Terraform can't resolve Python

I've hit a snag. Is my PATH messed up? Is Python not installed correctly?

Problem: Terraform data "external" can't resolve python.exe, but running python.exe some-file.py works just fine.

Repro steps:

0. Running on Windows 11 through PowerShell terminal. Terraform is downloaded and put into a convenient directory in PATH. Python 3.10 is downloaded through Windows Store, and thus in C:\Users{me}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps which is also in the PATH.

1. Change main.tf to comment out the python line and uncomment the node line.

2. terraform init && terraform plan This succeeds with this output:

   > terraform init && terraform plan
   data.external.archive_prepare: Reading...
   data.external.archive_prepare: Read complete after 1s [id=-]
   
   Terraform used the selected providers to generate the following execution plan. Resource actions are indicated with the
   following symbols:
     + create
   
   Terraform will perform the following actions:
   
     # aws_s3_bucket.history will be created
     + resource "aws_s3_bucket" "history" {
         + acceleration_status         = (known after apply)
         + acl                         = (known after apply)
         + arn                         = (known after apply)
         + bucket                      = "terraform-test-bucket"
         + bucket_domain_name          = (known after apply)
         + bucket_prefix               = (known after apply)
         + bucket_regional_domain_name = (known after apply)
         + ... snip ...
         + website_endpoint            = (known after apply)
       }
   
   Plan: 1 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.
   
   ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
   
   Note: You didn't use the -out option to save this plan, so Terraform can't guarantee to take exactly these actions if
   you run "terraform apply" now.
   

3. run python.exe hello.py and note that it succeeds with this output:

   > python.exe hello.py
   {"bucket":"terraform-test-bucket"}
   

4. Change main.tf to comment out the node line and uncomment the python line.

5. terraform init && terraform plan This fails with this output:

   > terraform init && terraform plan
   data.external.archive_prepare: Reading...
   
   Planning failed. Terraform encountered an error while generating this plan.
   
   ╷
   │ Error: External Program Lookup Failed
   │
   │   with data.external.archive_prepare,
   │   on main.tf line 6, in data "external" "archive_prepare":
   │    6:   program = ["python.exe", "${path.module}/hello.py"]
   │
   │ The data source received an unexpected error while attempting to parse the query. The data source received an
   │ unexpected error while attempting to find the program.
   │
   │ The program must be accessible according to the platform where Terraform is running.
   │
   │ If the expected program should be automatically found on the platform where Terraform is running, ensure that the
   │ program is in an expected directory. On Unix-based platforms, these directories are typically searched based on the
   │ '$PATH' environment variable. On Windows-based platforms, these directories are typically searched based on the
   │ '%PATH%' environment variable.
   │
   │ If the expected program is relative to the Terraform configuration, it is recommended that the program name includes
   │ the interpolated value of 'path.module' before the program name to ensure that it is compatible with varying module
   │ usage. For example: "${path.module}/my-program"
   │
   │ The program must also be executable according to the platform where Terraform is running. On Unix-based platforms,
   │ the file on the filesystem must have the executable bit set. On Windows-based platforms, no action is typically
   │ necessary.
   │
   │ Platform: windows
   │ Program: "python.exe"
   │ Error: exec: "python.exe": executable file not found in %PATH%
   ╵
   

6. Expected results: terraform plan works identically for both node and python dependencies.