Cannot install editdistance for Python 3.13 on Windows

[joanise]

I'm sorry to report that the Windows issue just keeps coming back.

Noticed recently by a user of our project, (see ReadAlongs/Studio#276): trying to install editdistance on Windows with Python 3.13.5 produces error messages.

On my local machine, even though I have MSBuildTools installed, I get an error message saying I should install it, like what's shown in ReadAlongs/Studio#276.

In GitHub Actions, starting with Python 3.13.4, with a windows-latest runner, I get the following much more detailed error message:

Building wheel for editdistance (pyproject.toml): started
  Building wheel for editdistance (pyproject.toml): finished with status 'error'
  error: subprocess-exited-with-error
  
  Building wheel for editdistance (pyproject.toml) did not run successfully.
  exit code: 1
  
  [125 lines of output]
  Compiling src/editdistance/bycython.pyx because it changed.
  [1/1] Cythonizing src/editdistance/bycython.pyx
  C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\normal\Lib\site-packages\setuptools\config\_apply_pyprojecttoml.py:82: SetuptoolsDeprecationWarning: `project.license` as a TOML table is deprecated
  !!
  
          ********************************************************************************
          Please use a simple string containing a SPDX expression for `project.license`. You can also use `project.license-files`. (Both options available on setuptools>=77.0.0).
  
          By 2026-Feb-18, you need to update your project and remove deprecated calls
          or your builds will no longer be supported.
  
          See https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/guides/writing-pyproject-toml/#license for details.
          ********************************************************************************
  
