software-properties-gtk crashed with ImportError in /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py: No module named gobject

[Alin Andrei]

This is what happens when I try to run software-properties-gtk:

andrei@andrei-quantal:~$ software-properties-gtk
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/software-properties-gtk", line 37, in <module>
    from softwareproperties.gtk.SoftwarePropertiesGtk import SoftwarePropertiesGtk
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/softwareproperties/gtk/SoftwarePropertiesGtk.py", line 34, in <module>
    from aptdaemon import client
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py", line 43, in <module>
    import gobject as GObject
ImportError: No module named gobject

ProblemType: Crash
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.10
Package: software-properties-gtk 0.89
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.5.0-4.4-generic 3.5.0-rc6
Uname: Linux 3.5.0-4-generic i686
ApportVersion: 2.3-0ubuntu4
Architecture: i386 AND amd64
Date: Wed Jul 18 13:35:09 2012
ExecutablePath: /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal" - Alpha i386 (20120717.1)
InterpreterPath: /usr/bin/python3.2mu
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcCmdline: /usr/bin/python3.2 /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm
 SHELL=/bin/bash
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
PythonArgs: ['/usr/bin/software-properties-gtk']
SourcePackage: software-properties
Title: software-properties-gtk crashed with ImportError in /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py: No module named gobject
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
UserGroups: adm cdrom dip lpadmin plugdev sambashare sudo

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[TK (tkrishan)]

This crash occurs for me when either clicking the Settings button on the Software Updater or attempting to select the menu item Settings/Repositories in Synaptic Package Manager

[dino99 (9d9)]

confirm post #3 above on quantal i386

[Edward Donovan (edward.donovan)]

#3 and #4 : yeah, both of those buttons call 'software-properties-gtk' and produce the same result as if you run it directly. Which at the moment is this crash. :)

[Edward Donovan (edward.donovan)]

So, as of version 0.89, software-properties-gtk uses aptdaemon's client module, client.py. And that's breaking.

/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py has this at line 40:

if 'gi.repository' in sys.modules:
    from gi.repository import GObject
else:
    import gobject as GObject

I don't know if it should be getting it from 'gi.repository', but it's not. And then the 'else' import statement isn't working either.

Nor do I know yet, if client.py is purely broken there, or if software-properties-gtk isn't quite importing it correctly. Maybe there's a missing dependency that the developers had on their machine, but the reporters don't? But I've tried a few gobject packages and haven't hit on anything.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

That happened to me a few days ago as well. I fixed that in http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~aptdaemon-developers/aptdaemon/main/revision/848

[Elfy (elfy)]

Whether the upates I just received (main server) where the ones you released I am not sure

Package: software-properties-gtk
Status: install ok installed
Priority: optional
Section: admin
Installed-Size: 362
Maintainer: Michael Vogt <email address hidden>
Architecture: all
Source: software-properties
Version: 0.91

But I still get this

hob@sidh:~$ software-properties-gtk
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/bin/software-properties-gtk", line 37, in <module>
    from softwareproperties.gtk.SoftwarePropertiesGtk import SoftwarePropertiesGtk
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/softwareproperties/gtk/SoftwarePropertiesGtk.py", line 34, in <module>
    from aptdaemon import client
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py", line 43, in <module>
    import gobject as GObject
ImportError: No module named gobject

[dino99 (9d9)]

0.91 is still crashing on quantal i386 if i try to open it (same error as into comment #8 above )

[John Belton (jbelton1950)]

I'm still getting random closures when I try to update and if I try to access the"settings" to check what is set. I have used the terminal to do updates but the setting status doesn't seem to apply as some updates listed as "proposed" don't get updated but when I originally set the options I ticked that option on the original installation. I wanted to check this had not changed, hence my attempt to access the "settings".
John

[Doug McMahon (mc3man)]

The fix per comment #7 is in aptdaemon, not software-properties-gtk & has not been released yet

Can confirm that manually editing, (replacing lines 40 -43), /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py as shown in the link allows software-properties-gtk to start up & run

Though it is a littles low to appear, about 4-5 sec's here

[Jessica Lambiase (siliconjey)]

Same bug for me. Quantal i386.

[Edward Donovan (edward.donovan)]

Yeah, I think aptdaemon should be marked Fix Committed, not yet Fix Released, but I can't change it myself.

