Ok. Thank you for the explanation!

I’m just now thinking out los here, but would it make sense to use a PowerShell script to silently install miniconda and create a venv with a specific version?

Something like

@echo off
REM Download Miniconda installer (replace URL with the latest version)
powershell -Command "Invoke-WebRequest https://repo.anaconda.com/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Windows-x86_64.exe -OutFile miniconda.exe"

REM Install Miniconda silently
start /wait "" miniconda.exe /InstallationType=JustMe /RegisterPython=0 /S /D=%UserProfile%\Miniconda3

REM Create a new environment with the specific Python version
call %UserProfile%\Miniconda3\Scripts\activate.bat
call conda create -y -n py39 python=3.9

REM Optional: Set permissions for multi-user access
icacls %UserProfile%\Miniconda3 /grant:r Users:(OI)(CI)F /T

More on that here https://docs.anaconda.com/anaconda/install/silent-mode/

Again, this is just an idea, but if this works then you won’t have a problem anymore (maybe?).

I get your points!

But just out of curiosity, did you try using miniconda to install older python versions? That works wonders for me, also on windows 11.

If you don’t need CI/CD I don’t see any reasons to choose Gitlab over gitea. But I’m still testing gitea so take my words with a grain of salt :)

At work we selfhost gitlab (paid) and I’m checking gitea for my own projects. They have a good comparison table at https://docs.gitea.com/installation/comparison

Do you also need CI/CD?