Poetry 2.0.1 fails with "[WinError 5] Access is denied" ; Poetry 1.8.0 works great!

Description

I was hoping to use poetry 2.0.1 to make use of the gui-script in order to run a window-less Python app but am having trouble getting that version to run.

I'm running Windows 11, Version 24h2 (OS Build 26100.2894) and I'm having trouble running the new 2.0.1 version of poetry (which I installed via pipx). I keep getting these [WinError 5] Access is denied errors, even for commands that don't seem like they should be accessing the file system.

Weirdly, when I downgrade to 1.8.0 everything works great.

Any ideas, advice, or thoughts on stuff to try would be greatly appreciated.

Here's my pyproject.toml file:

[tool.poetry]
name = "nvim-opener"
version = "0.1.0"
description = "Open files in NeoVim from Windows Explorer"
authors = ["Mike Panitz"]
license = "MIT"

[tool.poetry.dependencies]
python = ">=3.9,<3.12"  # Ensures compatibility by avoiding Python 3.12
pynvim = "^0.4.0"
pywin32 = "^306"
pygetwindow = "^0.0.9"  # Add this dependency

[tool.poetry.scripts]
nvim-open = "nvim_opener.main:run"

[build-system]
requires = ["poetry-core"]
build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"

Here's a transcript of me not getting this to work 🙃

> poetry --version
Poetry (version 2.0.1)
> poetry debug info

Poetry
Version: 2.0.1
Python:  3.12.1

[WinError 5] Access is denied
> poetry build

[WinError 5] Access is denied
> poetry build --no-cache

[WinError 5] Access is denied
> poetry cache clear --all PyPI
Delete 22 entries? (yes/no) [yes] yes
> poetry build

[WinError 5] Access is denied
> pipx install --force poetry==1.8.0
Installing to existing venv 'poetry'
  installed package poetry 1.8.0, installed using Python 3.12.1
  These apps are now globally available
    - poetry.exe
done! ✨ 🌟 ✨
> poetry build
Building nvim-opener (0.1.0)
  - Building sdist
  - Built nvim_opener-0.1.0.tar.gz
  - Building wheel
  - Built nvim_opener-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl
>  
> pipx upgrade poetry
upgraded package poetry from 1.8.0 to 2.0.1 (location: C:\Users\michp\pipx\venvs\poetry)
> poetry build

[WinError 5] Access is denied
> poetry build -vvv
Trying to detect current active python executable as specified in the config.

  Stack trace:

  16  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\application.py:327 in run
       325│
       326│             try:
     → 327│                 exit_code = self._run(io)
       328│             except BrokenPipeError:
       329│                 # If we are piped to another process, it may close early and send a

  15  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\console\application.py:236 in _run
       234│
       235│         with directory(self._working_directory):
     → 236│             exit_code: int = super()._run(io)
       237│
       238│         return exit_code

  14  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\application.py:431 in _run
       429│             io.input.interactive(interactive)
       430│
     → 431│         exit_code = self._run_command(command, io)
       432│         self._running_command = None
       433│

  13  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\application.py:473 in _run_command
       471│
       472│         if error is not None:
     → 473│             raise error
       474│
       475│         return terminate_event.exit_code

  12  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\application.py:454 in _run_command
       452│
       453│         try:
     → 454│             self._event_dispatcher.dispatch(command_event, COMMAND)
       455│
       456│             if command_event.command_should_run():

  11  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\events\event_dispatcher.py:26 in dispatch
        24│
        25│         if listeners:
     →  26│             self._do_dispatch(listeners, event_name, event)
        27│
        28│         return event

  10  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\events\event_dispatcher.py:85 in _do_dispatch
        83│                 break
        84│
     →  85│             listener(event, event_name, self)
        86│
        87│     def _sort_listeners(self, event_name: str) -> None:

   9  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\console\application.py:346 in configure_env
       344│
       345│         env_manager = EnvManager(poetry, io=io)
     → 346│         env = env_manager.create_venv()
       347│
       348│         if env.is_venv() and io.is_verbose():

   8  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\env_manager.py:382 in create_venv
       380│
       381│         cwd = self._poetry.file.path.parent
     → 382│         env = self.get(reload=True)
       383│
       384│         if not env.is_sane():

