Flow Launcher Python Plugins: Runtime and Dependencies

Steps to follow

1. Identify the plugin and read its runtime instructions. Distinguish requirements for using the release from requirements for developing the plugin.
2. Inspect the Python path configured in Flow. Confirm that the executable exists and can report its version.
3. Use the plugin’s released package and documented dependencies. Do not run arbitrary pip commands globally just because a different plugin needed them.
4. Test the simplest documented query and capture any missing-module or interpreter error. Update the runtime path if you moved a portable installation.

Limits and common pitfalls

Plugin releases may bundle dependencies in a lib directory. Replacing those dependencies indiscriminately can break the author’s tested combination.

Make the check repeatable

The Python development guide explains how dependencies can be packaged with a release. That is not a universal command for end users. Keep a plugin-specific diagnosis: interpreter path, expected version range, packaged modules, and the exact import error. Avoid exposing secrets from environment variables in shared logs.

Questions and answers

Sources and scope

Documentation-based guidance, with source review on October 30, 2026. What was and was not tested.

• Project plugin-development guide
• Py Setup Project
• Project support guidance

Related guides