Python 3.16.0 alpha 1 is out as the first of seven planned previews
The early preview opens the 3.16 cycle; the final release is scheduled for October 2027 and the next alpha for November.
The Python release team has published Python 3.16.0 alpha 1, an early developer preview of the next feature release. It is the first of seven planned alpha releases, and the team says it is not recommended for production use.
Features can still be added until the beta phase begins on May 4, 2027, and may be changed or removed until the release candidate phase on July 27, 2027. The final release is planned for October 5, 2027, and the next alpha, 3.16.0a2, is scheduled for November 10, 2026.
Maintainers of libraries and applications are asked to try their code against the alpha and report any Python bugs on the CPython issue tracker. Running a test job against the preview now gives projects more time to find compatibility problems before the beta.
Sources
Verified Oct 23, 2026 (official source). pythondeveloper-toolsreleaseprogramming-languages