PyCon US is the largest annual gathering of the Python community — a week of talks, tutorials, workshops, and hallway conversations with the people who build and use the world’s most popular programming language. In 2026, it moved to a new home: Long Beach, California, from May 13 to 19, 2026.
Whether you attended, couldn’t make it this year, or are wondering whether to go in the future, this guide covers what PyCon US 2026 offered: the schedule, the keynote speakers, the brand-new AI and Security tracks, the Spanish-language Charlas, the development sprints, what tickets cost, and how to catch up on the talks online.
What Is PyCon US?
PyCon US is the flagship conference of the Python community, produced by the Python Software Foundation (PSF) — the nonprofit that manages the Python language and supports its community. Proceeds from PyCon US help fund the PSF’s work throughout the year.
Unlike many tech conferences, PyCon US is run by the community, for the community. Speakers range from first-time presenters to core developers of Python itself, and the audience includes everyone from students and hobbyists to data scientists, web developers, educators, and engineers at the world’s largest companies. If you write Python — or want to — there’s a place for you.
PyCon US 2026 at a Glance
| Dates | May 13–19, 2026 |
| Location | Long Beach Convention Center, 18 S Pine Ave, Long Beach, California |
| Organizer | Python Software Foundation |
| Format | In person only, with talks recorded and published afterward |
| Main conference | Friday, May 15 – Sunday, May 17 |
| New this year | First day-long AI Track and first Security Track |
The Schedule, Day by Day
PyCon US is really several events in one week:
| Dates | What happened |
|---|---|
| May 13–14 (Wed–Thu) | Tutorials — hands-on workshops |
| May 14–15 (Thu–Fri) | Summits and sponsor presentations |
| May 14 (Thu) | The Opening Reception |
| May 15–17 (Fri–Sun) | Main conference: keynotes, talks, Open Spaces, Lightning Talks, Expo Hall |
| May 15 (Fri) | AI Track, and the first day of Charlas |
| May 16 (Sat) | Security Track, the second day of Charlas, the PyLadies Auction |
| May 17 (Sun) | Posters, and the Job Fair & Community Showcase |
| May 18–19 (Mon–Tue) | Development sprints |
Keynote Speakers
The 2026 keynotes covered AI products, open source, community mentorship, and the work of maintaining Python itself:
- Lin Qiao — CEO and co-founder of Fireworks AI, and previously co-creator and head of PyTorch at Meta. Her keynote, “Your AI Product Doesn’t Have a Moat… Yet,” focused on how teams can build AI products with tight feedback loops between the product and the model.
- amanda casari — an engineer and researcher with more than 20 years of experience across developer relations, product management, data science, and underwater robotics, who spoke about staying optimistic about open source and building for a collective future.
- Tim Schilling and Rachell Calhoun — co-founders of Djangonaut Space, a mentorship program that helps new contributors start contributing to the Django web framework. Tim is a member of the Django Steering Council, and Rachell is a Django Girls trustee.
- Pablo Galindo Salgado — a CPython core developer, member of the Python Steering Council (in his sixth term), and theoretical physicist, whose keynote “Horizonte de sucesos / Event Horizon” explored what it means to maintain a programming language used by millions of people. His talk was given with live English captions and audio.
New in 2026: The AI Track and the Security Track
Two firsts made the 2026 program stand out.
The AI Track
On Friday, May 15, PyCon US hosted what it called “the first ever day-long talk track devoted to the future of AI with Python.” Topics included:
- Running large language models on consumer hardware
- Building real-time voice agents
- Edge inference — running AI models on devices instead of in the cloud
- AI-powered education
- How AI is affecting open source maintenance
The track was designed for everyone from Python developers new to AI to experienced machine learning engineers and open source maintainers. It was chaired by Silona Bonewald (CitableAI) and Zac Hatfield-Dodds (Anthropic), and admission was included with a regular conference pass.
The Security Track
On Saturday, May 16, the first Trailblazing Python Security track brought eleven security experts together for a full day of talks covering topics “from Actions to Zero-Trust,” including software bills of materials (SBOMs), phishing, FedRAMP, and Rust. It was aimed at people building web applications and infrastructure, people working with data, security policy makers, and newcomers to Python alike. The chairs were Juanita Gómez (UCSC, Scientific Python) and Seth Larson (Python Software Foundation).
A dedicated security track reflects how central Python has become to the world’s software — and how important it is to secure the packages and tools everyone depends on. If you’re new to security concepts, Cybersecurity Fundamentals: A Complete Beginner’s Guide is a good place to start.
Charlas: Talks in Spanish
PyCon US also hosts Charlas, a track of two full days of talks given in Spanish, open to the entire community. In 2026, the Charlas ran on Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, alongside the main conference in the same venue. It’s one of the largest gatherings of Spanish-speaking Python developers in the world, and a welcoming way for Spanish speakers to present their work at PyCon US.