  !!
    corresp(dist, value, root_dir)
  running build
  running build_py
  creating C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  copying src\editdistance\__init__.py -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  running egg_info
  creating src\editdistance.egg-info
  writing src\editdistance.egg-info\PKG-INFO
  writing dependency_links to src\editdistance.egg-info\dependency_links.txt
  writing top-level names to src\editdistance.egg-info\top_level.txt
  writing manifest file 'src\editdistance.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
  reading manifest file 'src\editdistance.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
  adding license file 'LICENSE'
  writing manifest file 'src\editdistance.egg-info\SOURCES.txt'
  copying src\editdistance\__init__.pxd -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  copying src\editdistance\_editdistance.cpp -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  copying src\editdistance\_editdistance.h -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  copying src\editdistance\bycython.cpp -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  copying src\editdistance\bycython.pxd -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  copying src\editdistance\bycython.pyx -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  copying src\editdistance\def.h -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  copying src\editdistance\__init__.py -> C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance
  running build_ext
  building 'editdistance.bycython' extension
  creating C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\temp.win-amd64-cpython-313\Release\src\editdistance
  "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\bin\HostX86\x64\cl.exe" /c /nologo /O2 /W3 /GL /DNDEBUG /MD -Isrc/editdistance -IC:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\include -IC:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\Include "-IC:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\include" "-IC:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\ATLMFC\include" "-IC:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Auxiliary\VS\include" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\include\10.0.26100.0\ucrt" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\include\10.0.26100.0\\um" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\include\10.0.26100.0\\shared" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\include\10.0.26100.0\\winrt" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\include\10.0.26100.0\\cppwinrt" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\NETFXSDK\4.8\include\um" /EHsc /Tpsrc/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp /FoC:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\temp.win-amd64-cpython-313\Release\src\editdistance\_editdistance.obj
  _editdistance.cpp
  src/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp(69): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to '_Ty', possible loss of data
          with
          [
              _Ty=uint32_t
          ]
  src/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp(114): warning C4267: 'initializing': conversion from 'size_t' to 'unsigned int', possible loss of data
  src/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp(114): note: the template instantiation context (the oldest one first) is
  src/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp(142): note: see reference to function template instantiation 'unsigned int edit_distance_map_<1>(const int64_t *,const size_t,const int64_t *,const size_t)' being compiled
  src/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp(115): warning C4267: 'initializing': conversion from 'size_t' to 'unsigned int', possible loss of data
  src/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp(84): warning C4267: '=': conversion from 'size_t' to '_Ty', possible loss of data
          with
          [
              _Ty=uint32_t
          ]
  src/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp(84): note: the template instantiation context (the oldest one first) is
  src/editdistance/_editdistance.cpp(173): note: see reference to function template instantiation 'bool edit_distancec_dp<int64_t>(const T *,const size_t,const T *,const size_t,const unsigned int)' being compiled
          with
          [
              T=int64_t
          ]
  "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\bin\HostX86\x64\cl.exe" /c /nologo /O2 /W3 /GL /DNDEBUG /MD -Isrc/editdistance -IC:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\include -IC:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\Include "-IC:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\include" "-IC:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\ATLMFC\include" "-IC:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Auxiliary\VS\include" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\include\10.0.26100.0\ucrt" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\include\10.0.26100.0\\um" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\include\10.0.26100.0\\shared" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\include\10.0.26100.0\\winrt" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\include\10.0.26100.0\\cppwinrt" "-IC:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\NETFXSDK\4.8\include\um" /EHsc /Tpsrc/editdistance/bycython.cpp /FoC:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\temp.win-amd64-cpython-313\Release\src\editdistance\bycython.obj
  bycython.cpp
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(2495): warning C4244: 'argument': conversion from 'Py_ssize_t' to 'const unsigned int', possible loss of data
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(2495): warning C4244: 'argument': conversion from 'Py_ssize_t' to 'const unsigned int', possible loss of data
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(2537): warning C4309: '=': truncation of constant value
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(2777): warning C4244: 'argument': conversion from 'Py_ssize_t' to 'const unsigned int', possible loss of data
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(2777): warning C4244: 'argument': conversion from 'Py_ssize_t' to 'const unsigned int', possible loss of data
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(2819): warning C4309: '=': truncation of constant value
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(3106): warning C4309: '=': truncation of constant value
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(7228): warning C4551: function call missing argument list
  src/editdistance/bycython.cpp(7235): warning C4551: function call missing argument list
  "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\bin\HostX86\x64\link.exe" /nologo /INCREMENTAL:NO /LTCG /DLL /MANIFEST:EMBED,ID=2 /MANIFESTUAC:NO /LIBPATH:C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\libs /LIBPATH:C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64 /LIBPATH:C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\PCbuild\amd64 "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\ATLMFC\lib\x64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.43.34808\lib\x64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\NETFXSDK\4.8\lib\um\x64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\lib\10.0.26100.0\ucrt\x64" "/LIBPATH:C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\\lib\10.0.26100.0\\um\x64" /EXPORT:PyInit_bycython C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\temp.win-amd64-cpython-313\Release\src\editdistance\_editdistance.obj C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\temp.win-amd64-cpython-313\Release\src\editdistance\bycython.obj /OUT:C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\lib.win-amd64-cpython-313\editdistance\bycython.cp313-win_amd64.pyd /IMPLIB:C:\Users\RUNNER~1\AppData\Local\Temp\pdm-build-y8mczyjp\temp.win-amd64-cpython-313\Release\src\editdistance\bycython.cp313-win_amd64.lib
  LINK : fatal error LNK1104: cannot open file 'python313t.lib'
  error: command 'C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Visual Studio\\2022\\Enterprise\\VC\\Tools\\MSVC\\14.43.34808\\bin\\HostX86\\x64\\link.exe' failed with exit code 1104
  Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\overlay\Lib\site-packages\pdm\backend\hooks\setuptools.py", line 90, in _build_lib
      subprocess.check_call(build_args)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^
    File "C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\Lib\subprocess.py", line 419, in check_call
      raise CalledProcessError(retcode, cmd)
  subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['C:\\hostedtoolcache\\windows\\Python\\3.13.4\\x64\\python.exe', 'C:\\Users\\runneradmin\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-install-n0cjm49n\\editdistance_86d856f6e11844d3a7003ea90527aea3\\setup.py', 'build', '-b', 'C:\\Users\\RUNNER~1\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pdm-build-y8mczyjp']' returned non-zero exit status 1.
  
