VMware SDK import fails on Python 3.12+ with setuptools >= 82 (`pkg_resources` removed)

[berlikm]

Description

netbox-sync shows Unable to import Python 'vsphere-automation-sdk'. Tag syncing will be disabled. even though the SDK is correctly installed.

The root cause is that vmware-vapi-runtime imports pkg_resources at runtime:

# vmware/vapi/l10n/bundle.py line 59
from pkg_resources import resource_string

But pkg_resources was:

1. Removed from Python 3.12+ stdlib — setuptools is no longer bundled with Python
2. Removed from setuptools >= 82.0.0 (released 08 Feb 2026) — the package that previously provided it

This means on any system with Python 3.12+ and setuptools >= 82, tag syncing is silently broken.

This affects both the old vsphere-automation-sdk AND the new vcf-sdk — both depend on vmware-vapi-runtime which uses pkg_resources.

Environment

• netbox-sync: v1.8.0 (development branch, commit bb61e32)
• Python: 3.12
• setuptools: 82.0.0 (installed in venv)
• VMware SDK: Tested with both:
  • Old: vsphere-automation-sdk==1.87.0 + vmware-vapi-runtime==2.52.0
  • New: vcf-sdk==9.0.0.0 + vmware-vapi-runtime==2.61.2
• OS: Ubuntu (Debian-based)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install netbox-sync on Python 3.12+ with a fresh venv
2. Install VMware SDK (either old or new):
   • Old: pip install git+https://github.com/vmware/vsphere-automation-sdk-python.git
   • New: pip install vcf-sdk
3. pip installs setuptools >= 82 automatically (or user upgrades setuptools)
4. Run netbox-sync → tag syncing is disabled

$ python -c "from com.vmware.vapi.std_client import DynamicID"
Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
  File ".../vmware/vapi/l10n/bundle.py", line 59, in __init__
    from pkg_resources import resource_string
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pkg_resources'

Workaround

Downgrade setuptools to a version that still includes pkg_resources:

pip install 'setuptools<82'

Known Upstream Issues

This is a known bug in the VMware/VCF SDK, tracked in the VCF SDK repo:

• vcf-sdk-python#6 — "UserWarning: pkg_resources is deprecated as an API"

  • setuptools v82.0.0 completely removed pkg_resources, breaking vmware-vapi-runtime
  • VMware response: "The issue will be fixed in next major release of SDK" (no timeline)
  • SDK releases are coupled to VCF major releases only

• vcf-sdk-python#4 — "vmware-vapi-runtime 2.61.2 requires old pyOpenSSL"

  • pyOpenSSL<24.3.0 pin creates dependency conflicts with newer packages
  • VMware response: "The current plan is to release SDKs with VCF major releases only"

• vsphere-automation-sdk-python#443 — Same pkg_resources issue reported on the old (deprecated) SDK repo

Also affecting Ansible: ansible-collections/vmware.vmware#320

Suggested Fix

Since this is ultimately a VMware/Broadcom SDK bug (tracked in vcf-sdk-python#6), and there's no fix timeline from upstream, it would be helpful to document the workaround in the netbox-sync README so users don't have to debug this themselves.

Something like:

Note: On Python 3.12+ with setuptools >= 82, the VMware SDK import will fail because pkg_resources was removed. Run pip install 'setuptools<82' in your venv to restore tag syncing. See vcf-sdk-python#6 for details.

Future improvement: migrate to VCF SDK

The old vsphere-automation-sdk-python repo is deprecated/archived. VMware/Broadcom has moved to the VCF SDK (pip install vcf-sdk).

I tested VCF SDK 9.0.0.0 and confirmed it's a 1:1 drop-in replacement for tag operations — all imports are identical:

Import	Old SDK	VCF SDK
from vmware.vapi.vsphere.client import create_vsphere_client	✅	✅ same
from com.vmware.vapi.std_client import DynamicID	✅	✅ same
client.tagging.Tag, client.tagging.TagAssociation	✅	✅ same

No code changes needed in netbox-sync — just swap the install command:

pip install vcf-sdk
# instead of: pip install git+https://github.com/vmware/vsphere-automation-sdk-python.git

Note: The setuptools<82 workaround is still required with VCF SDK today (vmware-vapi-runtime==2.61.2 still uses pkg_resources). VMware has acknowledged this in #6 and plans to fix it in the next major SDK release. Once that lands, the setuptools pin can be dropped.

References

• VCF SDK issue IP not assigned to VM error when updating the VM object #6 — pkg_resources removed: UserWarning: pkg_resources is deprecated as an API vmware/vcf-sdk-python#6
• VCF SDK issue UnboundLocalError: local variable 'ip' referenced before assignment #4 — pyOpenSSL pin: vmware-vapi-runtime 2.61.2 requires old pyOpenSSL vmware/vcf-sdk-python#4
• vsphere-automation-sdk-python#443 — same issue on old SDK: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pkg_resources' with Python 3.12 on Ubuntu 24.04 vmware/vsphere-automation-sdk-python#443
• Ansible vmware.vmware#320 — same breakage: vmware.vmware.guest_info doesn't work with setuptools 82.0.0 ansible-collections/vmware.vmware#320
• setuptools v82.0.0 changelog (removed pkg_resources): https://setuptools.pypa.io/en/latest/history.html
• VCF SDK on PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/vcf-sdk/

[bb-Ricardo]

thank you for this bug report, looking into it

[berlikm]

I actually tested VCF and all is working fine