Azure CLI 2.77.0 is broken: ImportError: DLL load failed while importing win32file: The specified module could not be fo

TL;DR

Issue Azure/azure-cli#32045 (closed, 78 comments): ### Describe the bug I have just installed Azure CLI version 2.77.0 and if I then run 'az upgrade' or 'az version' I get the error shown below. ### Related command 'az upgrade' or 'az version' ### Errors Traceback (most recent call last): File "[frozen runpy]", line 198, in runmoduleasmain File "[frozen runpy]", line 88, in runcode File "D:\a\work\1\s\buildscripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/main.py", line 13, in [module] File "D:\a\work\1\s\buildscripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/core

Steps

1. Issue Azure/azure-cli#32045 (closed, 78 comments): ### Describe the bug I have just installed Azure CLI version 2.77.0 and if I then run 'az upgrade' or 'az version' I get the error shown below. ### Related command 'az upgrade' or 'az version' ### Errors Traceback (most recent call last): File "[frozen runpy]", line 198, in runmoduleasmain File "[frozen runpy]", line 88, in runcode File "D:\a\work\1\s\buildscripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/main.py", line 13, in [module] File "D:\a\work\1\s\buildscripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/core/telemetry.py", line 19, in [module] File "D:\a\_wo
2. az crashing with 'ImportError: DLL load failed while importing win32file' after upgrading to 2.77.0+: fixed in Azure CLI 2.82.0 (the pywin32 dependency was downgraded from 311 to 310). Upgrade to 2.82.0+. Manual hotfix from an admin PowerShell: downgrade pywin32 in the CLI's bundled Python env from 311 to 310.

When to use

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When not to use

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Versions

Versions mentioned in the source: CLI 2.77.0, CLI 2.82.0. If you are on something much newer or older, the details may have shifted.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Sources

• https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli/issues/32045

In gh:Azure/azure-cli#32045, the reporter ran into: Issue Azure/azure-cli#32045 (closed, 78 comments): ### Describe the bug I have just installed Azure CLI version 2.77.0 and if I then run 'az upgrade' or 'az version' I get the error shown below. ### Related command 'az upgrade' or 'az version' ### Errors Traceback (most recent call last): File "[frozen runpy]", line 198, in runmoduleasmain File "[frozen runpy]", line 88, in runcode File "D:\a\work\1\s\buildscripts\windows\artifacts\cli\Lib\site-packages\azure/cli/main.py", line 13, in [module] File... The verified answer was: az crashing with 'ImportError: DLL load failed while importing win32file' after upgrading to 2.77.0+: fixed in Azure CLI 2.82.0 (the pywin32 dependency was downgraded from 311 to 310). Upgrade to 2.82.0+. Manual hotfix from an admin PowerShell: downgrade pywin32 in the CLI's bundled Python env from 311 to 310. Source issue: https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli/issues/32045