# Thread states and the global interpreter lock

Unless on a free-threaded build of CPython, the Python interpreter is not fully thread-safe. In order to support multi-threaded Python programs, there’s a global lock, called the global interpreter lock or GIL, that must be held by the current thread before it can safely access Python objects. Without the lock, even the simplest operations could cause problems in a multi-threaded program: for example, when two threads simultaneously increment the reference count of the same object, the reference count could end up being incremented only once instead of twice.

Therefore, the rule exists that only the thread that has acquired the GIL may operate on Python objects or call Python/C API functions. In order to emulate concurrency of execution, the interpreter regularly tries to switch threads (see `sys.setswitchinterval()`). The lock is also released around potentially blocking I/O operations like reading or writing a file, so that other Python threads can run in the meantime.

The Python interpreter keeps some thread-specific bookkeeping information inside a data structure called `PyThreadState`, known as a thread state. Each OS thread has a thread-local pointer to a `PyThreadState`; a thread state referenced by this pointer is considered to be attached.

A thread can only have one attached thread state at a time. An attached thread state is typically analogous with holding the GIL, except on free-threaded builds. On builds with the GIL enabled, attaching a thread state will block until the GIL can be acquired. However, even on builds with the GIL disabled, it is still required to have an attached thread state to call most of the C API.

In general, there will always be an attached thread state when using Python’s C API. Only in some specific cases (such as in a `Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS` block) will the thread not have an attached thread state. If uncertain, check if `PyThreadState_GetUnchecked()` returns `NULL`.

## Detaching the thread state from extension code

Most extension code manipulating the thread state has the following simple structure:

    Save the thread state in a local variable.
    ... Do some blocking I/O operation ...
    Restore the thread state from the local variable.

This is so common that a pair of macros exists to simplify it:

    Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
    ... Do some blocking I/O operation ...
    Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS

The `Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS` macro opens a new block and declares a hidden local variable; the `Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS` macro closes the block.

The block above expands to the following code:

    PyThreadState *_save;

    _save = PyEval_SaveThread();
    ... Do some blocking I/O operation ...
    PyEval_RestoreThread(_save);

Here is how these functions work:

The attached thread state holds the GIL for the entire interpreter. When detaching the attached thread state, the GIL is released, allowing other threads to attach a thread state to their own thread, thus getting the GIL and can start executing. The pointer to the prior attached thread state is stored as a local variable. Upon reaching `Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS`, the thread state that was previously attached is passed to `PyEval_RestoreThread()`. This function will block until another releases its thread state, thus allowing the old thread state to get re-attached and the C API can be called again.

For free-threaded builds, the GIL is normally out of the question, but detaching the thread state is still required for blocking I/O and long operations. The difference is that threads don’t have to wait for the GIL to be released to attach their thread state, allowing true multi-core parallelism.

Note

Calling system I/O functions is the most common use case for detaching the thread state, but it can also be useful before calling long-running computations which don’t need access to Python objects, such as compression or cryptographic functions operating over memory buffers. For example, the standard `zlib` and `hashlib` modules detach the thread state when compressing or hashing data.

### APIs

The following macros are normally used without a trailing semicolon; look for example usage in the Python source distribution.

Note

These macros are still necessary on the free-threaded build to prevent deadlocks.

Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  This macro expands to `{ PyThreadState *_save; _save = PyEval_SaveThread();`. Note that it contains an opening brace; it must be matched with a following `Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS` macro. See above for further discussion of this macro.

Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  This macro expands to `PyEval_RestoreThread(_save); }`. Note that it contains a closing brace; it must be matched with an earlier `Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS` macro. See above for further discussion of this macro.

Py_BLOCK_THREADS
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  This macro expands to `PyEval_RestoreThread(_save);`: it is equivalent to `Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS` without the closing brace.

Py_UNBLOCK_THREADS
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  This macro expands to `_save = PyEval_SaveThread();`: it is equivalent to `Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS` without the opening brace and variable declaration.

