Celery Installing couchbase on celery's ubuntu:focal based

The Fix

pip install celery==4.4.7

Based on closed celery/celery issue #6227 · PR/commit linked

Production note: This usually shows up under retries/timeouts. Treat it as a side-effect risk until you can verify behavior with a canary + real traffic.

Jump to Verify Open PR/Commit

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-FROM ubuntu:focal
+FROM ubuntu:bionic

repro.py

...
Collecting couchbase<3.0.0
  Using cached couchbase-2.5.12.tar.gz (665 kB)
    ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1:
     command: /home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/bin/python3.6 -c 'import sys, setuptools, tokenize; sys.argv[0] = '"'"'/tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/setup.py'"'"'; __file__='"'"'/tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/setup.py'"'"';f=getattr(tokenize, '"'"'open'"'"', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('"'"'\r\n'"'"', '"'"'\n'"'"');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, '"'"'exec'"'"'))' egg_info --egg-base /tmp/pip-pip-egg-info-gwqx89jd
         cwd: /tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/
    Complete output (44 lines):
    WARNING: The wheel package is not available.
      ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1:
       command: /home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/bin/python3.6 -u -c 'import sys, setuptools, tokenize; sys.argv[0] = '"'"'/tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/setup.py'"'"'; __file__='"'"'/tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/setup.py'"'"';f=getattr(tokenize, '"'"'open'"'"', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('"'"'\r\n'"'"', '"'"'\n'"'"');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, '"'"'exec'"'"'))' bdist_wheel -d /tmp/pip-wheel-gbnmjqhh
           cwd: /tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/
      Complete output (6 lines):
      usage: setup.py [global_opts] cmd1 [cmd1_opts] [cmd2 [cmd2_opts] ...]
         or: setup.py --help [cmd1 cmd2 ...]
         or: setup.py --help-commands
         or: setup.py cmd --help

      error: invalid command 'bdist_wheel'
      ----------------------------------------
      ERROR: Failed building wheel for typing
    ERROR: Failed to build one or more wheels
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/setuptools/installer.py", line 128, in fetch_build_egg
        subprocess.check_call(cmd)
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/subprocess.py", line 311, in check_call
        raise CalledProcessError(retcode, cmd)
    subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/bin/python3.6', '-m', 'pip', '--disable-pip-version-check', 'wheel', '--no-deps', '-w', '/tmp/tmpvavyptki', '--quiet', 'typing']' returned non-zero exit status 1.

    The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:

    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
      File "/tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/setup.py", line 245, in <module>
        **setup_kw
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/setuptools/__init__.py", line 164, in setup
        _install_setup_requires(attrs)
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/setuptools/__init__.py", line 159, in _install_setup_requires
        dist.fetch_build_eggs(dist.setup_requires)
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/setuptools/dist.py", line 702, in fetch_build_eggs
        replace_conflicting=True,
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py", line 781, in resolve
        replace_conflicting=replace_conflicting
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py", line 1064, in best_match
        return self.obtain(req, installer)
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py", line 1076, in obtain
        return installer(requirement)
      File
... (truncated) ...

verify

Re-run the minimal reproduction on your broken version, then apply the fix and re-run.

fix.md

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release\npip install celery==4.4.7\nWhen NOT to use: This fix is not applicable if the couchbase package is updated to support focal.\n\n

Why This Fix Works in Production

Mechanism: The Docker image base was changed to ubuntu:focal, which is incompatible with the couchbase package
Why the fix works: Changes the Docker image base back to `ubuntu:bionic` to ensure compatibility with the couchbase package, which does not yet support focal. (first fixed release: 4.4.7).

Production impact:

If left unfixed, the same config can fail only in production (env differences), causing startup failures or partial feature outages.

Why This Breaks in Prod

Shows up under Python 3.6 in real deployments (not just unit tests).
The Docker image base was changed to ubuntu:focal, which is incompatible with the couchbase package
Surfaces as: ...

