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py uninstall fails "object has no attribute 'enable_entrypoints'" #283
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Activity
Unfortunately, we can't intercept the OS uninstall command anymore to do a full cleanup. But as you point out, we don't really want to - if you remove the install manager, then you keep your installs.
The only issue here right now is the uninstall commands for each runtime won't work, since they rely on the install manager being installed (which hopefully is obvious, but it could behave better).
Using
--purgebefore removing the install manager is the intended way to remove everything.@zooba in that case, it might be more correct if, when installing different runtimes, no entries were created in “Uninstall or change a program” and no shortcuts were made for each installed Python version - since it’s impossible to properly remove them later anyway.
Now when you runpy uninstall, the runtime gets uninstalled, but it leaves junk behind. You can remove the shortcuts by hand, but the entries in “Uninstall or change a program” just stay there forever. That’s clearly not the right behavior.I don't think the internal error should be printed out anyway. If this is indeed the expected behavior, you can print a warning prompting the user to manually clean up the junk.
I'm sorry, I totally misread the issue.
py uninstallshould not be failing like that, so this is a real bug (which is somehow slipping through testing).I guess there were a series of people complaining that uninstalling the install manager doesn't get rid of every Python you've ever installed, which is what I confused this report for.
- changed the title
[-]Incomplete uninstallation via Python Install Manager: leftover shortcuts, registry entries, and internal AttributeError[/-][+]py uninstall fails "object has no attribute 'enable_entrypoints'"[/+]on May 18, 2026 Ah, it was only triggering failure if you were uninstalling one of multiple runtimes, and our test was uninstalling the last one. With none remaining, it didn't try to update aliases/entrypoints. That's why it snuck through. PR incoming
- added a commit that references this issue
on May 18, 2026
Installed from the Windows Store
Version: 26
Windows 11
Describe the bug
Python Install Manager fails to fully uninstall Python versions. The uninstall process removes the main directory but leaves behind shortcuts, registry entries (the program remains listed in Windows "Uninstall or change a program"), and throws an internal
AttributeErrorat the end of the process.Actual Behavior:
After the process completes:
C:\Users<username>\AppData\Local\Python — Python files are removed ✅
Desktop/Start Menu shortcuts — still present ❌
Windows "Uninstall or change a program" entry — still present ❌
Expected Behavior:
A complete uninstall should remove all associated files, shortcuts, and registry entries without any internal errors.
Additional Context:
The same incomplete uninstallation occurs when using the standard Windows uninstaller via "Uninstall or change a program" - not just via
py uninstall. This suggests the issue is systemic to how the Install Manager registers and cleans up components.One possible workaround is to run
py uninstall --purge. This isn’t really a proper solution (since this command removes all installed Python runtimes), but after running it all leftover traces were removed from the computer (shortcuts and entries in Uninstall or change a program). After that, I had to reinstall the Python runtimes I needed.