PEP: 693 Title: Python 3.12 Release Schedule Author: Thomas Wouters
<thomas@python.org> Status: Active Type: Informational Topic: Release
Created: 24-May-2022 Python-Version: 3.12

Abstract

This document describes the development and release schedule for Python
3.12.

Release Manager and Crew

-   3.12 Release Manager: Thomas Wouters
-   Windows installers: Steve Dower
-   Mac installers: Ned Deily
-   Documentation: Julien Palard

Release Schedule

3.12.0 schedule

Note: the dates below use a 17-month development period that results in
a 12-month release cadence between feature versions, as defined by PEP
602.

Actual:

-   3.12 development begins: Sunday, 2022-05-08
-   3.12.0 alpha 1: Monday, 2022-10-24
-   3.12.0 alpha 2: Monday, 2022-11-14
-   3.12.0 alpha 3: Tuesday, 2022-12-06
-   3.12.0 alpha 4: Tuesday, 2023-01-10
-   3.12.0 alpha 5: Tuesday, 2023-02-07
-   3.12.0 alpha 6: Tuesday, 2023-03-07
-   3.12.0 alpha 7: Tuesday, 2023-04-04
-   3.12.0 beta 1: Monday, 2023-05-22 (No new features beyond this
    point.)
-   3.12.0 beta 2: Tuesday, 2023-06-06
-   3.12.0 beta 3: Monday, 2023-06-19
-   3.12.0 beta 4: Tuesday, 2023-07-11
-   3.12.0 candidate 1: Sunday, 2023-08-06
-   3.12.0 candidate 2: Wednesday, 2023-09-06
-   3.12.0 candidate 3: Tuesday, 2023-09-19
-   3.12.0 final: Monday, 2023-10-02

Bugfix releases

Actual:

-   3.12.1: Thursday, 2023-12-07
-   3.12.2: Tuesday, 2024-02-06
-   3.12.3: Tuesday, 2024-04-09
-   3.12.4: Thursday, 2024-06-06
-   3.12.5: Tuesday, 2024-08-06
-   3.12.6: Friday, 2024-09-06
-   3.12.7: Tuesday, 2024-10-01

Expected:

-   3.12.8: Tuesday, 2024-12-03
-   3.12.9: Tuesday, 2025-02-04
-   3.12.10: Tuesday, 2025-04-08

Source-only security fix releases

Provided irregularly on an as-needed basis until October 2028.

3.12 Lifespan

3.12 will receive bugfix updates approximately every 2 months for
approximately 18 months. Some time after the release of 3.13.0 final,
the ninth and final 3.12 bugfix update will be released. After that, it
is expected that security updates (source only) will be released until 5
years after the release of 3.12.0 final, so until approximately October
2028.

Features for 3.12

New features can be found in What’s New In Python 3.12.

Copyright

This document is placed in the public domain or under the
CC0-1.0-Universal license, whichever is more permissive.