When I install visidata in a fresh debian:sid docker container, it crashes
when I try to start it:

  File "/usr/bin/vd", line 3, in <module>
    import visidata.main
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/visidata/__init__.py", line 102, in
<module>
    import visidata.main
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/visidata/main.py", line 19, in
<module>
    from pkg_resources import resource_filename
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pkg_resources'

If I also install python3-pkg-resources, it does start. Is it a dependency?

I see that bullseye is not affected, but bookworm and trixie are.

Hi! Thank you for writing in!

We actually are going to address this in the next release:
https://github.com/saulpw/visidata/issues/1911. `pkg_resources` got removed
as a hidden dependency on our development branch.

v3.0 is slated for in the next 2-4 weeks. You discovered one workaround;
the other is to install `python3-setuptools`.

Dear Maintainer,

I am planning to package version 3 in the next week. When is the deadline
for Debian12?

Quoting Anja <anja.kefala@gmail.com>:

Debian 12.4 has been released on 2023-12-10 and I'm not aware of fixed date
for 12.5. Anyway, version 3 cannot go into Debian 12 ("bookworm"), it can
only target Debian 13 ("trixie").

For Debian 12, we can do two things:

1. Fix the missing dependency in a package 2.11-1+deb12u1 for Debian 12.5
    (or, if things go wrong badly, for 12.6)

2. Prepare a backport of version 3, as soon as the package is in Debian
    testing (typically five days after upload to unstable)

I can guide you through this jungle and later sponsor the uploads, np.
It's easier than it might sound!

Cheers, Martin

Yayyy! I'll be reaching out this weekend most likely. =))

We believe that the bug you reported is fixed in the latest version of
visidata, which is due to be installed in the Debian FTP archive.

A summary of the changes between this version and the previous one is
attached.

Thank you for reporting the bug, which will now be closed.  If you
have further comments please address them to 1053449@bugs.debian.org,
and the maintainer will reopen the bug report if appropriate.

Debian distribution maintenance software
pp.
Maximiliano Curia <maxy@debian.org> (supplier of updated visidata package)

(This message was generated automatically at their request; if you
believe that there is a problem with it please contact the archive
administrators by mailing ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org)
Format: 1.8
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2026 13:54:18 +0200
Source: visidata
Architecture: source
Version: 3.4-1
Distribution: unstable
Urgency: medium
Maintainer: Debian Science Maintainers <debian-science-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org>
Changed-By: Maximiliano Curia <maxy@debian.org>
Closes: 1001647 1053449 1123366
Changes:
 visidata (3.4-1) unstable; urgency=medium
 .
   * New upstream release (Closes: #1123366, #1053449)
   * Team upload.
   * d/patches:
     - Drop patches applied upstream (handle-filenames-ending-in-dot,
       remove_importlib_metadata_backport).
     - Refresh visidata-aint-a-module.
     - Add patch to handle missing package metadata in pypkg sheet.
     - Add patch to disable default motd_url to avoid network access on
       startup (Closes: #1001647).
   * d/copyright: Update copyright years, file stanzas, and add Expat license.
   * d/control:
     - Bump Standards-Version to 4.7.4 (no changes needed).
     - Add groff-base to Build-Depends for manpage generation.
   * d/watch: Update to Version: 5 using GitHub template.
   * d/rules:
     - Point test runner to visidata/tests.
     - Generate vd(1) and visidata(1) manpages from source.
   * d/manpages: Update to install generated manpages.
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 08578b50609f4f7bf4e0fbd1c3be32b02907b616 21354164 visidata_3.4.orig.tar.gz
 fe0b7c7172bb24c8e5acd911d61704854314fcfa 4848 visidata_3.4-1.debian.tar.xz
 fa44782a306fccf154cdddcd447009954de86492 7636 visidata_3.4-1_source.buildinfo
Checksums-Sha256:
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Files:
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