Feature or enhancement

Remove the bundled setuptools so thatensurepip andpython -m venv only installs pip.

Context

Thesetup.py install command ofsetuptools is deprecated.

However, in an environment wheresetuptools is installed butwheel is not (such as one created withpython -m venv), pip falls back on running the deprecated and non-standardsetup.py install.

Since version 22.1 pip works correctly by default in environments wheresetuptools is not installed, by enabling its PEP 517 mode automatically, leading to unsurprising installations in most cases.

So, in order to progressively expose more users to standard-based installation workflows, we (the pip team) would like that virtual environments are created withoutsetuptools by default.

Users faced with failing installations following this change (likely due to packages with customizedsetup.py that do not support building a wheel) can easilypip install setuptools to solve the issue.

Previous discussion

pypa/pip#8102 (comment) and following comments has some more context.

Linked PRs

• gh-95299: Stop installing setuptools as a part of ensurepip and venv #101039
• gh-95299: Rework test_cppext.py to not invoke setup.py directly #103316
• gh-95299: Remove lingering setuptools reference in installer scripts #103613