diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 6c3ef9113..c89ecb7d6 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
 *.pyc
 
 build_artifacts
-
-.vscode/
diff --git a/anaconda.yaml b/anaconda.yaml
index c53fbf835..7a50beb1d 100644
--- a/anaconda.yaml
+++ b/anaconda.yaml
@@ -7,9 +7,10 @@ upstream_sources:
       from_pattern: ^v(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)$
       to_pattern: \1
     packages:
+      - python
       - libpython
       - libpython-static
-      - python
+      - cpython
       - python-freethreading
       - python-gil
       - python-jit
diff --git a/recipe/build_base.bat b/recipe/build_base.bat
index cd5a6d455..a3ae43509 100644
--- a/recipe/build_base.bat
+++ b/recipe/build_base.bat
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ if "%DEBUG_C%"=="yes" (
 :: AP doesn't support PGO atm?
 set PGO=
 
-if "%PY_GIL_DISABLED%" == "yes" (
+if "%PY_FREETHREADING%" == "yes" (
   set "FREETHREADING=--disable-gil"
   set "THREAD=t"
   set "EXE_T=%VER%t"
@@ -75,6 +75,13 @@ set TCLTK_MSBUILD_PROPS="/p:TclVersion=%tk%" "/p:TkVersion=%tk%"
 
 cd PCbuild
 
+:: CF (skipped): CONDA_BUILD_CROSS_COMPILATION host-vs-build extra MSBuild.
+:: AR native workers only; ARCH/BUILD_PATH above, not CF HOST_DIR/BUILD_DIR.
+:: if "%CONDA_BUILD_CROSS_COMPILATION%" == "1" (
+::   set LIBRARY_PREFIX=%BUILD_PREFIX%\\Library
+::   call build.bat %CONFIG% %FREETHREADING% -m -e -v -p %BUILD_PLATFORM% %TCLTK_MSBUILD_PROPS%
+:: )
+
 :: Twice because:
 :: error : importlib_zipimport.h updated. You will need to rebuild pythoncore to see the changes.
 call build.bat %PGO% %CONFIG% %FREETHREADING% -m -e -v -p %PLATFORM% %TCLTK_MSBUILD_PROPS%
diff --git a/recipe/build_base.sh b/recipe/build_base.sh
index 849e82122..8af3c6a7e 100644
--- a/recipe/build_base.sh
+++ b/recipe/build_base.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ cp $BUILD_PREFIX/share/libtool/build-aux/config.* .
 # https://docs.python.org/3.14/using/configure.html#cmdoption-enable-experimental-jit
 # says we want a python>=3.11 to build python.
 if [[ ! -d ${SRC_DIR}/python-bin ]]; then
+    # AR: bootstrap from main (CF uses -c conda-forge).
     CONDA_SUBDIR=$build_platform conda create -p ${SRC_DIR}/python-bin "python>=3.11" -c main --override-channels --yes --quiet
     export PATH=${SRC_DIR}/python-bin/bin:${PATH}
 fi
@@ -35,24 +36,23 @@ _buildd_shared=build-shared
 _ENABLE_SHARED=--enable-shared
 # We *still* build a shared lib here for non-static embedded use cases
 _DISABLE_SHARED=--disable-shared
-# Hack to allow easily comparing static vs shared interpreter performance
-# .. hack because we just build it shared in both the build-static and
-# build-shared directories.
-# Yes this hack is a bit confusing, sorry about that.
-if [[ ${PY_INTERP_LINKAGE_NATURE} == shared ]]; then
-  _DISABLE_SHARED=--enable-shared
-  _ENABLE_SHARED=--enable-shared
-fi
 
 # For debugging builds, set this to no to disable profile-guided optimization
-if [[ ${DEBUG_C} == yes ]]; then
+if [[ ${PY_INTERP_DEBUG} == yes || ${DEBUG_C} == yes ]]; then
   _OPTIMIZED=no
 else
   _OPTIMIZED=yes
 fi
 
+# CF (skipped): debug builds on conda-forge main must not ship; AR has no python_debug channel.
+# if [[ ${PY_INTERP_DEBUG} == yes ]]; then
+#   if [[ "$CI" != "" && "$channel_targets" == "conda-forge main" ]]; then
+#     exit 1
+#   fi
+# fi
+
 declare -a _dbg_opts
-if [[ ${DEBUG_PY} == yes ]]; then
+if [[ ${PY_INTERP_DEBUG} == yes ]]; then
   # This Python will not be usable with non-debug Python modules.
   _dbg_opts+=(--with-pydebug)
   DBG=d
@@ -60,15 +60,16 @@ else
   DBG=
 fi
 