## Non-Python created threads

When threads are created using the dedicated Python APIs (such as the `threading` module), a thread state is automatically associated to them and the code shown above is therefore correct. However, when threads are created from C (for example by a third-party library with its own thread management), they don’t hold the GIL, because they don’t have an attached thread state.

If you need to call Python code from these threads (often this will be part of a callback API provided by the aforementioned third-party library), you must first register these threads with the interpreter by creating an attached thread state before you can start using the Python/C API. When you are done, you should detach the thread state, and finally free it.

The `PyGILState_Ensure()` and `PyGILState_Release()` functions do all of the above automatically. The typical idiom for calling into Python from a C thread is:

    PyGILState_STATE gstate;
    gstate = PyGILState_Ensure();

    /* Perform Python actions here. */
    result = CallSomeFunction();
    /* evaluate result or handle exception */

    /* Release the thread. No Python API allowed beyond this point. */
    PyGILState_Release(gstate);

Note that the `PyGILState_*` functions assume there is only one global interpreter (created automatically by `Py_Initialize()`). Python supports the creation of additional interpreters (using `Py_NewInterpreter()`), but mixing multiple interpreters and the `PyGILState_*` API is unsupported. This is because `PyGILState_Ensure()` and similar functions default to attaching a thread state for the main interpreter, meaning that the thread can’t safely interact with the calling subinterpreter.

## Supporting subinterpreters in non-Python threads

If you would like to support subinterpreters with non-Python created threads, you must use the `PyThreadState_*` API instead of the traditional `PyGILState_*` API.

In particular, you must store the interpreter state from the calling function and pass it to `PyThreadState_New()`, which will ensure that the thread state is targeting the correct interpreter:

    /* The return value of PyInterpreterState_Get() from the
       function that created this thread. */
    PyInterpreterState *interp = ThreadData->interp;
    PyThreadState *tstate = PyThreadState_New(interp);
    PyThreadState_Swap(tstate);

    /* GIL of the subinterpreter is now held.
       Perform Python actions here. */
    result = CallSomeFunction();
    /* evaluate result or handle exception */

    /* Destroy the thread state. No Python API allowed beyond this point. */
    PyThreadState_Clear(tstate);
    PyThreadState_DeleteCurrent();

## Cautions about fork()

Another important thing to note about threads is their behaviour in the face of the C `fork()` call. On most systems with `fork()`, after a process forks only the thread that issued the fork will exist. This has a concrete impact both on how locks must be handled and on all stored state in CPython’s runtime.

The fact that only the “current” thread remains means any locks held by other threads will never be released. Python solves this for `os.fork()` by acquiring the locks it uses internally before the fork, and releasing them afterwards. In addition, it resets any Lock objects in the child. When extending or embedding Python, there is no way to inform Python of additional (non-Python) locks that need to be acquired before or reset after a fork. OS facilities such as `pthread_atfork()` would need to be used to accomplish the same thing. Additionally, when extending or embedding Python, calling `fork()` directly rather than through `os.fork()` (and returning to or calling into Python) may result in a deadlock by one of Python’s internal locks being held by a thread that is defunct after the fork. `PyOS_AfterFork_Child()` tries to reset the necessary locks, but is not always able to.

The fact that all other threads go away also means that CPython’s runtime state there must be cleaned up properly, which `os.fork()` does. This means finalizing all other `PyThreadState` objects belonging to the current interpreter and all other `PyInterpreterState` objects. Due to this and the special nature of the “main” interpreter, `fork()` should only be called in that interpreter’s “main” thread, where the CPython global runtime was originally initialized. The only exception is if `exec()` will be called immediately after.

## High-level APIs

These are the most commonly used types and functions when writing multi-threaded C extensions.

type PyThreadState
  Part of the Limited API (as an opaque struct).

  This data structure represents the state of a single thread. The only public data member is:

  PyInterpreterState *interp

    This thread’s interpreter state.

void PyEval_InitThreads()
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Deprecated function which does nothing.

