python-version ignored when cache: 'pip' is set

[nisbet-hubbard]

Description:
We observed that when cache: 'pip' is set, the value of python-version is ignored & the latest version is used instead.

Action version:
v5

Platform:

• Ubuntu
• macOS
• Windows
• RHEL

Runner type:

• Hosted
• Self-hosted

Tools version:

3.10
Repro steps:

- uses: actions/setup-python@v5
   with:
     python-version: '3.10'
     cache: 'pip'

Expected behavior:
Is this the expected behaviour?

Actual behavior:

Run actions/setup-python@v5
  with:
    python-version: 3.13
    cache: pip
    check-latest: false
    token: ***
    update-environment: true
    allow-prereleases: false
    freethreaded: false
  env:
    GITHUB_PAGES: true
Installed versions
  Successfully set up CPython (3.13.2)

[priya-kinthali]

Hello @nisbet-hubbard 👋,
Thank you for reporting this issue. We will investigate it and get back to you as soon as we have some feedback.

[priya-kinthali]

Hello @nisbet-hubbard👋,
The python-version input in the setup-python action is intended to specify the exact version of Python to be set up. However, there appears to be a discrepancy between the python-version input value in your repro steps and the actual behaviour logs. To help resolve this, please check if the python-version input is correctly specified and ensure that there are no other parts of your workflow that might be overriding this value. It’s also worth verifying that there are no conflicting settings elsewhere in your configuration.

We have tested this on our end and confirmed that the specified python-version is correctly set up even with cache: 'pip’, as shown in the screenshots below:


If the issue persists, kindly share your workflow or a minimal repository link that demonstrates the issue. That would help us better understand and address the situation more effectively.

Thank you!

[nisbet-hubbard]

Thanks! I’ll reopen this if we observe the discrepancy again.