Changing Python’s C API#

The C API is divided into these tiers:

  1. The internal, private API, available with Py_BUILD_CORE defined. Ideally declared in Include/internal/. Any API named with a leading underscore is also considered private.

  2. The Unstable C API, identified by the PyUnstable_ name prefix. Ideally declared in Include/cpython/ along with the general public API.

  3. The “general” public C API, available when Include/Python.h is included normally. Ideally declared in Include/cpython/.

  4. The Limited C API, available with Py_LIMITED_API defined. Ideally declared directly under Include/.

Each tier has different stability and maintenance requirements to consider when you add or change definitions in it.

The compatibility guarantees for public C API are explained in the user documentation, Doc/c-api/stable.rst (C API Stability).

The internal API#

Internal API is defined in Include/internal/ and is only available for building CPython itself, as indicated by a macro like Py_BUILD_CORE.

While internal API can be changed at any time, it’s still good to keep it stable: other API or other CPython developers may depend on it. For users, internal API is sometimes the best workaround for a thorny problem — though those use cases should be discussed on the C API Discourse category or an issue so we can try to find a supported way to serve them.

With PyAPI_FUNC or PyAPI_DATA#

Functions or structures in Include/internal/ defined with PyAPI_FUNC or PyAPI_DATA are internal functions which are exposed only for specific use cases like debuggers and profilers. Ideally, these should be migrated to the Unstable C API.

With the extern keyword#

Functions in Include/internal/ defined with the extern keyword must not and can not be used outside the CPython code base. Only built-in stdlib extensions (built with the Py_BUILD_CORE_BUILTIN macro defined) can use such functions.

When in doubt, new internal C functions should be defined in Include/internal using the extern keyword.

Private names#

Any API named with a leading underscore is also considered internal. There is currently only one main use case for using such names rather than putting the definition in Include/internal/ (or directly in a .c file):

  • Internal helpers for other public APIs, which users should not call directly.

Note that historically, underscores were used for APIs that are better served by the Unstable C API:

  • “provisional” APIs, included in a Python release to test real-world usage of new APIs;

  • APIs for very specialized uses like JIT compilers.

Internal API tests#

C tests for the internal C API live in Modules/_testinternalcapi.c. Functions named test_* are used as tests directly. Python parts of the tests live in various places in Lib/test.

Public C API#

CPython’s public C API is available when Python.h is included normally (that is, without defining macros to select the other variants).

It should be defined in Include/cpython/ (unless part of the Limited API, see below).

Guidelines for expanding/changing the public API#

  • Make sure the new API follows reference counting conventions. (Following them makes the API easier to reason about, and easier use in other Python implementations.)

    • Functions must not steal references

    • Functions must not return borrowed references

    • Functions returning references must return a strong reference

  • Make sure the ownership rules and lifetimes of all applicable struct fields, arguments and return values are well defined.

  • Functions returning PyObject * must return a valid pointer on success, and NULL with an exception raised on error. Most other API must return -1 with an exception raised on error, and 0 on success.

  • APIs with lesser and greater results must return 0 for the lesser result, and 1 for the greater result. Consider a lookup function with a three-way return:

    • return -1: internal error or API misuse; exception raised

    • return 0: lookup succeeded; no item was found

    • return 1: lookup succeeded; item was found

Please start a public discussion if these guidelines won’t work for your API.

Note

By return value, we mean the value returned by the C return statement.

C API tests#

Tests for the public C API live in the _testcapi module. Functions named test_* are used as tests directly. Tests that need Python code (or are just easier to partially write in Python) live in Lib/test, mainly in Lib/test/test_capi.

Due to its size, the _testcapi module is defined in several source files. To add a new set of tests (or extract a set out of the monolithic Modules/_testcapimodule.c):

  • Create a C file named Modules/_testcapi/yourfeature.c

  • The file should define a module as usual, except:

    • Instead of <Python.h>, include "parts.h".

    • Instead of PyInit_modname, define a _PyTestCapi_Init_yourfeature function that takes the _testcapi module and adds functions/classes to it. (You can use PyModule_AddFunctions to add functions.)

  • Add the _PyTestCapi_Init_* function to Modules/_testcapi/parts.h

  • Call the _PyTestCapi_Init_* from PyInit__testcapi in Modules/_testcapimodule.c.

