Pyston v2.3.3: ARM support

Today we’ve released Pyston v2.3.3, the latest version of our faster implementation of Python. The headline feature of this release is 64-bit ARM support, making Pyston available on ARM servers, M1 Macs via docker, Raspberry Pi’s that run a 64-bit operating system, and other 64-bit ARM systems. We also have a small number of performance and compatibility improvements.

Our speedup on ARM (30% on a Graviton EC2 instance) is comparable to our speedup for x86 (34% on an Intel i7-6700). Our warmup times are very low, so even low-powered processors such as the Raspberry Pi will benefit from Pyston. These numbers come from our macrobenchmark suite so we are hopeful that they are what you will achieve in practice.

You can download the latest release from our Github. We’ve provided a large number of ARM packages in our pyston conda channel, and the easiest way to use them is to download one of our PystonConda installers. pip is of course supported as well, we just don’t have the ability to provide pre-built packages for that format and you will have to compile from source, which typically is seamless but sometimes you need to install a Fortran or Rust compiler. We’ve also updated the pyston/pyston docker image for those who prefer that format.

We’d love to hear how these work for you! Feel free to file a bug report in our issue tracker or get in touch with us on our Discord server.