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#24631·spyder

'spyder' fails to launch without 'setuptools' package in Python 3.12+

Author: flemmelCreated Jun 22, 2025Updated Sep 15, 2026
Labelstype:BugOS:MacOS

What happened

spyder (v6+) fails to start if the setuptools package is not installed.

This occurs in Python 3.12+, where setuptools is no longer included by default in new Python virtual environments.

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a new virtual environment (Python 3.12+)

bash
$ python3.12 -m venv .venv
$ source .venv/bin/activate

# Note: setuptools is not listed
$ pip list
Package Version
------- -------
pip     25.0.1

2. Install Spyder in the virtual environment (without setuptools)

bash
(.venv) $ pip install spyder

3. Try to run Spyder (without setuptools)

bash
(.venv) $ spyder
...
  File "/private/tmp/spyder/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/spyder/api/widgets/menus.py", line 23, in <module>
    from spyder.utils.qthelpers import add_actions, set_menu_icons, SpyderAction
  File "/private/tmp/spyder/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/spyder/utils/qthelpers.py", line 71, in <module>
    import applaunchservices as als
  File "/private/tmp/spyder/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/applaunchservices/__init__.py", line 33, in <module>
    from distutils.version import LooseVersion as V
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'distutils'

4. Install setuptools manually

bash
(.venv) pip install setuptools
...
Successfully installed setuptools-80.9.0

5. Retry running Spyder (with setuptools installed)

bash
(.venv) spyder
... # now it is working

Suggested fix

Add setuptools as an explicit dependency in setup.py to ensure it's installed automatically.

Environment

This was tested on:

  • macOS (Apple M2)
  • Python 3.12+
  • Spyder 6+

Source: spyder-ide/spyder

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