   7  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\env_manager.py:206 in get
       204│             return self._env
       205│
     → 206│         python = Python.get_preferred_python(config=self._poetry.config, io=self._io)
       207│         python_minor = python.minor_version.to_string()
       208│

   6  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\python_manager.py:120 in get_preferred_python
       118│
       119│         if not config.get("virtualenvs.use-poetry-python") and (
     → 120│             active_python := Python._detect_active_python(io)
       121│         ):
       122│             return cls(executable=active_python)

   5  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\python_manager.py:90 in _detect_active_python
        88│         )
        89│
     →  90│         executable = Python._full_python_path("python")
        91│
        92│         if executable is not None:

   4  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\python_manager.py:72 in _full_python_path
        70│         try:
        71│             encoding = "locale" if sys.version_info >= (3, 10) else None
     →  72│             executable = subprocess.check_output(
        73│                 [path_python, "-c", "import sys; print(sys.executable)"],
        74│                 text=True,

   3  C:\Program Files\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py:466 in check_output
        464│         kwargs['input'] = empty
        465│
     →  466│     return run(*popenargs, stdout=PIPE, timeout=timeout, check=True,
        467│                **kwargs).stdout
        468│

   2  C:\Program Files\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py:548 in run
        546│         kwargs['stderr'] = PIPE
        547│
     →  548│     with Popen(*popenargs, **kwargs) as process:
        549│         try:
        550│             stdout, stderr = process.communicate(input, timeout=timeout)

   1  C:\Program Files\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py:1026 in __init__
       1024│                             encoding=encoding, errors=errors)
       1025│
     → 1026│             self._execute_child(args, executable, preexec_fn, close_fds,
       1027│                                 pass_fds, cwd, env,
       1028│                                 startupinfo, creationflags, shell,

  PermissionError

  [WinError 5] Access is denied

  at C:\Program Files\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py:1538 in _execute_child
      1534│             sys.audit("subprocess.Popen", executable, args, cwd, env)
      1535│
      1536│             # Start the process
      1537│             try:
    → 1538│                 hp, ht, pid, tid = _winapi.CreateProcess(executable, args,
      1539│                                          # no special security
      1540│                                          None, None,
      1541│                                          int(not close_fds),
      1542│                                          creationflags,    

> poetry env use "C:\Program Files\Python311\python.exe"

[WinError 5] Access is denied    

Workarounds

Downgrade to 1.8.0

Poetry Installation Method

pipx

Operating System

Windows 11

Poetry Version

2.0.1

Poetry Configuration

cache-dir = "C:\\Users\\michp\\AppData\\Local\\pypoetry\\Cache"
installer.max-workers = null
installer.no-binary = null
installer.only-binary = null
installer.parallel = true
installer.re-resolve = true
keyring.enabled = true
requests.max-retries = 0
solver.lazy-wheel = true
system-git-client = false
virtualenvs.create = true
virtualenvs.in-project = null
virtualenvs.options.always-copy = false
virtualenvs.options.no-pip = false
virtualenvs.options.system-site-packages = false
virtualenvs.path = "{cache-dir}\\virtualenvs"  # C:\Users\michp\AppData\Local\pypoetry\Cache\virtualenvs
virtualenvs.prompt = "{project_name}-py{python_version}"
virtualenvs.use-poetry-python = false

Python Sysconfig

py_sysconfig.txt

Paste the output of 'python -m sysconfig', over this line.

Example pyproject.toml

[tool.poetry]
name = "nvim-opener"
version = "0.1.0"
description = "Open files in NeoVim from Windows Explorer"
authors = ["Mike Panitz"]
license = "MIT"

[tool.poetry.dependencies]
python = ">=3.9,<3.12"  # Ensures compatibility by avoiding Python 3.12
pynvim = "^0.4.0"
pywin32 = "^306"
pygetwindow = "^0.0.9"  # Add this dependency

[tool.poetry.scripts]
nvim-open = "nvim_opener.main:run"

[build-system]
requires = ["poetry-core"]
build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"

Poetry Runtime Logs

poetry build -vvv
Trying to detect current active python executable as specified in the config.

