setup-python@v4 fails for Python 3.10.14 on Mac OS 14 (latest) ARM 64 runner about setup-python

[sr-murthy]

More information on the hosted runner on which this failure occurred:

Current runner version: '2.316.1'
Operating System
  macOS
  14.4.1
  23E224
Runner Image
  Image: macos-14-arm64
  Version: 20240422.3
  Included Software: https://github.com/actions/runner-images/blob/macos-14-arm64/20240422.3/images/macos/macos-14-arm64-Readme.md
  Image Release: https://github.com/actions/runner-images/releases/tag/macos-14-arm64%2F20240422.3
Runner Image Provisioner
  2.0.369.1+55cddbb57f254a369b6e7b3b508cebdbee5d24be
GITHUB_TOKEN Permissions
  Contents: read
  Metadata: read
Secret source: Actions
Prepare workflow directory
Prepare all required actions
Getting action download info
Download action repository 'actions/checkout@v3' (SHA:f43a0e5ff2bd294095638e18286ca9a3d1956744)
Download action repository 'actions/setup-python@v4' (SHA:65d7f2d534ac1bc67fcd62888c5f4f3d2cb2b236)
Download action repository 'actions/cache@v4' (SHA:0c45773b623bea8c8e75f6c82b208c3cf94ea4f9)
Download action repository 'codecov/[email protected]' (SHA:e0b68c6749509c5f83f984dd99a76a1c1a231044)
Complete job name: test (3.10, macos-latest, pip, x64)

[HarithaVattikuti]

Hello @sr-murthy
Thank you for creating this issue. We will investigate it and get back to you as soon as we have some feedback.

[mayeut]

duplicate of #855

[sr-murthy]

Thanks. I guess switching to macos-13 is a solution for now.

[aparnajyothi-y]

Hello @sr-murthy, The actions/setup-python repository does not support x64 packages for Python <3.11 version on macOS arm64 runners due to compatibility and build issues. The build process for Python versions less than 3.11 involves downloading the official Python sources from python.org and building them using the make tool on the oldest available version of macOS that was available when that Python version was released. This is done to ensure backward compatibility for those Python versions as mentioned in this python-versions documentation.
However, this build process can run into compatibility issues on macOS arm64 runners. The arm64 architecture is used in Apple's newer Mac models that use Apple Silicon processors, which are based on a different instruction set than the x86-64 processors used in older models.
Therefore, the built Python packages for versions less than 3.11 may trigger the issues like few modules missing on macOS arm64 runners. This is why the actions/setup-python repository does not support x64 packages for <Python 3.11 versions on macOS arm64 runners.
For Python versions 3.11 and onwards, the actions/setup-python repository uses the official macOS universal2 Python binaries from python.org, which are compatible with both x86-64 and arm64 architectures. These can be used on macOS arm64 runners without any issues.
For Arm64 platform, we use official macOS universal2 Python binaries and provide only versions which are provided by Python org.
Hence we are closing this issue as x64 packages for < python 3.11 from source will not be supported by macos arm64 runners.
Please feel free to reach us needed to reopen this issue for more clarifications.

[sr-murthy]

@aparnajyothi-y Thanks for investigating this, it's not a problem as there is a workaround of not using ARM runners for testing the pipeline with Python 3.10.