CPython

Python reference implementation CPythonOriginal authorGuido van RossumDevelopersPython core developers and the Python community, supported by the Python Software FoundationRelease26 January 1994; 32 years ago (1994-01-26)Stable release3.14.7 / 5 August 2026; 10 days ago (5 August 2026) Written inC, PythonPlatform42 platforms; see § DistributionAvailable inEnglishTypePython Programming Language InterpreterLicensePython Software Foundation LicenseWebsitewww.python.orgRepositoryhttps://github.com/python/cpython CPython is the reference implementation of the Python programming language. Written in C and Python, CPython is the default and most widely used implementation of the Python language. CPython can be defined as both an interpreter and a compiler as it compiles Python code into bytecode before interpreting it. It has a foreign function interface with several languages, including C, in which one must explicitly write bindings in a language other than Python. Design A particular feature of CPython is that it makes use of a global interpreter lock (GIL) such that for each CPython interpreter process, only one thread may be processing bytecode at a time. This does not mean that ther