  • Add the new C file to Modules/Setup.stdlib.in, PCbuild/_testcapi.vcxproj and PCbuild/_testcapi.vcxproj.filters, alongside the other _testcapi/*.c entries.

Note that all Modules/_testcapi/*.c sources initialize the same module, so be careful about name collisions.

When moving existing tests, feel free to replace TestError with PyExc_AssertionError unless actually testing custom exceptions.

Unstable C API#

The unstable C API tier is meant for extensions that need tight integration with the interpreter, like debuggers and JIT compilers. Users of this tier may need to change their code with every minor release.

In many ways, this tier is like the general C API:

  • it’s available when Python.h is included normally,

  • it should be defined in Include/cpython/,

  • it requires tests, so we don’t break it unintentionally

  • it requires docs, so both we and the users, can agree on the expected behavior,

  • it is tested and documented in the same way.

The differences are:

  • Names of functions structs, macros, etc. start with the PyUnstable_ prefix. This defines what’s in the unstable tier.

  • The unstable API can change in minor versions, without any deprecation period.

  • A stability note appears in the docs. This happens automatically, based on the name (via Doc/tools/extensions/c_annotations.py).

Despite being “unstable”, there are rules to make sure third-party code can use this API reliably:

  • Changes and removals can be done in minor releases (3.x.0, including Alphas and Betas for 3.x.0).

  • Adding a new unstable API for an existing feature is allowed even after Beta feature freeze, up until the first Release Candidate. Consensus on the Core Development Discourse is needed in the Beta period.

  • Backwards-incompatible changes should make existing C callers fail to compile. For example, arguments should be added/removed, or a function should be renamed.

  • When moving an API into or out of the Unstable tier, the old name should continue to be available (but deprecated) until an incompatible change is made. In other words, while we’re allowed to break calling code, we shouldn’t break it unnecessarily.

Moving an API from the public tier to Unstable#

  • Expose the API under its new name, with the PyUnstable_ prefix. The PyUnstable_ prefix must be used for all symbols (functions, macros, variables, etc.).

  • Make the old name an alias (e.g. a static inline function calling the new function).

  • Deprecate the old name, typically using Py_DEPRECATED.

  • Announce the change in the “What’s New”.

The old name should continue to be available until an incompatible change is made. Per Python’s backwards compatibility policy (PEP 387), this deprecation needs to last at least two releases (modulo Steering Council exceptions).

The rules are relaxed for APIs that were introduced in Python versions before 3.12, when the official Unstable tier was added. You can make an incompatible change (and remove the old name) as if the function was already part of the Unstable tier for APIs introduced before Python 3.12 that are either:

  • Documented to be less stable than default.

  • Named with a leading underscore.

Moving an API from the private tier to unstable#

  • Expose the API under its new name, with the PyUnstable_ prefix.

  • If the old name is documented, or widely used externally, make it an alias and deprecate it (typically with Py_DEPRECATED). It should continue to be available until an incompatible change is made, as if it was previously public.

    This applies even to underscored names. Python wasn’t always strict with the leading underscore.

  • Announce the change in What’s New.

Moving an API from unstable to public#

  • Expose the API under its new name, without the PyUnstable_ prefix.

  • Make the old PyUnstable_* name be an alias (e.g. a static inline function calling the new function).

  • Announce the change in What’s New.

The old name should remain available until the new public name is deprecated or removed. There’s no need to deprecate the old name (it was unstable to begin with), but there’s also no need to break working code just because some function is now ready for a wider audience.

Limited API#

The Limited API is a subset of the C API designed to guarantee ABI stability across Python 3 versions. Defining the macro Py_LIMITED_API will limit the exposed API to this subset.

No changes that break the Stable ABI are allowed.

The Limited API should be defined in Include/, excluding the cpython and internal subdirectories.

Guidelines for changing the Limited API, and removing items from it#

While the Stable ABI must not be broken, the existing Limited API can be changed, and items can be removed from it, if:

  • the Backwards Compatibility Policy (PEP 387) is followed, and

  • the Stable ABI is not broken – that is, extensions compiled with Limited API of older versions of Python continue to work on newer versions of Python.

