Py launcher for Windows doesn't open Python 3.11

[Welding-Torch]

Bug report

Bug description:

Hi there,

I installed Python 3.11 from the Microsoft Store today. I already have Python 3.9 (Installed from the Microsoft Store) and Python 3.8 (Installed from Thonny) on my laptop. If I try to launch either of those two Pythons using py launcher, I can do that. But if I try to launch Python 3.11, I get this error:

The Application was unable to start correctly.

Is the py launcher not able to work with Python 3.11 from the Microsoft Store?

You may reproduce this example and try, please let me know if it is reproducible.

Similar issue:
#99442 handled by @zooba.

CPython versions tested on:

3.11

Operating systems tested on:

Windows

[zooba]

Where did you install the launcher from? And if it's from 3.8 (seems likely, from your description), then yes, it doesn't have support for Store installs.

You can download the current latest version of the launcher (on its own) using winget install Python.Launcher¹ or from https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.12.2/win32/launcher.msi ,² which will update you to a version with support.

Footnotes

1. I believe this is the right command line, though I haven't tried it just now. ↩

2. This will only be the latest until the next release happens, but the structure of the URL isn't going to change, so substitute the current release in place of 3.12.2 to get the latest. ↩

[Welding-Torch]

Thanks for the quickly reply.

I can't recall where I got the py launcher from because I got it in 2019, as confirmed by the date on the file:

And if it's from 3.8 (seems likely, from your description), then yes, it doesn't have support for Store installs.

Well, I'm able to switch between Python 3.9 (Installed from the Microsoft Store) and Python 3.8 (Installed from Thonny) easily using py. I just set python=3.9 or python=3.8 in the py.ini file, and it switches seamlessly.

I'll download the latest version of the launcher and LYK if it detects Python 3.11

[Welding-Torch]

Running winget install Python.Launcher did not fix it. Actually, it didn't change the in C:/Windows/py.exe file at all.

The Application was unable to start correctly.

[Welding-Torch]

I tried installing the .msi file. Interestingly, now there are two py.exe files on my laptop.

And launching the second py.exe from my AppData folder works. It successfully opens Python 3.11, but now I have two py.exe on my laptop.

[zooba]

You should be able to find "Python Launcher" in Programs and Features and remove one/both.

I think Winget changed their logic to only do per-user installs and just ignore all user ones, which is why it'll fail there. (They had some issue with people who use Winget to update everything all at once... I didn't quite follow, tbh.)

[Welding-Torch]

Yes, you are right. I was able to remove the old "Python Launcher" in Programs and Features.

Thanks for your help! I'll mark this issue as closed. Hope it helps someone else who stumbles across it.