Tutorials, Summits, and Community Events
Tutorials
On May 13 and 14, attendees could sign up for tutorials: hands-on workshops led by experienced instructors, where you learn by working through exercises instead of just listening. Tutorials are priced separately from conference registration.
Summits
Summits bring together people working on a specific part of the Python world to share progress and plan ahead. In 2026, they included the Education Summit, WebAssembly Summit, Typing Summit, Maintainers Summit, and Packaging Summit.
Community Events
Some of the most memorable parts of PyCon US happen outside the talks:
- Newcomer Orientation — a friendly introduction for first-time attendees.
- Opening Reception — the welcome event on Thursday evening.
- Open Spaces — rooms anyone can reserve for informal discussions and meetups on any topic.
- Lightning Talks — rapid-fire short talks, often some of the most fun sessions of the conference.
- Posters — research and projects presented in a poster session on Sunday.
- PyLadies Auction and Luncheon — events celebrating and fundraising for PyLadies, which supports women in the Python community.
- Job Fair & Community Showcase — a chance to meet companies hiring Python developers and community projects looking for contributors.
- Startup Row — early-stage startups building with Python.
Development Sprints
After the talks end, PyCon US turns into a giant collaboration session. During the development sprints on May 18 and 19, attendees join open source projects to fix bugs, add features, test, and improve documentation — often working side by side with the projects’ maintainers.
The sprints are free with conference registration, and all experience levels are welcome. Many projects are marked as newcomer friendly; in 2026, the Pallets and Django sprints specifically welcomed newcomers, and even the CPython sprint — the team that builds Python itself — welcomed first-time contributors. If you’ve ever wanted to contribute to open source, the sprints are one of the best places to start, because the people who can answer your questions are sitting right next to you.
How Much Did PyCon US 2026 Cost?
Conference registration prices for 2026 were:
| Ticket | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| Corporate | $899 |
| Individual | $469 |
| Student / Academic | $139 |
| Tutorials (each, separate from registration) | $150 |
Registration included coffee, refreshments, and lunch each day of the main conference, the Opening Reception, keynotes and talks, the Expo Hall, posters, Open Spaces, Lightning Talks, and the development sprints. Tutorials and the PyLadies Auction were extra.
The PSF also offers travel grants to help people attend who couldn’t otherwise afford to, and the conference website provides a “How to Convince Your Boss” letter template for anyone asking an employer to cover the cost.
How to Watch the PyCon US 2026 Talks
PyCon US 2026 was an in-person-only event, with no live streaming of the main conference. But you don’t need to have been there to learn from it: the talks, keynotes, and Lightning Talks from Friday through Sunday were recorded and published on the PyCon US YouTube channel.
Watch the PyCon US 2026 talks on YouTube — the official playlist has the recorded sessions in one place, free to watch.
Recorded talks are one of the best free Python learning resources available. A good way to start is to pick a few talks related to what you’re working on — web development, data, AI, security, or testing — and watch them with a notebook open.
Is PyCon US Worth Attending?
If you use Python, almost certainly — and not only for experts. PyCon US is known for being friendly to newcomers, with a newcomer orientation, a code of conduct, health and safety guidelines, and a community that genuinely enjoys helping people get started.
A few tips if you’re planning to attend a future PyCon US:
- Don’t try to see every talk. They’re recorded. Use the time for conversations, Open Spaces, and the Expo Hall, which you can’t watch later.
- Go to the Newcomer Orientation if it’s your first time.
- Stay for the sprints. They’re free with registration, and contributing to open source alongside maintainers is an experience you won’t get anywhere else.
- Apply for a travel grant if cost is a barrier.
- Follow the PyCon US news for announcements about future dates, calls for proposals, and registration.
Keep Learning Python
If PyCon US 2026 inspired you to dig deeper into Python, these guides are a great next step:
- Python Basics: What Every Beginner Should Know — the start of a nine-part Python Basics series.
- Python Basics: Testing Your Code — the final part of the series, on writing tests with pytest.
- Python Flask: A Complete Guide to Building and Deploying Web Applications
- SQLAlchemy: A Complete Guide to Python Database Management
- 100 Days of Python Challenge — a project a day to build your skills.
Conclusion
PyCon US 2026 brought the Python community to Long Beach for a week of tutorials, summits, talks, and sprints. It introduced the conference’s first day-long AI Track and first Security Track, continued the Spanish-language Charlas, featured keynotes from leaders in AI, open source, Django, and CPython itself, and ended with two days of open source sprints where anyone could contribute.
Whether you were there or are catching up online, the recorded talks are a free way to learn from some of the best people in the Python world. And if you’ve never been to PyCon US, keep an eye on the official website for the next one — it’s one of the best weeks of the year to be a Python developer.
Event details in this post come from the official PyCon US 2026 website.