  In Python 3.6 and older, this function created the GIL if it didn’t exist.

  Changed in version 3.9: The function now does nothing.

  Changed in version 3.7: This function is now called by `Py_Initialize()`, so you don’t have to call it yourself anymore.

  Changed in version 3.2: This function cannot be called before `Py_Initialize()` anymore.

  Deprecated since version 3.9.

PyThreadState *PyEval_SaveThread()
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Detach the attached thread state and return it. The thread will have no thread state upon returning.

void PyEval_RestoreThread(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Set the attached thread state to tstate. The passed thread state should not be attached, otherwise deadlock ensues. tstate will be attached upon returning.

  Note

  Calling this function from a thread when the runtime is finalizing will hang the thread until the program exits, even if the thread was not created by Python. Refer to Cautions regarding runtime finalization for more details.

  Changed in version 3.14: Hangs the current thread, rather than terminating it, if called while the interpreter is finalizing.

PyThreadState *PyThreadState_Get()
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Return the attached thread state. If the thread has no attached thread state, (such as when inside of `Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS` block), then this issues a fatal error (so that the caller needn’t check for `NULL`).

  See also `PyThreadState_GetUnchecked()`.

PyThreadState *PyThreadState_GetUnchecked()

  Similar to `PyThreadState_Get()`, but don’t kill the process with a fatal error if it is NULL. The caller is responsible to check if the result is NULL.

  Added in version 3.13: In Python 3.5 to 3.12, the function was private and known as `_PyThreadState_UncheckedGet()`.

PyThreadState *PyThreadState_Swap(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Set the attached thread state to tstate, and return the thread state that was attached prior to calling.

  This function is safe to call without an attached thread state; it will simply return `NULL` indicating that there was no prior thread state.

  See also

  `PyEval_ReleaseThread()`

  Note

  Similar to `PyGILState_Ensure()`, this function will hang the thread if the runtime is finalizing.

## GIL-state APIs

The following functions use thread-local storage, and are not compatible with sub-interpreters:

type PyGILState_STATE
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  The type of the value returned by `PyGILState_Ensure()` and passed to `PyGILState_Release()`.

  enumerator PyGILState_LOCKED

    The GIL was already held when `PyGILState_Ensure()` was called.

  enumerator PyGILState_UNLOCKED

    The GIL was not held when `PyGILState_Ensure()` was called.

PyGILState_STATE PyGILState_Ensure()
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Ensure that the current thread is ready to call the Python C API regardless of the current state of Python, or of the attached thread state. This may be called as many times as desired by a thread as long as each call is matched with a call to `PyGILState_Release()`. In general, other thread-related APIs may be used between `PyGILState_Ensure()` and `PyGILState_Release()` calls as long as the thread state is restored to its previous state before the Release(). For example, normal usage of the `Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS` and `Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS` macros is acceptable.

  The return value is an opaque “handle” to the attached thread state when `PyGILState_Ensure()` was called, and must be passed to `PyGILState_Release()` to ensure Python is left in the same state. Even though recursive calls are allowed, these handles cannot be shared - each unique call to `PyGILState_Ensure()` must save the handle for its call to `PyGILState_Release()`.

  When the function returns, there will be an attached thread state and the thread will be able to call arbitrary Python code. Failure is a fatal error.

  Warning

  Calling this function when the runtime is finalizing is unsafe. Doing so will either hang the thread until the program ends, or fully crash the interpreter in rare cases. Refer to Cautions regarding runtime finalization for more details.

  Changed in version 3.14: Hangs the current thread, rather than terminating it, if called while the interpreter is finalizing.

void PyGILState_Release(PyGILState_STATE)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Release any resources previously acquired. After this call, Python’s state will be the same as it was prior to the corresponding `PyGILState_Ensure()` call (but generally this state will be unknown to the caller, hence the use of the GILState API).