[Anastasia Antonitsi (psydefects22)]

after fresh dvdom install,update-grade and all the stuff we do when upgrading, me too confirming this one, its pretty annoying. some details, i had synaptic doing some installs, and like many here described i was browsing the software center, only other app i had was etherape and gkrellm but these are almost always on. it happened about the time i switched from docky/v.desktop2 to synaptic/v.desktop1 to see the console scroll-out.when i used the unity to switch, it didn't happen at all.

[Ubuntu QA Website (ubuntuqa)]

This bug has been reported on the Ubuntu Package testing tracker.

A list of all reports related to this bug can be found here:
http://packages.qa.ubuntu.com/qatracker/reports/bugs/1026066

[tsj (ts3141592)]

Same error. Newly installed 64-bit quantal from the daily build.

[Paddy Landau (paddy-landau)]

I have manually installed the fix in comment #7 (thank you, Martin Pitt).

I confirm that it now works from the terminal, Synaptic Package Manager, Ubuntu Software Centre, and Settings.

[Paddy Landau (paddy-landau)]

Oh, I should add that I wasn't sure which item to fix, because there were two, so I fixed them both:

/usr/share/pyshared/aptdaemon/client.py
/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py

[dino99 (9d9)]

Have made changes as posted above into comment #18 :

dbus.mainloop.glib.DBusGMainLoop(set_as_default=True)

if 'gobject' in sys.modules:
    import gobject as GObject
else:
    from gi.repository import GObject

from . import enums

but got error:

  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py", line 40
    if 'gobject' in sys.modules:
       ^
SyntaxError: invalid character in identifier

Does not see what is wrong there (remove/add done as per #7 link details)

[Edward Donovan (edward.donovan)]

dino99, I'm not sure what went wrong for you, either. Could it be a different type of quote character in your file? Hm.

This may be what you have already done, but I'll spell out what I did to apply Martin's patch for aptdaemon, until a fixed aptdaemon package is released:

Here's a direct link to the patch:

  http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~aptdaemon-developers/aptdaemon/main/diff/848

Firefox doesn't display that, it just prompts me to save it, and most browsers probably will, too. It will save it as:

  848_847.diff

Note where it is saved; probably in ~/Downloads .

In the shell, do this:

  cd /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/
  sudo patch < ~/Downloads/848_847.diff

I'd recommend that for anyone who wants to fix this bug on the systems while waiting for a release. dino, if that doesn't work for you, still, I guess I'll be scratching my head.

[Edward Donovan (edward.donovan)]

Paddy, that's good to note we have two versions of the file on our systems. For the moment, at least, we have "python-aptdaemon", and "python3-aptdaemon" packages in Quantal installs. It's the python3 file that's getting included by software-propeties-gtk. So fixing just

   /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/aptdaemon/client.py

as I described in the last post, will do it.

[Edward Donovan (edward.donovan)]

So, a lot of people trying to run Quantal are being bothered by this bug. This fix has been committed. Is there more I can do, to push the release of a fixed aptdaemon package? Thanks.

[Elfy (elfy)]

#20 got mine going - no idea I what I was doing wrong following #7

[dino99 (9d9)]

Thanks Edward for your howto above into post #20, now both synaptic & System Sources can be set back again.

[Davide Depau (depau)]

Sorry, I've changed bug visibility for mistake...

[Ubuntu QA Website (ubuntuqa)]

This bug has been reported on the Ubuntu ISO testing tracker.

A list of all reports related to this bug can be found here:
http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/qatracker/reports/bugs/1026066

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

Starting software-properties-gtk is enough to trigger it. Bug is in aptdaemon.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package aptdaemon - 0.45+bzr848-0ubuntu1

---------------
aptdaemon (0.45+bzr848-0ubuntu1) quantal; urgency=low

  * New upstream snapshot:
    - aptdaemon/client.py: Prefer GI GObject module. (LP: #1026066)
    - lintian supports skipping user profiles since 2.5.9, make use of this to
      simplify code a bit.
  * debian/rules: Temporarily make test suite non-fatal while
    tests.test_worker.WorkerTestCase.test_install_file() is failing, as above
    fix is urgent for alpha-3.
 -- Martin Pitt <email address hidden> Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:09:31 +0200