AWS Lambda Gets Python 3.14: Faster, Smarter, and More Serverless-Friendly

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TL;DR

Python 3.14 is now available in AWS Lambda, enabling developers to leverage new Python features for serverless applications.

Key Points

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Python 3.14 is now available as a managed runtime and container base image in AWS Lambda, offering new features for serverless applications.

Notable new features in Python 3.14 include template strings, deferred type annotation evaluation, improved error messages, and a new compression module for Zstandard.

Some Python 3.14 features, such as the JIT compiler and free-threaded mode, are not available in the AWS Lambda runtime.

Developers can use Python 3.14 for Lambda functions through various tools like the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, AWS SDK, AWS SAM, and AWS CDK.

Powertools for AWS Lambda in Python 3.14 supports best practices in serverless applications, including observability, batch processing, and structured logging.

Python 3.14 has officially landed as a managed runtime and container base image in AWS Lambda, starting November 18, 2025. This is pretty exciting news for developers eager to use the latest Python features in their serverless applications. Among the standout features, template strings offer a fresh approach to custom string processing. There's also deferred type annotation evaluation, which is a handy addition that reduces import time overhead and resolves forward reference issues. The standard library gets a boost too, with the new compression.zstd module providing native support for Zstandard compression. This means better compression ratios and faster decompression. Plus, Python 3.14 has improved error messages and enhanced introspection capabilities in asyncio.

If you're looking to create Lambda functions with Python 3.14, you've got a variety of tools at your disposal. The AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, AWS SDK for Python (Boto3), AWS Serverless Application Model (AWS SAM), and AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK) are all in play. The runtime also integrates well with Powertools for AWS Lambda, a toolkit that helps implement serverless best practices like observability, batch processing, and structured logging.

But wait, there's more. Python 3.14 isn't just for Lambda functions. It can also be used with Lambda@Edge to improve low-latency content delivery through Amazon CloudFront. However, some features of Python 3.14, like the JIT compiler and free-threaded mode, aren't available in the Lambda runtime. These require specific compilation settings and aren't enabled by default in the managed runtime. If you really need them, you can deploy your own Python runtime build with these features using a container image or custom runtime.

The Python 3.14 runtime is built on the Amazon Linux 2023 minimal container image, which uses microdnf as a package manager. If you're deploying Lambda functions as container images, you'll need to adjust your Dockerfiles to use dnf instead of yum when upgrading from earlier base images. Performance-wise, there might be longer cold start times for new Lambda runtimes due to reduced cache residency, but these typically improve as usage increases. AWS suggests running performance tests for workloads sensitive to performance changes. Python 3.14 in AWS Lambda offers developers a solid set of tools for building efficient and scalable serverless applications.

Key Numbers

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3.14 version

Python version released in AWS Lambda

18 November 2025

Date when Python 3.14 became available in AWS Lambda

zstd module

Python standard library module added for Zstandard compression

2023 Amazon Linux version

Minimum Amazon Linux base image version for Python 3.14 runtime

Stakeholder Relationships

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Organizations

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AWS Cloud Provider

Added Python 3.14 as a managed runtime and container base image for AWS Lambda.

Python Software Foundation Open Source Organization

Maintains and releases Python, including Python 3.14.

Tools

Key entities and stakeholders, categorized for clarity: people, organizations, tools, events, regulatory bodies, and industries.

Python 3.14 Programming Language Release

Latest Python version with features like template strings, deferred type annotations, and the compression.zstd module.

AWS Lambda Serverless Compute Service

Now supports Python 3.14 for building and deploying serverless applications.

Lambda@Edge Edge Compute Service

Allows Python 3.14 functions to run at CloudFront edge locations.

Powertools for AWS Lambda Toolkit

Enhances Python 3.14 Lambda functions with observability, logging, and best practices.

Events

Key entities and stakeholders, categorized for clarity: people, organizations, tools, events, regulatory bodies, and industries.

Python 3.14 Runtime Availability in AWS Lambda Release Event

AWS launches official Python 3.14 support on November 18, 2025.

Industries

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Cloud Computing Industry

Benefits from improved serverless performance and language features.

Serverless Development Industry Segment

Developers can now build Lambda apps using Python 3.14.

Timeline of Events

Timeline of key events and milestones.

2025-10-07 Python 3.14.0 stable release

Python 3.14.0 is released as the latest major version of the Python programming language, introducing features such as template strings, deferred type annotation evaluation, and the new compression.zstd module.

2025-11-18 Python 3.14 available in AWS Lambda

AWS adds Python 3.14 as a managed runtime and container base image for AWS Lambda, enabling developers to build serverless functions and Lambda@Edge workloads using the new Python 3.14 features.