[Python][Packaging] Support Python 3.14 and upload wheels

[raulcd]

Describe the enhancement requested

Similar to the Python 3.13 one:

• [Python][Packaging] Support Python 3.13 and upload wheels #43519

Python 3.14 is currently in a prerelease status (https://discuss.python.org/t/python-3-14-release-candidate-1-is-go/99754) and is expected to have a final release in October this year (https://devguide.python.org/versions).

We should ensure we are fully ready to support Python 3.14 for the PyArrow 22 release that will happen around the same time.

(equivalent PRs for Python 3.13: #43539, #44193, )
(issue that added free-threaded support for 3.13: #43536)
(equivalent PR for Python 3.12: #37901)

---

Tasks:

• Start building nightly wheels for Python 3.14
• Free-threaded wheels, for 3.14

Component(s)

Python, Packaging

[EwoutH]

Python 3.14 is released in just two weeks. Many packages depend on pyarrow. Is there any chance we can speed this up? Either building 3.14 wheels for 21.0.0, doing a backport with patch release, or moving 22.0.0 forward?

[raulcd]

The feature freeze for Arrow v22.0.0 is currently scheduled on October 6th. Adding Python 3.14 wheels is a requirement for the release. The release takes some time between the feature freeze and the approval as we require to fix CI issues and blockers, as this one. Usually a couple of weeks after the feature freeze we have an approved release but that time depends on the amount of issues found after the feature freeze and for some releases might take slightly longer.
Unfortunately backporting a change like adding a new Python version to a previous release is something we can't do at the moment given the complexity of our release process and the amount of maintainer time we currently have for the project.
As this is currently a blocker this is already a top-priority issue we are working on.

[lukeshingles]

I don’t understand the release process, but for the last few years, pyarrow has been the last of my dependencies to support the newest cpython release. Would it be possible to coordinate future pyarrow releases with the first ABI-stable release candidates of future cpython versions?

[AlenkaF]

Just a note that releasing PyArrow isn’t a stand-alone process, it’s part of the overall Arrow project release. @raulcd and others have done a lot to make things smoother by splitting out some implementations, but there’s still inherent complexity. That being said, we do aim to support new Python releases as fast as possible.

[EwoutH]

Thanks for getting back and your continued effort!

Would it be possible to shift the release cycle a little to better align with Python's yearly cycle?

Python always releases its ABI-stable release candidate late July. For Python 3.15 it will be July 28th, 2026. Would it be possible to, for example, do the arrow feature freeze on August 1st, then take the weeks to resolve blockers, and release late august or early september? Than you're about ~1 month ahead of the Python stable release instead of ~1 month behind it.