  Every call to `PyGILState_Ensure()` must be matched by a call to `PyGILState_Release()` on the same thread.

PyThreadState *PyGILState_GetThisThreadState()
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Get the attached thread state for this thread. May return `NULL` if no GILState API has been used on the current thread. Note that the main thread always has such a thread-state, even if no auto-thread-state call has been made on the main thread. This is mainly a helper/diagnostic function.

  Note

  This function may return non-`NULL` even when the thread state is detached. Prefer `PyThreadState_Get()` or `PyThreadState_GetUnchecked()` for most cases.

  See also

  `PyThreadState_Get()`

int PyGILState_Check()

  Return `1` if the current thread is holding the GIL and `0` otherwise. This function can be called from any thread at any time. Only if it has had its thread state initialized via `PyGILState_Ensure()` will it return `1`. This is mainly a helper/diagnostic function. It can be useful for example in callback contexts or memory allocation functions when knowing that the GIL is locked can allow the caller to perform sensitive actions or otherwise behave differently.

  Note

  If the current Python process has ever created a subinterpreter, this function will always return `1`. Prefer `PyThreadState_GetUnchecked()` for most cases.

  Added in version 3.4.

## Low-level APIs

PyThreadState *PyThreadState_New(PyInterpreterState *interp)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Create a new thread state object belonging to the given interpreter object. An attached thread state is not needed.

void PyThreadState_Clear(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Reset all information in a thread state object. tstate must be attached

  Changed in version 3.9: This function now calls the `PyThreadState.on_delete` callback. Previously, that happened in `PyThreadState_Delete()`.

  Changed in version 3.13: The `PyThreadState.on_delete` callback was removed.

void PyThreadState_Delete(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Destroy a thread state object. tstate should not be attached to any thread. tstate must have been reset with a previous call to `PyThreadState_Clear()`.

void PyThreadState_DeleteCurrent(void)

  Detach the attached thread state (which must have been reset with a previous call to `PyThreadState_Clear()`) and then destroy it.

  No thread state will be attached upon returning.

PyFrameObject *PyThreadState_GetFrame(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI since version 3.10.

  Get the current frame of the Python thread state tstate.

  Return a strong reference. Return `NULL` if no frame is currently executing.

  See also `PyEval_GetFrame()`.

  tstate must not be `NULL`, and must be attached.

  Added in version 3.9.

uint64_t PyThreadState_GetID(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI since version 3.10.

  Get the unique thread state identifier of the Python thread state tstate.

  tstate must not be `NULL`, and must be attached.

  Added in version 3.9.

PyInterpreterState *PyThreadState_GetInterpreter(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI since version 3.10.

  Get the interpreter of the Python thread state tstate.

  tstate must not be `NULL`, and must be attached.

  Added in version 3.9.

void PyThreadState_EnterTracing(PyThreadState *tstate)

  Suspend tracing and profiling in the Python thread state tstate.

  Resume them using the `PyThreadState_LeaveTracing()` function.

  Added in version 3.11.

void PyThreadState_LeaveTracing(PyThreadState *tstate)

  Resume tracing and profiling in the Python thread state tstate suspended by the `PyThreadState_EnterTracing()` function.

  See also `PyEval_SetTrace()` and `PyEval_SetProfile()` functions.

  Added in version 3.11.

int PyUnstable_ThreadState_SetStackProtection(PyThreadState *tstate, void *stack_start_addr, size_t stack_size)
  This is Unstable API. It may change without warning in minor releases.

  Set the stack protection start address and stack protection size of a Python thread state.

  On success, return `0`. On failure, set an exception and return `-1`.

  CPython implements recursion control for C code by raising `RecursionError` when it notices that the machine execution stack is close to overflow. See for example the `Py_EnterRecursiveCall()` function. For this, it needs to know the location of the current thread’s stack, which it normally gets from the operating system. When the stack is changed, for example using context switching techniques like the Boost library’s `boost::context`, you must call `PyUnstable_ThreadState_SetStackProtection()` to inform CPython of the change.

