Error when running on Monterey 12.3

[dannyw]

I just upgraded to the latest version of MacOS and unfortunately it broke these wonderful workflows. It appears that /usr/bin/python has been removed. Executing a command gives the following error:

[14:30:43.717] ERROR: Bear[Script Filter] Code 127: /bin/bash: /usr/bin/python: No such file or directory

/usr/bin/python3 does exist, but pointing the Bear commands directly to that version still produces an error:

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'cPickle'

Any one else run into this? Any ideas on how to resolve? Thanks in advance.

[RStankov]

I have the same issue. No python2 and script doesn't work with python3.

[redgluten]

Indeed it would be great to have a port of this (awesome 👍) workflow to Python 3. In the meantime you can follow the instructions here to solve your issue.

[MattHardcastle]

A Py3 port is possible. Most of the code that fails under Py3 is in the vendored copy of alfred-workflow in the workflow directory. The alfred-workflow library doesn't support Py3, but NorthIsUp/alfred-workflow-py3, a fork, does. Unfortunatly, the fork dropped support for Py2 completely, so there's no easy option to support Py3 in a backward compaitable way. Since it's likely many folks installed Py2 to work around the Py3 failure, all of the failures will need to be resolved in a way that's supported with both Py{2,3}.

IMO this is a great Alfred plugin. It's been mentioned on Bear's Blog! You can't get better SEO. I'd love to see it updated to support modern Python.

[MattHardcastle]

I just created a bunch of pull requests that get Py3 working on my Sonoma machine. They are all merged togther in the next branch of my fork of this repository. I've tested them a bit in Py3 but they could use some more eyes.

[chrisbro]

@MattHardcastle Would you like me to add you as a collaborator? I'm obviously not keeping up with this and am happy to hand over control if you'd like it.

[MattHardcastle]

@chrisbro That'd be fine with me. I can pull together a release branch after I finish testing and figuring out how the update works.

[MattHardcastle]

Progress report:

• tested plugin update in Py2 on a Big Sur
• updated plugin to select Py{2,3} for the correct environment ([Py3] Use /usr/bin/python3 #46)
• created Check Bear database for Sqlite header #48 to address Error: No such table: ZSFNOTE #20 (I ran into it while testing in Big Sur)

Next action:

• revisit [Py3] Support unicode string in Py3 and Py3 #43 using six. The current exception handling approach is a little messy and there are more places where unicode needs to be replace.

[MattHardcastle]

Progress report:

• update is working in Py{2,3}
• fixed a handful of minor issues across five of the PRs I have open
• created [Py3] Open PID file as text for write #49 to ensure the update pid is created on Py{2,3}

Next action:

• test update in Py{2,3} until I confident they work (I'm 80% there)

[MattHardcastle]

The workflow and its update process are working on my Big Sur and Sonoma Macs. I stashed a bundle of the commits that got it functional on my webserver. It's based off the 0.3.5 tag. The next ref in the bundle is the branch that I confirmed worked.

I'm not going to continue with this codebase. I deleted my fork, which closed all my PRS, but please anyone feel free to grab the bundle and run with it.

Fixing up alfred-bear was the first project I've done with an Alfred workflow. It taught me a lot about them.

I'm stopping here because IMO the workflow module alfred-bear uses is bloated with age and feature I don't consider valuable, like an environment and cache abstration and automatic updates. Another reason is that the tag search feature appears to break with Bear migrations. I wouldn't want to remove the feature, but I also don't want to maintain it.

Since I only use text search of the note and I can get away with a light Alfred workflow layer I decided to write yet another Bear workflow and workflow library. I started fresh with Python3 and the most recent Alfred APIs. If you're interested, I published the workflow, Bear Search, on my website.

Thanks for following along! See you around.