Proof / Evidence

GitHub issue: #6227
Fix PR: https://github.com/celery/celery/pull/6246
First fixed release: 4.4.7
Reproduced locally: No (not executed)
Last verified: 2026-02-09
Confidence: 0.85
Did this fix it?: Yes (upstream fix exists)
Own content ratio: 0.31

Discussion

High-signal excerpts from the issue thread (symptoms, repros, edge-cases).

Jump to Sources Open on GitHub

“I should point out that I'm using podman (per the output I copied under actual behaviour) but that shouldn't make a different AFAIK”

@maybe-sybr · 2020-07-14 · source

“Actually, changing the base image back to bionic failed when trying to install the couchbase Python package: In lines above, it does look like wheel…”

@maybe-sybr · 2020-07-14 · source

“My main question prior to sending a PR would be how this hasn't broken in a CI or release process yet”

@maybe-sybr · 2020-07-15 · source

“thats for development docker for celery!”

@auvipy · 2020-07-15 · source

Error Message

Stack trace

error.txt

Error Message
-------------
...
Collecting couchbase<3.0.0
  Using cached couchbase-2.5.12.tar.gz (665 kB)
    ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1:
     command: /home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/bin/python3.6 -c 'import sys, setuptools, tokenize; sys.argv[0] = '"'"'/tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/setup.py'"'"'; __file__='"'"'/tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/setup.py'"'"';f=getattr(tokenize, '"'"'open'"'"', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('"'"'\r\n'"'"', '"'"'\n'"'"');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, '"'"'exec'"'"'))' egg_info --egg-base /tmp/pip-pip-egg-info-gwqx89jd
         cwd: /tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/
    Complete output (44 lines):
    WARNING: The wheel package is not available.
      ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1:
       command: /home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/bin/python3.6 -u -c 'import sys, setuptools, tokenize; sys.argv[0] = '"'"'/tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/setup.py'"'"'; __file__='"'"'/tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/setup.py'"'"';f=getattr(tokenize, '"'"'open'"'"', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('"'"'\r\n'"'"', '"'"'\n'"'"');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, '"'"'exec'"'"'))' bdist_wheel -d /tmp/pip-wheel-gbnmjqhh
           cwd: /tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/
      Complete output (6 lines):
      usage: setup.py [global_opts] cmd1 [cmd1_opts] [cmd2 [cmd2_opts] ...]
         or: setup.py --help [cmd1 cm
... (truncated) ...

Minimal Reproduction

repro.py

...
Collecting couchbase<3.0.0
  Using cached couchbase-2.5.12.tar.gz (665 kB)
    ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1:
     command: /home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/bin/python3.6 -c 'import sys, setuptools, tokenize; sys.argv[0] = '"'"'/tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/setup.py'"'"'; __file__='"'"'/tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/setup.py'"'"';f=getattr(tokenize, '"'"'open'"'"', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('"'"'\r\n'"'"', '"'"'\n'"'"');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, '"'"'exec'"'"'))' egg_info --egg-base /tmp/pip-pip-egg-info-gwqx89jd
         cwd: /tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/
    Complete output (44 lines):
    WARNING: The wheel package is not available.
      ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 1:
       command: /home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/bin/python3.6 -u -c 'import sys, setuptools, tokenize; sys.argv[0] = '"'"'/tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/setup.py'"'"'; __file__='"'"'/tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/setup.py'"'"';f=getattr(tokenize, '"'"'open'"'"', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('"'"'\r\n'"'"', '"'"'\n'"'"');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, '"'"'exec'"'"'))' bdist_wheel -d /tmp/pip-wheel-gbnmjqhh
           cwd: /tmp/pip-wheel-_tz3wd9p/typing/
      Complete output (6 lines):
      usage: setup.py [global_opts] cmd1 [cmd1_opts] [cmd2 [cmd2_opts] ...]
         or: setup.py --help [cmd1 cmd2 ...]
         or: setup.py --help-commands
         or: setup.py cmd --help

      error: invalid command 'bdist_wheel'
      ----------------------------------------
      ERROR: Failed building wheel for typing
    ERROR: Failed to build one or more wheels
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/setuptools/installer.py", line 128, in fetch_build_egg
        subprocess.check_call(cmd)
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/subprocess.py", line 311, in check_call
        raise CalledProcessError(retcode, cmd)
    subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/bin/python3.6', '-m', 'pip', '--disable-pip-version-check', 'wheel', '--no-deps', '-w', '/tmp/tmpvavyptki', '--quiet', 'typing']' returned non-zero exit status 1.

