Repro steps:
- Create a GHA workflow with a job that runs on
windows-latest - Add a step that uses
actions/setup-pythonwithpython-version: pypy-3.11 - Add a step that downgrades pip, e.g.
python -m pip install "pip==26.1.2" - Add a step that attempts to use the downgraded pip, e.g.
python -m pip install requests - Run the workflow
Here is a reproducer workflow:
demo.yml
name: PyPy pip bug MRE
on:
workflow_dispatch:
permissions:
contents: read
jobs:
demonstrate:
name: Demonstrate PyPy pip issue
permissions:
contents: read
runs-on: windows-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/setup-python@ece7cb06caefa5fff74198d8649806c4678c61a1 # v6.3.0
with:
python-version: pypy-3.11
- name: Downgrade pip
run: |
python -m pip install "pip==26.1.2"
- name: Use pip
run: |
python -m pip install -U requests
Expected behavior:
The downgraded pip should not be broken.
Actual behavior:
The downgraded pip immediately raises an ImportError upon execution.
Analysis:
The root cause seems to be setup-python unconditionally upgrading pip to the latest version using the --ignore-installed pip flag:
The --ignore-installed option tells pip not to uninstall any existing version of the package, but instead to merely install on top of any existing packages. This seems to cause some confusion as to what version is actually installed, as evidenced by the setup-python output from the example workflow run log:
setup-python log snippet
Installing and updating pip
C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\3.11.15\x64\python.exe -m ensurepip
Looking in links: c:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\tmpz17a6bza
Processing c:\users\runner~1\appdata\local\temp\tmpz17a6bza\setuptools-79.0.1-py3-none-any.whl
Processing c:\users\runner~1\appdata\local\temp\tmpz17a6bza\pip-24.0-py3-none-any.whl
Installing collected packages: setuptools, pip
WARNING: The scripts pip3.11.exe and pip3.exe are installed in 'C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\3.11.15\x64\Scripts' which is not on PATH.
Consider adding this directory to PATH or, if you prefer to suppress this warning, use --no-warn-script-location.
Successfully installed pip-24.0 setuptools-79.0.1
C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\3.11.15\x64\python.exe -m pip install --ignore-installed pip
Collecting pip
Downloading pip-26.2-py3-none-any.whl.metadata (4.6 kB)
Downloading pip-26.2-py3-none-any.whl (1.8 MB)
---------------------------------------- 1.8/1.8 MB 38.4 MB/s eta 0:00:00
Installing collected packages: pip
WARNING: The scripts pip.exe, pip3.11.exe and pip3.exe are installed in 'C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\3.11.15\x64\Scripts' which is not on PATH.
Consider adding this directory to PATH or, if you prefer to suppress this warning, use --no-warn-script-location.
Successfully installed pip-24.0
During the upgrade, pip knows it's installing version 26.2, but after installation is complete it reports that version 24.0 is installed. (pip 24.0 is the version that is bootstrapped with ensurepip.)
If we look at the "Use pip" step from example workflow run log, we can see that our attempt to use pip 26.1.2 errors and emits the following traceback:
File "C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\3.11.15\x64\Lib\site-packages\pip\_internal\cli\main_parser.py", line 11, in <module>
from pip._internal.build_env import get_runnable_pip
File "C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\3.11.15\x64\Lib\site-packages\pip\_internal\build_env\__init__.py", line 8, in <module>
from pip._internal.build_env.installer import (
File "C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\3.11.15\x64\Lib\site-packages\pip\_internal\build_env\installer.py", line 22, in <module>
from pip._internal.utils.misc import get_runnable_pip
ImportError: cannot import name 'get_runnable_pip' from 'pip._internal.utils.misc' (C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\PyPy\3.11.15\x64\Lib\site-packages\pip\_internal\utils\misc.py)
Error: Process completed with exit code 1.
_internal\build_env\__init__.py does not exist in pip<26.2. This suggests that the file was left behind from the pip version 26.2 that was installed prior to the downgrade (possibly because the package metadata used to uninstall 26.2 actually belonged to version 24.0). It tries to import get_runnable_pip from pip._internal.utils.misc, but the function wasn't moved into that module until pip version 26.2, so the ImportError is raised.
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with src/install-pypy.ts at the pip installation logic around lines 175-183, then run the linked demo.yml workflow on windows-latest with pypy-3.11. Compare the setup-python log with the downgrade and use-pip steps; done means downgrading pip no longer leaves pip unusable on Windows while the existing Ubuntu behavior remains unaffected.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- github-actions, python, typescript
- Domain
- ci-cd, tooling
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 55/100