diff --git a/.bazelrc b/.bazelrc
index 40ed5e85a..21547b9c6 100644
--- a/.bazelrc
+++ b/.bazelrc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ common --experimental_repository_cache_hardlinks
 
 # specify python path for pyo3 compile
 build:windows --action_env="PYO3_PYTHON=c:/python/python.exe"
-#build:linux --action_env="PYO3_PYTHON=/usr/local/bin/python3.8"
+#build:linux --action_env="PYO3_PYTHON=/usr/local/bin/python3.9"
 
 # only affects the ankihelper library
 #build:macos --macos_cpus=x86_64,arm64
diff --git a/docs/development.md b/docs/development.md
index 38ee3061d..cff63dbb2 100644
--- a/docs/development.md
+++ b/docs/development.md
@@ -15,14 +15,14 @@ Pre-built Python packages are available on PyPI. They are useful if you wish to:
 - Get code completion when developing add-ons
 - Make command line scripts that modify .anki2 files via Anki's Python libraries
 
-You will need the 64 bit version of Python 3.8 or 3.9 installed. If you do not
+You will need the 64 bit version of Python 3.9 or 3.10 installed. If you do not
 have Python yet, please see the platform-specific instructions in the "Building
 from source" section below for more info.
 
 **Mac/Linux**:
 
 ```
-$ python3.8 -m venv ~/pyenv
+$ python3.9 -m venv ~/pyenv
 $ ~/pyenv/bin/pip install --upgrade pip
 $ ~/pyenv/bin/pip install aqt
 ```
diff --git a/docs/linux.md b/docs/linux.md
index efdf83b08..9cf2c1d79 100644
--- a/docs/linux.md
+++ b/docs/linux.md
@@ -18,18 +18,18 @@ $ sudo apt install bash grep findutils curl gcc g++ git
 
 The 'find' utility is 'findutils' on Debian.
 
-**Install Python 3.8**:
+**Install Python 3.9**:
 
 If you're on a modern distribution, you may be able to install Python from the repo:
 
 ```
-$  sudo apt install python3.8
+$  sudo apt install python3.9
 ```
 
 If you are using a packaged Python version that is installed in /usr/bin, you can jump
-immediately to the next section after ensuring python3.8-distutils is installed.
+immediately to the next section after ensuring python3.9-distutils is installed.
 
-If Python 3.8 is not available in your distro, you can download it from
+If Python 3.9 is not available in your distro, you can download it from
 python.org, compile it, and install it in /usr/local. If you're on a basic
 Debian install, make sure you have the following installed before building
 Python:
@@ -41,12 +41,12 @@ other than /usr/bin, you'll need to put the following into a file called user.ba
 at the top of this repo before proceeding:
 
 ```
-build --action_env=PYO3_PYTHON=/usr/local/bin/python3.8
+build --action_env=PYO3_PYTHON=/usr/local/bin/python3.9
 ```
 
 If you're building Anki from a docker container or distro that has no `python` command in
 /usr/bin, you'll need to symlink `python` to `/usr/bin/python`. `/usr/bin/python` does not
-need to be Python 3.8; any version will do. `apt install python-is-python3` can also be
+need to be Python 3.9; any version will do. `apt install python-is-python3` can also be
 used to link python3 to python.
 
 If your system only has Python 3.9, you should be able to build Anki with it,
diff --git a/docs/mac.md b/docs/mac.md
index db9a2f9dc..d116ab0da 100644
--- a/docs/mac.md
+++ b/docs/mac.md
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ Then install deps:
 $ brew install rsync bazelisk
 ```
 
-**Install Python 3.8**:
+**Install Python 3.9**:
 
-Install Python 3.8 from <https://python.org>. We have heard reports
+Install Python 3.9 from <https://python.org>. We have heard reports
 of issues with pyenv and homebrew, so the package from python.org is
 the only recommended approach.
 
@@ -29,10 +29,10 @@ You do not need to set up a Python venv prior to building Anki.
 
 When you run "python" in a shell, if it shows Python 2.x, you may get a
 bunch of hashlib warnings during build. You can work around this by
-pointing python to python3.8:
+pointing python to python3.9:
 