  Call `PyUnstable_ThreadState_SetStackProtection()` either before or after changing the stack. Do not call any other Python C API between the call and the stack change.

  See `PyUnstable_ThreadState_ResetStackProtection()` for undoing this operation.

  Added in version 3.15.

void PyUnstable_ThreadState_ResetStackProtection(PyThreadState *tstate)
  This is Unstable API. It may change without warning in minor releases.

  Reset the stack protection start address and stack protection size of a Python thread state to the operating system defaults.

  See `PyUnstable_ThreadState_SetStackProtection()` for an explanation.

  Added in version 3.15.

PyObject *PyThreadState_GetDict()
  Return value: Borrowed reference. Part of the Stable ABI.

  Return a dictionary in which extensions can store thread-specific state information. Each extension should use a unique key to use to store state in the dictionary. It is okay to call this function when no thread state is attached. If this function returns `NULL`, no exception has been raised and the caller should assume no thread state is attached.

void PyEval_AcquireThread(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Attach tstate to the current thread, which must not be `NULL` or already attached.

  The calling thread must not already have an attached thread state.

  Note

  Calling this function from a thread when the runtime is finalizing will hang the thread until the program exits, even if the thread was not created by Python. Refer to Cautions regarding runtime finalization for more details.

  Changed in version 3.8: Updated to be consistent with `PyEval_RestoreThread()`, `Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS()`, and `PyGILState_Ensure()`, and terminate the current thread if called while the interpreter is finalizing.

  Changed in version 3.14: Hangs the current thread, rather than terminating it, if called while the interpreter is finalizing.

  `PyEval_RestoreThread()` is a higher-level function which is always available (even when threads have not been initialized).

void PyEval_ReleaseThread(PyThreadState *tstate)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Detach the attached thread state. The tstate argument, which must not be `NULL`, is only used to check that it represents the attached thread state — if it isn’t, a fatal error is reported.

  `PyEval_SaveThread()` is a higher-level function which is always available (even when threads have not been initialized).

# Asynchronous notifications

A mechanism is provided to make asynchronous notifications to the main interpreter thread. These notifications take the form of a function pointer and a void pointer argument.

int Py_AddPendingCall(int (*func)(void*), void *arg)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Schedule a function to be called from the main interpreter thread. On success, `0` is returned and func is queued for being called in the main thread. On failure, `-1` is returned without setting any exception.

  When successfully queued, func will be eventually called from the main interpreter thread with the argument arg. It will be called asynchronously with respect to normally running Python code, but with both these conditions met:

  - on a bytecode boundary;

  - with the main thread holding an attached thread state (func can therefore use the full C API).

  func must return `0` on success, or `-1` on failure with an exception set. func won’t be interrupted to perform another asynchronous notification recursively, but it can still be interrupted to switch threads if the thread state is detached.

  This function doesn’t need an attached thread state. However, to call this function in a subinterpreter, the caller must have an attached thread state. Otherwise, the function func can be scheduled to be called from the wrong interpreter.

  Warning

  This is a low-level function, only useful for very special cases. There is no guarantee that func will be called as quick as possible. If the main thread is busy executing a system call, func won’t be called before the system call returns. This function is generally not suitable for calling Python code from arbitrary C threads. Instead, use the PyGILState API.

  Added in version 3.1.

  Changed in version 3.9: If this function is called in a subinterpreter, the function func is now scheduled to be called from the subinterpreter, rather than being called from the main interpreter. Each subinterpreter now has its own list of scheduled calls.

  Changed in version 3.12: This function now always schedules func to be run in the main interpreter.

int Py_MakePendingCalls(void)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Execute all pending calls. This is usually executed automatically by the interpreter.

  This function returns `0` on success, and returns `-1` with an exception set on failure.

  If this is not called in the main thread of the main interpreter, this function does nothing and returns `0`. The caller must hold an attached thread state.

