Update to Python 3.13 for 2026.1

[seanbudd]

Link to issue number:

Part of #18591

Summary of the issue:

We want to update to Python 3.13 from 3.11

Description of user facing changes:

brltty will break

Description of developer facing changes:

• Update python to 3.13.6
• remove typing_extensions

Description of development approach:

• Updated all references of python 3.11 to 3.13
• Updated usages of TypeAlias to type: https://docs.python.org/3.13/library/typing.html#type-aliases
• Updated usages of ParamSpec to parameter lists: https://docs.python.org/3.13/library/typing.html#typing.ParamSpec
• Remove deprecated SupportsLessThan: Add SupportsLessThan to typing and typing_extensions python/typing_extensions#9 (comment)

Testing strategy:

CI/CD

Known issues with pull request:

None

Code Review Checklist:

• Documentation:
  • Change log entry
  • User Documentation
  • Developer / Technical Documentation
  • Context sensitive help for GUI changes
• Testing:
  • Unit tests
  • System (end to end) tests
  • Manual testing
• UX of all users considered:
  • Speech
  • Braille
  • Low Vision
  • Different web browsers
  • Localization in other languages / culture than English
• API is compatible with existing add-ons.
• Security precautions taken.

@coderabbitai summary

[Copilot]

Pull Request Overview

This PR updates NVDA from Python 3.11 to Python 3.13.6 to modernize the codebase and leverage newer language features. The update includes removing the typing_extensions dependency since Python 3.13 includes those features natively.

Key changes:

• Updated Python version from 3.11.9 to 3.13.6 across all configuration files
• Migrated from typing_extensions.TypeAlias to native type statements
• Replaced ParamSpec usage with parameter list syntax ([**P])
• Removed deprecated SupportsLessThan import and implemented custom protocol

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 21 out of 22 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
.python-versions	Updated Python version specification
pyproject.toml	Updated Python requirement and removed typing_extensions dependency
.github/workflows/*.yml	Updated CI/CD workflows to use Python 3.13
source/gui/guiHelper.py	Modernized type annotations using parameter lists
source/gui/message.py	Converted TypeAlias to type statements
source/keyboardHandler.py	Converted TypeAlias to type statements
source/gui/addonStoreGui/viewModels/addonList.py	Implemented custom SupportsLessThan protocol
source/UIAHandler/_remoteOps/remoteFuncWrapper.py	Modernized type annotations using parameter lists
tests/unit/test_baseObject.py	Simplified version-specific test logic
user_docs/en/userGuide.md	Updated Python documentation link

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[LeonarddeR]

At least one knnown issue is that brltty will break. I'm able to provide an x64 binding for Python 3.13, but honestly I'm not that motivated to provide one for X86 as it will only be temporary.

[burmancomp]

Will brltty be supported in the future? Some others may also have old displays which are not supported by nvda but by brltty. Personally I have alva satellite 544 which I use when I need braille display when travelling.

[seanbudd]

@burmancomp - thanks to very promising efforts from @LeonarddeR, yes we should have support for brltty by the time 2026.1beta1 is released. Leonard is holding off until we switch alphas to 64bit, as we need to update brltty for both 64bit and python 3.13, doing both at the same time is easier.

[seanbudd]

You can track this in #18657

[burmancomp]

Thanks for the information, and all success to @LeonarddeR!