Instructions on how to install afew with Python3.12(.3)

[xaltsc]

Hey,

As for my particular setup, I'm running Alpine with Python3.12.3. I couldn't find a way to (re)install afew as an unprivileged user.

I'm looking to install any version post the latest release, but the latest possible one would be ideal.

I essentially followed instructions here https://afew.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html (with commit a3f6f6a as suggested by @GuillaumeSeren on IRC) and variations thereof, i.e.

$ python -m venv --system-site-packages .venv
$ source .venv/bin/activate
$ python setup.py install --prefix=~/.local

for which $ afew gives the following error

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/srv/user/.local/bin/afew", line 33, in <module>
    sys.exit(load_entry_point('afew==3.0.2.dev61+ga3f6f6a', 'console_scripts', 'afew')())
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/srv/user/.local/bin/afew", line 25, in importlib_load_entry_point
    return next(matches).load()
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.12/importlib/metadata/__init__.py", line 205, in load
    module = import_module(match.group('module'))
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.12/importlib/__init__.py", line 90, in import_module
    return _bootstrap._gcd_import(name[level:], package, level)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1387, in _gcd_import
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1360, in _find_and_load
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 1331, in _find_and_load_unlocked
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 935, in _load_unlocked
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap_external>", line 995, in exec_module
  File "<frozen importlib._bootstrap>", line 488, in _call_with_frames_removed
  File "/srv/user/.local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/afew-3.0.2.dev58+gcbe4cdf-py3.12.egg/afew/commands.py", line 9, in <module>
    from afew.Database import Database
  File "/srv/user/.local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/afew-3.0.2.dev58+gcbe4cdf-py3.12.egg/afew/Database.py", line 8, in <module>
    import notmuch
  File "/srv/user/afew/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/notmuch/__init__.py", line 54, in <module>
    from .database import Database
  File "/srv/user/afew/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/notmuch/database.py", line 24, in <module>
    from .compat import SafeConfigParser
  File "/srv/user/afew/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/notmuch/compat.py", line 50, in <module>
    from configparser import SafeConfigParser
ImportError: cannot import name 'SafeConfigParser' from 'configparser' (/usr/lib/python3.12/configparser.py). Did you mean: 'RawConfigParser'?

$ python -m venv  .venv
$ source .venv/bin/activate
$ pip install setuptools
$ pip install notmuch
$ python setup.py install --prefix=~/.local

for which $ afew gives the following error

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3.12/importlib/metadata/__init__.py", line 397, in from_name
    return next(cls.discover(name=name))
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
StopIteration

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/srv/user/.local/bin/afew", line 33, in <module>
    sys.exit(load_entry_point('afew==3.0.2.dev61+ga3f6f6a', 'console_scripts', 'afew')())
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/srv/user/.local/bin/afew", line 22, in importlib_load_entry_point
    for entry_point in distribution(dist_name).entry_points
                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.12/importlib/metadata/__init__.py", line 862, in distribution
    return Distribution.from_name(distribution_name)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/lib/python3.12/importlib/metadata/__init__.py", line 399, in from_name
    raise PackageNotFoundError(name)
importlib.metadata.PackageNotFoundError: No package metadata was found for afew

I also tried to just pipx install afew with which running $ afew gives the following error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/srv/user/.local/bin/afew", line 5, in <module>
    from afew.commands import main
  File "/srv/user/.local/share/pipx/venvs/afew/lib/python3.12/site-packages/afew/commands.py", line 9, in <module>
    from afew.Database import Database
  File "/srv/user/.local/share/pipx/venvs/afew/lib/python3.12/site-packages/afew/Database.py", line 8, in <module>
    import notmuch
  File "/srv/user/.local/share/pipx/venvs/afew/lib/python3.12/site-packages/notmuch/__init__.py", line 54, in <module>
    from .database import Database
  File "/srv/user/.local/share/pipx/venvs/afew/lib/python3.12/site-packages/notmuch/database.py", line 24, in <module>
    from .compat import SafeConfigParser
  File "/srv/user/.local/share/pipx/venvs/afew/lib/python3.12/site-packages/notmuch/compat.py", line 50, in <module>
    from configparser import SafeConfigParser
ImportError: cannot import name 'SafeConfigParser' from 'configparser' (/usr/lib/python3.12/configparser.py). Did you mean: 'RawConfigParser'?

pipx install --python 3.11 --fetch-missing-python afew also fails because musl.

[GuillaumeSeren]

Hey @xaltsc ,
Can you try with a newer release like 3.0.1 + python3.12 ?

I think at least some of those issue where fixed already,
also try a isolated venv without using system libs

[xaltsc]

The first two with 3.0.1 give the exact same errors.

What do you exactly mean by "an isolated venv without using system libs" ?

[hendursaga]

This looks like a duplicate of #341. See https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.12.html#configparser for why the error is shown.

[kofm]

The way I managed to make it work was to:

a) Amend the readfp method call to read_file, as suggested by @hendursaga (refer to the pull request mentioned above).
b) Also amend the notmuch-python-bindings to accommodate the changes in configparser.

EDIT: If you have a recent version of notmuch installed on your system, this issue has already been addressed on the notmuch side. You're likely already aware that the PyPI version is an outdated mirror of the source without the past few years of development—I wasn't aware of this, so my apologies.

Then you can use pipx to install:

pipx install --system-site-packages /path/to/afew

This should now work correctly.

[xaltsc]

@kofm I get the exact same errors with your fix... My version of notmuch is 0.38.3-r1 and now the version of python is 3.12.8.

[kofm]

This looks like a duplicate of #341. See https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.12.html#configparser for why the error is shown.

👆 This. If you're getting errors due to the deprecated names in configparser it could either be from notmuch python bindings or from afew. Check the traceback and see where it occurs.

I can confirm that newer versions of notmuch python bindings (distributed with notmuch, e.g. mine are in /usr/lib/python3.13/site-packages/notmuch/) fixed this problem. So, If you're still getting errrors from notmuch then you're probably using the outdated PyPI version (~0.29).

On the other hand, afew will have to be amended; you can refer to my PR #350. The PyPI version or the git repo are still affected by this issue.

[xaltsc]

You're right, I had missed that `pipx` was using the PyPI vesion of notmuch. It works now. Thanks ! Gabriele Mongiano ***@***.***> writes:

…

> This looks like a duplicate of #341. See https://docs.python.org/3/whatsnew/3.12.html#configparser for why the error is shown. 👆 This. If you're getting errors due to the deprecated names in `configparser` it could either be from notmuch python bindings or from afew. **Check the traceback and see where it occurs**. I can confirm that newer versions of notmuch python bindings (distributed with notmuch, e.g. mine are in `/usr/lib/python3.13/site-packages/notmuch/`) fixed this problem. So, If you're still getting errrors from notmuch then you're probably using the outdated PyPI version (~0.29). On the other hand, `afew` will have to be amended; you can refer to my PR #350. The PyPI version or the git repo are still affected by this issue. -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #346 (comment) You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Message ID: ***@***.***>

[xaltsc]

Just to sum up the instructions:

1. Make sure you have notmuch python bindings to the latest version. The version on PyPI is not up to date and cannot be installed with pip. Check your distro's package manager.
2. Clone the repo and edit the Settings.py file

git clone https://github.com/afewmail/afew
cd afew
sed -i s/readfp/read_file/ afew/Settings.py

3. Install using the appropriate notmuch python bindings. If they were installed through the distribution's package manager, do:

pipx install --system-site-packages .