PyScript is entering maintenance mode. Andrea Giammarchi, one of the core maintainers, announced it in a public gist. The API is frozen. Only Pyodide updates will continue, at a slower cadence.
The line that stuck with me:
"Adoption, OSS contributions, and the kind of promotion that comes from people publishing articles and success stories never really grew the way we hoped."
PyScript didn't stall because the tech failed. It's rock-solid. It stalled because not enough people were writing about it.
The landscape now
PyScript (frozen) — Mature, stable. Keep using it if you already do. No new features.
Pyodide directly — The engine under everything. Full control, more setup.
Brython / Skulpt — Near-instant load, no WASM. Great for education. No NumPy/Pandas.
Transcrypt — Pre-compiles Python to JS. Fastest execution, needs a build step.
Pytml (full disclosure — mine) — ~15KB wrapper around Pyodide. One script tag, <py> tags, print() and input() automatic. No MicroPython, no filesystem APIs, no plugins.
The takeaway
The "one framework to rule them all" era for Python in the browser is over. PyScript tried to be everything and couldn't sustain it. What's left is smaller tools that do one thing well.
If you're deciding today:
- Need PyScript's full scope? Fork it. Apache 2.0, maintainers invited it.
- Need the simple case with NumPy/Pandas? Pyodide or Pytml.
- Need instant load, no scientific packages? Brython or Skulpt.
- Need Python syntax compiled to JS? Transcrypt.
No tool is the wrong answer. The wrong answer is adopting something frozen without knowing it.
Also published on dev.to — full write-up with the maintainer's announcement.
What are you using for Python in the browser today?