    The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:

    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
      File "/tmp/pip-install-attw80li/couchbase/setup.py", line 245, in <module>
        **setup_kw
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/setuptools/__init__.py", line 164, in setup
        _install_setup_requires(attrs)
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/setuptools/__init__.py", line 159, in _install_setup_requires
        dist.fetch_build_eggs(dist.setup_requires)
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/setuptools/dist.py", line 702, in fetch_build_eggs
        replace_conflicting=True,
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py", line 781, in resolve
        replace_conflicting=replace_conflicting
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py", line 1064, in best_match
        return self.obtain(req, installer)
      File "/home/developer/.pyenv/versions/python3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/pkg_resources/__init__.py", line 1076, in obtain
        return installer(requirement)
      File
... (truncated) ...

Environment

Python: 3.6

What Broke

Installing the couchbase package fails with an error during the build process.

Why It Broke

The Docker image base was changed to ubuntu:focal, which is incompatible with the couchbase package

Fix Options (Details)

Option A — Upgrade to fixed release Safe default (recommended)

pip install celery==4.4.7

When NOT to use: This fix is not applicable if the couchbase package is updated to support focal.

Use when you can deploy the upstream fix. It is usually lower-risk than long-lived workarounds.

Option D — Guard side-effects with OnceOnly Guardrail for side-effects

Mitigate duplicate external side-effects under retries/timeouts/agent loops by gating the operation before calling external systems.

Place OnceOnly between your code/agent and real side-effects (Stripe, emails, CRM, APIs).
Use a stable key per side-effect (e.g., customer_id + action + idempotency_key).
Fail-safe: configure fail-open vs fail-closed based on blast radius and spend risk.

Show example snippet (optional)

onceonly.py

from onceonly import OnceOnly
import os

once = OnceOnly(api_key=os.environ["ONCEONLY_API_KEY"], fail_open=True)

# Stable idempotency key per real side-effect.
# Use a request id / job id / webhook delivery id / Stripe event id, etc.
event_id = "evt_..."  # replace
key = f"stripe:webhook:{event_id}"

res = once.check_lock(key=key, ttl=3600)
if res.duplicate:
    return {"status": "already_processed"}

# Safe to execute the side-effect exactly once.
handle_event(event_id)

See OnceOnly SDK

When NOT to use: Do not use this to hide logic bugs or data corruption. Use it to block duplicate external side-effects and enforce tool permissions/spend caps.

Fix reference: https://github.com/celery/celery/pull/6246

First fixed release: 4.4.7

Last verified: 2026-02-09. Validate in your environment.

When NOT to Use This Fix

This fix is not applicable if the couchbase package is updated to support focal.
Do not use this to hide logic bugs or data corruption. Use it to block duplicate external side-effects and enforce tool permissions/spend caps.

Verify Fix

verify

Re-run the minimal reproduction on your broken version, then apply the fix and re-run.

Did This Fix Work in Your Case?

Quick signal helps us prioritize which fixes to verify and improve.

Prevention

Add a TLS smoke test that performs a real handshake in CI (include CA bundle validation and hostname checks).
Alert on handshake failures by error string and endpoint to catch cert/CA changes quickly.

Version Compatibility Table

Version	Status
4.4.7	Fixed

Related Issues

No related fixes found.

Cluster: celery:configuration-error Celery hub Celery best practices All hubs All clusters

Related clusters: Data consistency Duplicates Duplicate processing

Sources

We don’t republish the full GitHub discussion text. Use the links above for context.

Celery Installing couchbase on celery's ubuntu:focal based Docker image no longer works (Fix)