  Added in version 3.1.

  Changed in version 3.12: This function only runs pending calls in the main interpreter.

int PyThreadState_SetAsyncExc(unsigned long id, PyObject *exc)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Schedule an exception to be raised asynchronously in a thread. If the thread has a previously scheduled exception, it is overwritten.

  The id argument is the thread id of the target thread, as returned by `PyThread_get_thread_ident()`. exc is the class of the exception to be raised, or `NULL` to clear the pending exception (if any).

  Return the number of affected thread states. This is normally `1` if id is found, even when no change was made (the given exc was already pending, or exc is `NULL` but no exception is pending). If the thread id isn’t found, return `0`. This raises no exceptions.

  To prevent naive misuse, you must write your own C extension to call this. This function must be called with an attached thread state. This function does not steal any references to exc. This function does not necessarily interrupt system calls such as `sleep()`.

  Changed in version 3.7: The type of the id parameter changed from long to unsigned long.

# Operating system thread APIs

PYTHREAD_INVALID_THREAD_ID

  Sentinel value for an invalid thread ID.

  This is currently equivalent to `(unsigned long)-1`.

unsigned long PyThread_start_new_thread(void (*func)(void*), void *arg)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Start function func in a new thread with argument arg. The resulting thread is not intended to be joined.

  func must not be `NULL`, but arg may be `NULL`.

  On success, this function returns the identifier of the new thread; on failure, this returns `PYTHREAD_INVALID_THREAD_ID`.

  The caller does not need to hold an attached thread state.

unsigned long PyThread_get_thread_ident(void)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Return the identifier of the current thread, which will never be zero.

  This function cannot fail, and the caller does not need to hold an attached thread state.

  See also

  `threading.get_ident()` and `threading.Thread.ident` expose this identifier to Python.

PyObject *PyThread_GetInfo(void)
  Part of the Stable ABI since version 3.3.

  Get general information about the current thread in the form of a struct sequence object. This information is accessible as `sys.thread_info` in Python.

  On success, this returns a new strong reference to the thread information; on failure, this returns `NULL` with an exception set.

  The caller must hold an attached thread state.

PY_HAVE_THREAD_NATIVE_ID

  This macro is defined when the system supports native thread IDs.

unsigned long PyThread_get_thread_native_id(void)
  Part of the Stable ABI on platforms with native thread IDs.

  Get the native identifier of the current thread as it was assigned by the operating system’s kernel, which will never be less than zero.

  This function is only available when `PY_HAVE_THREAD_NATIVE_ID` is defined.

  This function cannot fail, and the caller does not need to hold an attached thread state.

  See also

  `threading.get_native_id()`

void PyThread_exit_thread(void)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Terminate the current thread. This function is generally considered unsafe and should be avoided. It is kept solely for backwards compatibility.

  This function is only safe to call if all functions in the full call stack are written to safely allow it.

  Warning

  If the current system uses POSIX threads (also known as “pthreads”), this calls pthread_exit(3), which attempts to unwind the stack and call C++ destructors on some libc implementations. However, if a `noexcept` function is reached, it may terminate the process. Other systems, such as macOS, do unwinding.

  On Windows, this function calls `_endthreadex()`, which kills the thread without calling C++ destructors.

  In any case, there is a risk of corruption on the thread’s stack.

  Deprecated since version 3.14.

void PyThread_init_thread(void)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Initialize `PyThread*` APIs. Python executes this function automatically, so there’s little need to call it from an extension module.

int PyThread_set_stacksize(size_t size)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Set the stack size of the current thread to size bytes.

  This function returns `0` on success, `-1` if size is invalid, or `-2` if the system does not support changing the stack size. This function does not set exceptions.

  The caller does not need to hold an attached thread state.

size_t PyThread_get_stacksize(void)
  Part of the Stable ABI.

  Return the stack size of the current thread in bytes, or `0` if the system’s default stack size is in use.

  The caller does not need to hold an attached thread state.