Python 3.8
This version has reached end of life and no longer receives updates.
October 14, 2019
May 3, 2021
October 7, 2024
3.8.20 (September 6, 2024)
About Python 3.8
Python 3.8 introduced the walrus operator (:=), positional-only parameters, and f-string debugging. It reached end of life in October 2024.
Key Changes in Python 3.8
- ●Walrus operator (
:=) for assignment expressions in conditionals and comprehensions - ●Positional-only parameters using
/in function signatures - ●f-string
=specifier for self-documenting expressions (f'{x=}') - ●
TypedDictfor typed dictionary annotations - ●
functools.cached_propertydecorator
Breaking Changes
- ▲Collections abstract base classes moved to collections.abc (DeprecationWarning)
- ▲Several C API changes affecting native extensions
Python 3.8 reached end of life on October 7, 2024, roughly 1 year ago. Since then, no security patches have been issued. If you are still running Python 3.8, you should treat upgrading as a high-priority item. Any CVEs discovered against this version will not be fixed upstream.
The recommended upgrade path is to Python 3.14. Since Python 3.8 is 5 major versions behind, consider a staged upgrade through intermediate versions to catch breaking changes incrementally rather than all at once. Review the release notes for each intervening major version to identify API changes, deprecated features, and removed functionality that may affect your codebase.
Lifecycle Progress
This version reached end of life October 7, 2024.
All Python Versions
| Version | Released | EOL | Latest | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.14 | October 7, 2025 | October 31, 2030 | 3.14.3 | Active |
| 3.13 | October 7, 2024 | October 31, 2029 | 3.13.12 | Active |
| 3.12 | October 2, 2023 | October 31, 2028 | 3.12.12 | Security Only |
| 3.11 | October 24, 2022 | October 31, 2027 | 3.11.14 | Security Only |
| 3.10 | October 4, 2021 | October 31, 2026 | 3.10.19 | Security Only |
| 3.9 | October 5, 2020 | October 31, 2025 | 3.9.25 | End of Life |
| 3.8 (current page) | October 14, 2019 | October 7, 2024 | 3.8.20 | End of Life |
| 3.7 | June 27, 2018 | June 27, 2023 | 3.7.17 | End of Life |
| 3.6 | December 23, 2016 | December 23, 2021 | 3.6.15 | End of Life |
| 3.5 | September 13, 2015 | September 30, 2020 | 3.5.10 | End of Life |
| 3.4 | March 16, 2014 | March 18, 2019 | 3.4.10 | End of Life |
| 3.3 | September 29, 2012 | September 29, 2017 | 3.3.7 | End of Life |
| 3.2 | February 20, 2011 | February 20, 2016 | 3.2.6 | End of Life |
| 2.7 | July 3, 2010 | January 1, 2020 | 2.7.18 | End of Life |
| 3.1 | June 27, 2009 | April 9, 2012 | 3.1.5 | End of Life |
| 3.0 | December 3, 2008 | June 27, 2009 | 3.0.1 | End of Life |
| 2.6 | October 1, 2008 | October 29, 2013 | 2.6.9 | End of Life |
Frequently Asked Questions
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