Sublime Text 4 drops Python 3.3 and jumps to Python 3.14
Sublime Text Build 4213
Sublime Text Build 4213 upgrades its plugin host from Python 3.8 to Python 3.14, while Python 3.3 is now disabled by default and will be removed in a future release. The update also brings rewritten C# syntax highlighting, file icon themes, an open_terminal command, and performance improvements for saving many files and git status. Windows 10 and macOS 10.13 are now the minimum required versions.
Python 3.3 is disabled by default and will be removed in a future version. If you're experiencing plugin compatibility issues you can re-enable 3.3 using the setting "disable_plugin_host_3.3": false.
- kylebebak
The headline changes in this release are related to the Python plugin host:
- Upgraded Python 3.8 to Python 3.14
- Python 3.3 is now disabled by default
By default, Sublime plugins now all run under the Python 3.14. The 3.8 plugin host was removed (Python 3.8 reached EOL in Oct 2024), and the 3.3 plugin host is deprecated, and will be removed in a future release.
This is great for plugin devs. They get improvements to syntax, performance, type hints, the standard library, etc, and they can depend on modern versions of Python packages. Many packages no longer receive updates for 3.8 (e.g. https://github.com/psf/requests), let alone 3.3, and many others simply don't run on these older python versions (e.g. https://github.com/xberg-io/tree-sitter-language-pack).
Like the plugin systems for Emacs/Neovim/VS Code (and unlike the sandboxed systems for e.g. Zed and Helix), Sublime's plugin API has low-level access to the editor, and the runtime has full OS access.
I think Sublime was smart to bet on Python for the plugin system. They released the plugin system in 2009, before Python was everywhere. The super flexible plugin API and the huge package ecosystem is a powerful combo.
- pixeljam
Does this I can finally add it to my NixOS config without having to use `permittedInsecurePackages`?
- mikeaskew4
It was so nice recently to come back to ST after several years of increasingly bloated IDEs. I should probably (finally) pay for it.
- ElectronBadger
The best coding editor just got better.
- listenfaster
First release in over a year! I had left ST when I felt that there wasn't the will or resources to address basic usability things like https://github.com/sublimehq/sublime_text/issues/328
If anyone is following along in the forums and understands the health of the team behind the product, could you give us a read on the prospective longterm health of the product? Most in my circle thing ST is dead or abandoned.