setup.py relies on deprecated pkg_resources
Author: jasonwbarnettCreated Jul 15, 2026Updated Jul 23, 2026
Summary
setup.py imports and uses the deprecated pkg_resources module (from setuptools) to validate the installed Cython version when building asyncpg from source:
- https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg/blob/db8ecc2/setup.py#L191
- https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg/blob/db8ecc2/setup.py#L204-L205
import pkg_resources
...
cython_dep = pkg_resources.Requirement.parse(CYTHON_DEPENDENCY)
if Cython.__version__ not in cython_dep:
...Problem
pkg_resources has long been deprecated by setuptools: importing it emits DeprecationWarning: pkg_resources is deprecated as an API, and it is slated for removal. On recent setuptools/distro configurations it may no longer be importable at all, which can make source builds of asyncpg warn or fail.
Existing work / options
- Drop the check: open PR #1314 already proposes removing the Cython version check from
setup.pyentirely to eliminate thepkg_resourcesdependency. - Port to
packaging: alternatively the check can be preserved by switching to thepackaginglibrary, as the sister project uvloop did in MagicStack/uvloop@b377b7c6885a1eb63cb8cf19db5ab66a12c79e21 — replacingpkg_resources.Requirement.parse(...)withpackaging.requirements.Requirement(...)andx not in depwithdep.specifier.contains(x, prereleases=True)(addingpackagingtobuild-system.requires).pkg_resources.Requirement.__contains__usedprereleases=Trueinternally, so passingprereleases=Truepreserves the original behavior exactly.
Either approach removes the deprecated dependency. Filing this to track the deprecation as an issue alongside the in-flight PR #1314.
Source: MagicStack/asyncpg