  During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
  
  Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\Lib\site-packages\pip\_vendor\pyproject_hooks\_in_process\_in_process.py", line [389](https://github.com/ReadAlongs/Studio/actions/runs/15760134023/job/44424605787#step:5:390), in <module>
      main()
      ~~~~^^
    File "C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\Lib\site-packages\pip\_vendor\pyproject_hooks\_in_process\_in_process.py", line 373, in main
      json_out["return_val"] = hook(**hook_input["kwargs"])
                               ~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    File "C:\hostedtoolcache\windows\Python\3.13.4\x64\Lib\site-packages\pip\_vendor\pyproject_hooks\_in_process\_in_process.py", line 280, in build_wheel
      return _build_backend().build_wheel(
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^
          wheel_directory, config_settings, metadata_directory
          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
      )
      ^
    File "C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\overlay\Lib\site-packages\pdm\backend\__init__.py", line 55, in build_wheel
      return builder.build(
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~^
          wheel_directory, metadata_directory=metadata_directory
          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
      ).name
      ^
    File "C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\overlay\Lib\site-packages\pdm\backend\base.py", line 227, in build
      files = sorted(self.get_files(context))
    File "C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\overlay\Lib\site-packages\pdm\backend\wheel.py", line 121, in get_files
      yield from super().get_files(context)
                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^
    File "C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\overlay\Lib\site-packages\pdm\backend\base.py", line 200, in get_files
      self.call_hook("pdm_build_update_files", context, files)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    File "C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\overlay\Lib\site-packages\pdm\backend\base.py", line 151, in call_hook
      getattr(hook, hook_name)(context, *args, **kwargs)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    File "C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\overlay\Lib\site-packages\pdm\backend\hooks\setuptools.py", line 82, in pdm_build_update_files
      self._build_lib(context)
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^
    File "C:\Users\runneradmin\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-build-env-bmp4on9m\overlay\Lib\site-packages\pdm\backend\hooks\setuptools.py", line 92, in _build_lib
      raise BuildError(f"Error occurs when running {build_args}:\n{e}")
  pdm.backend.exceptions.BuildError: Error occurs when running ['C:\\hostedtoolcache\\windows\\Python\\3.13.4\\x64\\python.exe', 'C:\\Users\\runneradmin\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-install-n0cjm49n\\editdistance_86d856f6e11844d3a7003ea90527aea3\\setup.py', 'build', '-b', 'C:\\Users\\RUNNER~1\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pdm-build-y8mczyjp']:
  Command '['C:\\hostedtoolcache\\windows\\Python\\3.13.4\\x64\\python.exe', 'C:\\Users\\runneradmin\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-install-n0cjm49n\\editdistance_86d856f6e11844d3a7003ea90527aea3\\setup.py', 'build', '-b', 'C:\\Users\\RUNNER~1\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pdm-build-y8mczyjp']' returned non-zero exit status 1.
  [end of output]
  
  note: This error originates from a subprocess, and is likely not a problem with pip.
  ERROR: Failed building wheel for editdistance
  Building wheel for unicodecsv (pyproject.toml): started
  Building wheel for unicodecsv (pyproject.toml): finished with status 'done'
  Created wheel for unicodecsv: filename=unicodecsv-0.14.1-py3-none-any.whl size=10806 sha256=0a2cd0a6ae3f5286f79c4f2f8af0087ae55de6575[401](https://github.com/ReadAlongs/Studio/actions/runs/15760134023/job/44424605787#step:5:402)b777c48b636c39b41ed6
  Stored in directory: c:\users\runneradmin\appdata\local\pip\cache\wheels\c3\9a\3f\f155a0a82b3136dd4028a8e99d72ec8d8c33fb15477a0eacb7
Successfully built readalongs unicodecsv
Failed to build editdistance
ERROR: Failed to build installable wheels for some pyproject.toml based projects (editdistance)

[joanise]

Update: I was able to build wheels for Windows using your build.yml workflow, but it required some adjustments:

• Use cibuildwheel==3.0.0 instead of 2.16.5
• Use Python 3.12 since cibuildwheel 3+ requires Python 3.11+
• Change the skip setting to CIBW_SKIP: "*p38-*" since Python 3.8 is no longer supported in GitHub Action runners, and 2.7 is no longer included by default by cibuildwheel.
• Potentially problematic: change MacOS archs to just CIBW_ARCHS_MACOS: "arm64" because it appears the MacOS runner can no longer compile for x86_64.

I could submit a pull request for this, but I'm not confident it's OK to drop universal2 and x86_64 for MacOS, so I hesitate to do so.