I downgraded my python version from 3.10 to 3.9, and now Meltano won't run at all 😞 I think it's because it's looking in the wrong spot for Python, the error is

No Python at '"C:\Users\flier\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\PythonSoftwareFoundation.Python.3.10_qbz5n2kfra8p0\python.exe'

How did you install meltano? Did you use

pipx

to install meltano?

I did use pipx, but that was when I had python 3.10 installed. i uninstalled python 3.10 and installed python 3.9 so that I could use some extractors that aren't compatible with python 3.10. But I have a feeling I should have uninstalled meltano as well when I uninstalled python 3.10.

Well. Not only do you need to uninstall meltano, but also pipx

Well, the good thing on Windows is that you can have both 3.9 and 3.10 installed in parallel.

thank you!! i am going to use the docs and your advice and give this another go

The tricky part is to get a concept of the full installation chain. Basically the chain looks like (from top down): 1. Python interpreter installation (installed in your Windows User profile by using the python.org setup files) <- On Windows, you can easily have multiple Python versions installed in parallel and switch between them with the Python Launcher (py.exe) 2. `pipx`: This is the second step in the bootstrapping process.

pipx

itself is a Python package that you install by using your Python interpreter from step 1. At the point in time when you install

pipx

, the package contents of

pipx

should all be installed into a directory that is specific to your chosen version of the Python interpreter (at least that's what happens on Linux. I can't quite remember how the Python Interpreter does it on Windows). On Windows, using

py.exe

, you can control which version of Python to use when installing

pipx

in the form of

py.exe -3.9 -m pip install --user pipx

3. `meltano`: As

meltano

should be installed via

pipx

, the version of Python that

pipx

will use for installing the

meltano

package should be determined by the version of Python you chose in step 2 (at least that's what I think how

pipx

should behave on Windows) 4. Meltano plugins: Now when installing meltano plugins, they will execute using the version of Python that

pipx

used when installing

meltano

It's all a bit complex and probably shouldn't be that complex, but alas, that's what we get for trying to run many different python packages that may or may not all have conflicting dependencies and make them all work nicely in a meltano pipeline ...

FWIW, I'm a big (can't spell that big enough) fan of dockerized installations for everything that involves Python. Takes away all the pain, and leaves you with all the fun.

@Sven Balnojan docker is not something i've worked with before but it's definitely something i want to learn!

docker is not something i've worked with before but it's definitely something i want to learn!

I could not recommend ivan's courses more highly, if you really want to learn and understand it: https://www.ipspace.net/Introduction_to_Docker

@christoph bookmarked!! thank you!!