This is tricky to do and requires careful thought. Some examples:

  • Functions, structs etc. accessed by macros in any version of the Limited API are part of the Stable ABI, even if they are named with an underscore. They must not be removed and their signature must not change. (Their implementation may change, though.)

  • Structs members cannot be rearranged if they were part of any version of the Limited API.

  • If the Limited API allows users to allocate a struct directly, its size must not change.

  • Exported symbols (functions and data) must continue to be available as exported symbols. Specifically, a function can only be converted to a static inline function (or macro) if Python also continues to provide the actual function. For an example, see the Py_NewRef macro and redefinition in 3.10.

It is possible to remove items marked as part of the Stable ABI, but only if there was no way to use them in any past version of the Limited API.

Guidelines for adding to the Limited API#

  • Guidelines for the general Public C API apply. See Guidelines for expanding/changing the public API.

  • New Limited API should only be defined if Py_LIMITED_API is set to the version the API was added in or higher. (See below for the proper #if guard.)

  • All parameter types, return values, struct members, etc. need to be part of the Limited API.

    • Functions that deal with FILE* (or other types with ABI portability issues) should not be added.

  • Think twice when defining macros.

    • Macros should not expose implementation details

    • Functions must be exported as actual functions, not (only) as functions-like macros.

    • If possible, avoid macros. This makes the Limited API more usable in languages that don’t use the C preprocessor.

  • Please start a public discussion before expanding the Limited API

  • The Limited API and must follow standard C, not just features of currently supported platforms. The exact C dialect is described in PEP 7.

    • Documentation examples (and more generally: the intended use of the API) should also follow standard C.

    • In particular, do not cast a function pointer to void* (a data pointer) or vice versa.

  • Think about ease of use for the user.

    • In C, ease of use itself is not very important; what is useful is reducing boilerplate code needed to use the API. Bugs like to hide in boiler plates.

    • If a function will be often called with specific value for an argument, consider making it default (used when NULL is passed in).

    • The Limited API needs to be well documented.

  • Think about future extensions

    • If it’s possible that future Python versions will need to add a new field to your struct, make sure it can be done.

    • Make as few assumptions as possible about implementation details that might change in future CPython versions or differ across C API implementations. The most important CPython-specific implementation details involve:

If following these guidelines would hurt performance, add a fast function (or macro) to the non-limited API and a stable equivalent to the Limited API.

If anything is unclear, or you have a good reason to break the guidelines, consider discussing the change at the capi-sig mailing list.

Adding a new definition to the Limited API#

  • Add the declaration to a header file directly under Include/, into a block guarded with the following:

    #if !defined(Py_LIMITED_API) || Py_LIMITED_API+0 >= 0x03yy0000

    with the yy corresponding to the target CPython version, e.g. 0x030A0000 for Python 3.10.

  • Append an entry to the Stable ABI manifest, Misc/stable_abi.toml

  • Regenerate the autogenerated files using make regen-limited-abi. On platforms without make, run this command directly:

    ./python ./Tools/build/stable_abi.py --generate-all ./Misc/stable_abi.toml

  • Build Python and check the using make check-limited-abi. On platforms without make, run this command directly:

    ./python ./Tools/build/stable_abi.py --all ./Misc/stable_abi.toml

  • Add tests – see below.

Limited API tests#

Since Limited API is a subset of the C API, there’s no need to test the behavior of individual functions. Rather, the tests could verify that some task is possible using the exposed subset, or exercise a feature that was removed from the current Limited API but still needs to be supported for older Limited API/Stable ABI versions.

To add a test file:

  • Add a C file Modules/_testcapi/yourfeature_limited.c. If that file already exists but its Py_LIMITED_API version is too low, add a version postfix, e.g. yourfeature_limited_3_12.c for Python 3.12+.

  • #define Py_LIMITED_API to the minimum limited API version needed.

  • #include "parts.h" after the Py_LIMITED_API definition

  • Enclose the entire rest of the file in #ifdef LIMITED_API_AVAILABLE, so it’s skipped on incompatible builds.

  • Follow the general instructions for C API tests. All additions go in the sections guarded by #ifdef LIMITED_API_AVAILABLE.

Use the test.support.requires_limited_api decorator for Python tests in Lib/test, so they’re skipped on incompatible builds.