Python 3.9.6, 3.8.11, 3.7.11, and 3.6.14 are now available

Python 3.9.6

Python 3.9.6 is the newest major stable release of the Python programming language, and it contains many new features and optimizations. There’s been 146 commits since 3.9.5 which is a similar amount compared to 3.8 at the same stage of the release cycle. See the change log for details.

On macOS, we encourage you to use the universal2 binary installer variant whenever possible. The legacy 10.9+ Intel-only variant will not be provided for Python 3.10 and the universal2 variant will become the default download for future 3.9.x releases. You may need to upgrade third-party components, like pip, to later versions once they are released. You may experience differences in behavior in IDLE and other Tk-based applications due to using the newer version of Tk. As always, if you encounter problems when using this installer variant, please check https://bugs.python.org for existing reports and for opening new issues.

The next Python 3.9 maintenance release will be 3.9.7, currently scheduled for 2021-08-30.

The First Security-Only Release of Python 3.8

Security content in this release contains three fixes. There’s also two fixes for 3.8.10 regressions. Take a look at the change log for details.

According to the release calendar specified in PEP 569, Python 3.8 is now in security fixes only stage of its life cycle: 3.8 branch only accepts security fixes and releases of those are made irregularly in source-only form until October 2024. Python 3.8 isn’t receiving regular bugfixes anymore, and binary installers are no longer provided for it. Python 3.8.10 was the last full bugfix release of Python 3.8 with binary installers.

Security releases of 3.7.11 and 3.6.14

Security content in those releases contains five fixes each. Check out the relevant change logs for 3.7.11 and 3.6.14 for details.

Similarly to 3.8, Python 3.7 and 3.6 are now in security fixes only stage of their life cycle. Python 3.7 will be providing them until June 2023 while Python 3.6 ends its life in December 2021.

We hope you enjoy the new releases

Your friendly release team,
Ned Deily @nad
Steve Dower @steve.dower
Łukasz Langa @ambv

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