Stack trace:

16  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\application.py:327 in run
     325│
     326│             try:
   → 327│                 exit_code = self._run(io)
     328│             except BrokenPipeError:
     329│                 # If we are piped to another process, it may close early and send a

15  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\console\application.py:236 in _run
     234│
     235│         with directory(self._working_directory):
   → 236│             exit_code: int = super()._run(io)
     237│
     238│         return exit_code

14  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\application.py:431 in _run
     429│             io.input.interactive(interactive)
     430│
   → 431│         exit_code = self._run_command(command, io)
     432│         self._running_command = None
     433│

13  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\application.py:473 in _run_command
     471│
     472│         if error is not None:
   → 473│             raise error
     474│
     475│         return terminate_event.exit_code

12  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\application.py:454 in _run_command
     452│
     453│         try:
   → 454│             self._event_dispatcher.dispatch(command_event, COMMAND)
     455│
     456│             if command_event.command_should_run():

11  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\events\event_dispatcher.py:26 in dispatch
      24│
      25│         if listeners:
   →  26│             self._do_dispatch(listeners, event_name, event)
      27│
      28│         return event

10  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\cleo\events\event_dispatcher.py:85 in _do_dispatch
      83│                 break
      84│
   →  85│             listener(event, event_name, self)
      86│
      87│     def _sort_listeners(self, event_name: str) -> None:

 9  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\console\application.py:346 in configure_env
     344│
     345│         env_manager = EnvManager(poetry, io=io)
   → 346│         env = env_manager.create_venv()
     347│
     348│         if env.is_venv() and io.is_verbose():

 8  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\env_manager.py:382 in create_venv
     380│
     381│         cwd = self._poetry.file.path.parent
   → 382│         env = self.get(reload=True)
     383│
     384│         if not env.is_sane():

 7  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\env_manager.py:206 in get
     204│             return self._env
     205│
   → 206│         python = Python.get_preferred_python(config=self._poetry.config, io=self._io)
     207│         python_minor = python.minor_version.to_string()
     208│

 6  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\python_manager.py:120 in get_preferred_python
     118│
     119│         if not config.get("virtualenvs.use-poetry-python") and (
   → 120│             active_python := Python._detect_active_python(io)
     121│         ):
     122│             return cls(executable=active_python)

 5  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\python_manager.py:90 in _detect_active_python
      88│         )
      89│
   →  90│         executable = Python._full_python_path("python")
      91│
      92│         if executable is not None:

 4  ~\pipx\venvs\poetry\Lib\site-packages\poetry\utils\env\python_manager.py:72 in _full_python_path
      70│         try:
      71│             encoding = "locale" if sys.version_info >= (3, 10) else None
   →  72│             executable = subprocess.check_output(
      73│                 [path_python, "-c", "import sys; print(sys.executable)"],
      74│                 text=True,

 3  C:\Program Files\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py:466 in check_output
      464│         kwargs['input'] = empty
      465│
   →  466│     return run(*popenargs, stdout=PIPE, timeout=timeout, check=True,
      467│                **kwargs).stdout
      468│

 2  C:\Program Files\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py:548 in run
      546│         kwargs['stderr'] = PIPE
      547│
   →  548│     with Popen(*popenargs, **kwargs) as process:
      549│         try:
      550│             stdout, stderr = process.communicate(input, timeout=timeout)

 1  C:\Program Files\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py:1026 in __init__
     1024│                             encoding=encoding, errors=errors)
     1025│
   → 1026│             self._execute_child(args, executable, preexec_fn, close_fds,
     1027│                                 pass_fds, cwd, env,
     1028│                                 startupinfo, creationflags, shell,

PermissionError

[WinError 5] Access is denied

at C:\Program Files\Python312\Lib\subprocess.py:1538 in _execute_child
    1534│             sys.audit("subprocess.Popen", executable, args, cwd, env)
    1535│
    1536│             # Start the process
    1537│             try:
  → 1538│                 hp, ht, pid, tid = _winapi.CreateProcess(executable, args,
    1539│                                          # no special security
    1540│                                          None, None,
    1541│                                          int(not close_fds),
    1542│                                          creationflags,    

Start with poetry/utils/env/python_manager.py, especially _detect_active_python(), _full_python_path(), and the create_venv() call shown in the traceback. Reproduce poetry build -vvv and poetry env use on Windows 11 with Poetry 2.0.1; done means these commands no longer fail with [WinError 5] while the 1.8.0 behavior remains understood.