 ```
-$ ln -sf /usr/local/bin/{python3.8,python}
+$ ln -sf /usr/local/bin/{python3.9,python}
 ```
 
 This linking will not work if you're using the system Python from Big Sur,
diff --git a/docs/windows.md b/docs/windows.md
index 3f659b83a..c855e2801 100644
--- a/docs/windows.md
+++ b/docs/windows.md
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ Install the [Visual Studio build tools](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downl
 Make sure the "C++ build tools" box is selected, and leave the default optional
 components enabled on the right.
 
-**Python 3.8**:
+**Python 3.9**:
 
-Download the 64 bit Python 3.8 from <https://python.org>. Run the installer,
+Download the 64 bit Python 3.9 from <https://python.org>. Run the installer,
 and customize the installation. Select "install for all users", and choose
 the install path as c:\python. Currently the build scripts require
 Python to be installed in that location.
diff --git a/pylib/anki/BUILD.bazel b/pylib/anki/BUILD.bazel
index e7654c611..f0c3c0e1f 100644
--- a/pylib/anki/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/pylib/anki/BUILD.bazel
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ py_wheel(
         "//platforms:linux_arm64": "manylinux2014_aarch64",
     }),
     python_tag = "cp38",
-    python_version = ">=3.8",
+    python_version = ">=3.9",
     requires = [
         "beautifulsoup4",
         "requests[socks]",
diff --git a/pylib/mypy.ini b/pylib/mypy.ini
index c2e786baa..756045bdc 100644
--- a/pylib/mypy.ini
+++ b/pylib/mypy.ini
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [mypy]
-python_version = 3.8
+python_version = 3.9
 pretty = false
 no_strict_optional = true
 show_error_codes = true
diff --git a/pylib/rsbridge/Cargo.toml b/pylib/rsbridge/Cargo.toml
index 576b3149c..7b9f7926f 100644
--- a/pylib/rsbridge/Cargo.toml
+++ b/pylib/rsbridge/Cargo.toml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ anki = { path = "../../rslib" }
 # /cargo/update.py needs to be run if updating the version below
 [dependencies.pyo3]
 version = "0.14.5"
-features = ["extension-module", "abi3", "abi3-py38"]
+features = ["extension-module", "abi3", "abi3-py39"]
 
 [lib]
 name = "rsbridge"
diff --git a/pylib/tests/run_format.py b/pylib/tests/run_format.py
index 80751c7a8..f69ad6b46 100644
--- a/pylib/tests/run_format.py
+++ b/pylib/tests/run_format.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
             "-m",
             "black",
             "-t",
-            "py38",
+            "py39",
             "anki",
             "tests",
             "tools",
diff --git a/python.bzl b/python.bzl
index d34895f4b..aa67d8aa4 100644
--- a/python.bzl
+++ b/python.bzl
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 def _impl(rctx):
     # locate python on path, and export it
     names = [
-        # prefer 3.8 over 3.9, as pylint currently fails on 3.9
-        # (due to issues like https://github.com/PyCQA/pylint/pull/3890)
-        "python3.8",
-        "python3",
+        "python3.9",
+        "python3.10",
         "python.exe",
     ]
     path = None
diff --git a/qt/mypy.ini b/qt/mypy.ini
index db40aba95..10a49657d 100644
--- a/qt/mypy.ini
+++ b/qt/mypy.ini
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [mypy]
-python_version = 3.8
+python_version = 3.9
 no_strict_optional = true
 show_error_codes = true
 disallow_untyped_decorators = True
diff --git a/qt/tests/run_format.py b/qt/tests/run_format.py
index 6210a896b..20e151bd1 100644
--- a/qt/tests/run_format.py
+++ b/qt/tests/run_format.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
             "-m",
             "black",
             "-t",
-            "py38",
+            "py39",
             "--exclude=aqt/forms|colors|_gen",
             "aqt",
             "tests",