Python-based workflows stopped working (on Mac)

[21soeren]

Recently, all my workflows that rely on Python scripts stopped working – instead the workflows send me to the fallback (web search). This tells me that the problem is not in the workflow but in summoning Python and running the script.

 

Example: WordSearch (https://github.com/isaacpz/Alfred-WordSearch) and "syn" workflow that searches for synonyms for a queried word, e.g., "syn error" should give mistake, etc. Now it sends me to fallback web search. Syn simply runs the following in bash: "python similar.py ml "{query}".

 

I can see that it is a relative path to "similar.py" – is that the problem (all Python workflows use this)? Something with PATH? The Python install? I'm not sufficiently Python-savvy to figure this out, but it used to work – and I have tried updating python. "python -V" in terminal gives me "Python 3.9.12".

 

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

 

[giovanni]

 

 

[cynicaljoy]

Just realized that Alfred will find "python" in /usr/local/bin:

 

 ln -s /usr/local/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/python 

 

[vitor]

29 minutes ago, cynicaljoy said:

Just realized that Alfred will find "python" in /usr/local/bin:

 

 ln -s /usr/local/bin/python3 /usr/local/bin/python 

 

It will, but you should not make that link. Workflows expect Python 2 at that location, not 3, and they are often incompatible.

[21soeren]

Thanks for pointing me to the general solution/root of the issue. 

 

Unfortunately, I still can't make it work, even after trying a lot of different suggestions including following the official Alfred advice (https://www.alfredapp.com/help/kb/python-2-monterey/), installing and setting up pyenv. And I have tried reinstalling several workflows, including Convert (https://github.com/alfredapp/updated-third-party-python2-workflows) afterwards.

 

Then, I have tried pointing bash to the pyenv 2.7 version instead of the also installed 3.9.12 (including by following the last advice here https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15285592/how-to-set-default-python-version-in-terminal-on-os-x-10-6-8). Now, when I write "python -V" in a fresh terminal session, it does show Python 2.7.18. But the workflows still don't work.

 

My hunch is that it is because I have several Python versions installed (and installed in different ways including via Homebrew and via pyenv).

 

Is there anything I can re-/uninstall or something to make things work (e.g., Python, pyenv, Alfred), I wonder? 

 

[vitor]

@21soeren What are the outputs of:

• which python
• /usr/local/bin/python --version
• ls -l /usr/local/bin/python
• /opt/homebrew/bin/python --version
• ls -l /opt/homebrew/bin/python --version

A few of those will fail. That’s normal.

[21soeren]

     which python -> "python: aliased to /Users/USERNAME/.pyenv/versions/2.7.18/bin/python2.7"
    /usr/local/bin/python --version -> "zsh: no such file or directory: /usr/local/bin/python"
    ls -l /usr/local/bin/python -> "lrwxr-xr-x  1 USERNAME  admin  7 May  2 14:08 /usr/local/bin/python -> python2"
    /opt/homebrew/bin/python --version -> "zsh: no such file or directory: /opt/homebrew/bin/python"
    ls -l /opt/homebrew/bin/python --version -> "ls: --version: No such file or directory             ls: /opt/homebrew/bin/python: No such file or directory"

 

[vitor]

Then try:

• rm /usr/local/bin/python
• ln -s "${HOME}/.pyenv/versions/2.7.18/bin/python2.7" '/usr/local/bin/python'
  

And it should start working. If it doesn’t, please post the output of both those commands, plus the (new) outputs of:

• /usr/local/bin/python --version
• ls -l /usr/local/bin/python
  

[21soeren]

Yes! It appears to work fine now, at least with the first workflow tests.

 

Thank you so much for your help!