Unsupported Windows App Store Python

The Problem in a Few Words

Python on Windows can be installed via the Windows app store. While this may be more convenient for the user, for compilation, this distribution is missing essential bits and will not work.

Note

As of Nuitka 4.0, only accelerated mode (which is not commonly what you use) does not work. Standalone and onefile modes are supported.

Background

Nuitka needs to be able to access all files, in order to inspect them and to make them work on other machines. With Windows Store Python, when Nuitka tries to even look at sys.executable (typically your python.exe on Windows), an OSError is raised, preventing Nuitka from inspecting e.g. Windows Resources that it needs.

Consequence

Because of these limitations, it was decided that this Python will not be supported by Nuitka and you need to install a supported one. Check out https://nuitka.net/user-documentation/user-manual.html#requirements which lists CPython and Anaconda as supported.

Recommendation

Use CPython, which is best supported and should give the best portability. It will work as well as the Windows App Store Python for you — under the hood it is the same code — but it is the official Python distribution for Windows.