Python 3.13+ Installation Fails Due to pkg_resources/flatdict Build Dependency

[shyamnalluri]

Problem statement

Python 3.13+ Installation Fails Due to pkg_resources/flatdict Build Dependency

Attempting to install gimme-aws-creds on Python 3.13+ fails with:

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pkg_resources'
ERROR: Failed to build 'flatdict' when getting requirements to build wheel

Root cause analysis

• Python 3.12+ no longer includes pkg_resources by default.
• flatdict (an indirect dependency) imports pkg_resources during build.
• This causes pip build isolation to fail on Python 3.13+.

Chosen fix and rationale

• Audit and remove flatdict if possible, replacing with standard library or local flattening logic.
• If not feasible, replace flatdict with a maintained alternative that supports Python 3.13+ and does not rely on pkg_resources.
• As a fallback, use conditional dependencies or explicit build requirements as a last resort.

Compatibility verification

• Ensure pip install gimme-aws-creds works on both Python 3.11 and 3.13.
• No pkg_resources import errors.
• CI passes.

Docs update

• Update documentation to mention Python 3.13 compatibility and supported versions.

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a clean Python 3.13+ environment.
2. Run pip install gimme-aws-creds.
3. Observe the pkg_resources/flatdict build failure.

Additional context

• This is an ecosystem compatibility issue, not user misconfiguration.

References:

• Python 3.12+ packaging changes
• setuptools deprecation of pkg_resources
• pip PEP 517 build isolation