diff --git a/kitty/constants.py b/kitty/constants.py
index e21ab7ad8..1dcebc9fc 100644
--- a/kitty/constants.py
+++ b/kitty/constants.py
@@ -221,6 +221,8 @@ def running_in_kitty(set_val: Optional[bool] = None) -> bool:
 
 def list_kitty_resources(package: str = 'kitty') -> Iterator[str]:
     try:
+        if sys.version_info[:2] < (3, 10):
+            raise ImportError('importlib.resources.files() doesnt work with frozen builds on python 3.9')
         from importlib.resources import files
     except ImportError:
         from importlib.resources import contents
@@ -231,6 +233,8 @@ def list_kitty_resources(package: str = 'kitty') -> Iterator[str]:
 
 def read_kitty_resource(name: str, package_name: str = 'kitty') -> bytes:
     try:
+        if sys.version_info[:2] < (3, 10):
+            raise ImportError('importlib.resources.files() doesnt work with frozen builds on python 3.9')
         from importlib.resources import files
     except ImportError:
         from importlib.resources import read_binary
diff --git a/kitty_tests/main.py b/kitty_tests/main.py
index a0fd9d519..b2893e270 100644
--- a/kitty_tests/main.py
+++ b/kitty_tests/main.py
@@ -4,12 +4,15 @@
 import importlib
 import os
 import shutil
+import sys
 import unittest
-from typing import Callable, Generator, NoReturn, Sequence, Set, Iterator
+from typing import Callable, Generator, Iterator, NoReturn, Sequence, Set
 
 
 def contents(package: str) -> Iterator[str]:
     try:
+        if sys.version_info[:2] < (3, 10):
+            raise ImportError('importlib.resources.files() doesnt work with frozen builds on python 3.9')
         from importlib.resources import files
     except ImportError:
         from importlib.resources import contents