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Control Panel GUI does not open, can not register... #1693
Description
I just downloaded & extracted Winpython64-3.13.5.0slim.exe on my W10 computer. Wiki says for registration I have to start ControlPanel, go to menu "Advanced" and "Register distribution", but in my case no GUI shows up, only command-line help:
usage: wppm [-h] [-v] [--register] [--unregister] [--fix] [--movable] [-ws WHEELSOURCE] [-wd WHEELDRAIN] [-ls] [-lsa]
[-md] [-p] [-r] [-l LEVELS] [-t TARGET] [-i] [-u]
[package(s) or lockfile ...]
I tried to register it using command line, but I get only some strange error:
C:\Users\Jarry\Programs\WPy64-31350\notebooks>wppm --register
Register WinPython: associate file extensions, icons and context menu with this WinPython
registering C:\Users\Jarry\Programs\WPy64-31350\python
continue ? Y/N
Y
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<frozen runpy>", line 198, in _run_module_as_main
File "<frozen runpy>", line 88, in _run_code
File "C:\Users\Jarry\Programs\WPy64-31350\python\Scripts\wppm.exe\__main__.py", line 7, in <module>
sys.exit(main())
~~~~^^
File "C:\Users\Jarry\Programs\WPy64-31350\python\Lib\site-packages\winpython\wppm.py", line 345, in main
associate.register(dist.target, verbose=args.verbose)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
File "C:\Users\Jarry\Programs\WPy64-31350\python\Lib\site-packages\winpython\associate.py", line 243, in register
for path, desc, fname in _get_shortcut_data(target, current=current, has_pywin32=True):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
File "C:\Users\Jarry\Programs\WPy64-31350\python\Lib\site-packages\winpython\associate.py", line 133, in _get_shortcut_data
shortcut_name = str(Path(create_winpython_start_menu_folder(current=current)) / bname) + '.lnk'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
File "C:\Users\Jarry\Programs\WPy64-31350\python\Lib\site-packages\winpython\associate.py", line 49, in create_winpython_start_menu_folder
shutil.rmtree(path, onexc=onerror)
^^^^^^
NameError: name 'shutil' is not defined. Did you forget to import 'shutil'?
C:\Users\Jarry\Programs\WPy64-31350\notebooks>
What does it mean and how can I fix it? This is my first experience with winpython, but as of now, I'm quite scared of it...
Activity
stonebig commentedon Jul 17, 2025
Hello,
This is the same issue as #1675
so a stupid "miss", not your fault, and so the same answer:
Sorry, simple fix of the 2 broken things is now in the master branch
you just have to replicate the 5 lines adjusted: https://github.com/winpython/winpython/pull/1676/files
HKPhysicist commentedon Jan 27, 2026
Let me leave a mark here. I also suffer from this issue.
No error message but also no Start Menu Group. Please advice. Mine is WinPython 3.13.11.
stonebig commentedon Jan 27, 2026
you may have to close then re-open a new "file explorer", to see the change
HKPhysicist commentedon Jan 27, 2026
For now, I switch back to WinPython 3.11 and start menu group is back.
stonebig commentedon Jan 27, 2026
hum, maybe droping pywin32, so the small "dot" version was equal to the bigger ones, I droped volontarly this part... to be found in commits
stonebig commentedon Jan 27, 2026
in theory, if you have the slim version, pywin32 is there, and so the menu would be created..
should be that:
https://github.com/winpython/winpython/blob/master/wppm/associate.py#L123-L142
and so, if you don't have utilized the slim version, installing pywin32 package first, shall do it
Jostikas commentedon Oct 27, 2026
Different version (WinPython 3.14.70), but as the issue is named as it is, people like me will end up here, and it's still open.
I should note that while
wppmis, I guess, technically deprecated in favor of just usingpip, it's now the only way to register the distribution, and probably the most common reason any new user ever opens wppm. Maybe add it as a test case (easy for me to say).The fix:
In C:\WinPython\WPy64-31470\python\Lib\site-packages\wppm\wppm.py:
replace all
import associatewith
from . import associateAlso, VS Code shortcut is installed in Start Menu, pointing at a nonexistent .exe?
stonebig commentedon Oct 27, 2026
Ahhhh !
@Jostikas is absolutely right !
wppm --register: import associate from the package (winpython#1693)
stonebig commentedon Oct 27, 2026
wppm-17.13.20261027 ... and now all last night prepared build goes to trash
stonebig commentedon Oct 27, 2026
thanks @Jostikas for the eye-opening fix
stonebig commentedon Oct 27, 2026
new wppm-17.14.20261027 added, as we are on a wppm fix-up
includes wppm -sa checks security of included packages