-if [[ ${PY_GIL_DISABLED} == yes ]]; then
+if [[ ${PY_FREETHREADING} == yes ]]; then
   # This Python will not be usable with non-free threading Python modules.
   THREAD=t
 else
   THREAD=
 fi
 
-ABIFLAGS=${DBG}
+ABIFLAGS=${DBG}${THREAD}
 VERABI=${VER}${THREAD}${DBG}
+VERABI_NO_DBG=${VER}${THREAD}
 
 # Make sure the "python" value in conda_build_config.yaml is up to date.
 test "${PY_VER}" = "${VER}"
@@ -107,6 +108,12 @@ if [[ ${_OPTIMIZED} = yes ]]; then
   CXXFLAGS=$(echo "${CXXFLAGS}" | sed "s/-O2/-O3/g")
 fi
 
+if [[ ${PY_INTERP_DEBUG} == yes ]]; then
+  CPPFLAGS=$(echo "${CPPFLAGS}" | sed "s/-O2/-O0/g")
+  CFLAGS=$(echo "${CFLAGS}" | sed "s/-O2/-O0/g")
+  CXXFLAGS=$(echo "${CXXFLAGS}" | sed "s/-O2/-O0/g")
+fi
+
 if [[ "$target_platform" == linux-* ]]; then
   cp ${PREFIX}/include/uuid/uuid.h ${PREFIX}/include/uuid.h
 fi
@@ -170,6 +177,7 @@ if [[ "${CONDA_BUILD_CROSS_COMPILATION}" == "1" ]]; then
   echo "ac_cv_file__dev_ptc=no"         >> config.site
   echo "ac_cv_pthread=yes"              >> config.site
   echo "ac_cv_little_endian_double=yes" >> config.site
+  # CF also lists linux-riscv64 here; AR does not build it.
   if [[ "${target_platform}" == "osx-arm64" || "${target_platform}" == "linux-ppc64le" || "${target_platform}" == "linux-aarch64" ]]; then
       echo "ac_cv_aligned_required=no" >> config.site
       echo "ac_cv_pthread_is_default=yes" >> config.site
@@ -207,6 +215,7 @@ if [[ ${target_platform} == osx-64 ]]; then
   # TODO: check with LLVM 12 if the following hack is needed.
   # https://reviews.llvm.org/D76461 may have fixed the need for the following hack.
   echo '#!/bin/bash' > $BUILD_PREFIX/bin/$HOST-llvm-ar
+  # AR: versioned llvm-ar (CF uses unversioned llvm-ar → LLVM 20 Abort).
   echo "$BUILD_PREFIX/bin/llvm-ar-$LLVM_VER --format=darwin" '"$@"' >> $BUILD_PREFIX/bin/$HOST-llvm-ar
   chmod +x $BUILD_PREFIX/bin/$HOST-llvm-ar
   export ARCHFLAGS="-arch x86_64"
@@ -253,14 +262,13 @@ _common_configure_args+=(--with-tzpath=${PREFIX}/share/zoneinfo)
 _common_configure_args+=(--with-computed-gotos)
 _common_configure_args+=(--with-system-expat)
 _common_configure_args+=(--enable-loadable-sqlite-extensions)
-# TODO: Remove this comment in PR#256
 # Dropped dead tcltk configure flags — log-confirmed unused in 3.15.0rc2:
 # configure: WARNING: unrecognized options: --with-tcltk-includes, --with-tcltk-libs
 # _tkinter already comes from pkg-config.
 _common_configure_args+=(--with-platlibdir=lib)
 _common_configure_args+=(--with-system-libmpdec=yes)
 
-if [[ "${DEBUG_PY}" == "yes" || "${target_platform}" != *"64" || ${PY_GIL_DISABLED} == yes ]]; then
+if [[ "${PY_INTERP_DEBUG}" == "yes" || "${target_platform}" != *"-64" || ${PY_FREETHREADING} == yes ]]; then
  _common_configure_args+=(--enable-experimental-jit=no)
 else
  _common_configure_args+=(--enable-experimental-jit=yes-off)
@@ -271,7 +279,7 @@ if [[ "${target_platform}" == osx-* ]]; then
     _common_configure_args+=(--with-tail-call-interp)
 fi
 
-if [[ ${PY_GIL_DISABLED} == yes ]]; then
+if [[ ${PY_FREETHREADING} == yes ]]; then
     _common_configure_args+=(--disable-gil)
 fi
 
@@ -337,8 +345,8 @@ pushd ${_buildd_static}
 popd
 
 make -j${CPU_COUNT} -C ${_buildd_static} \
-      EXTRA_CFLAGS="${EXTRA_CFLAGS}" \
-      ${_MAKE_TARGET} "${_PROFILE_TASK[@]}" 2>&1 | tee make-static.log
+        EXTRA_CFLAGS="${EXTRA_CFLAGS}" \
+        ${_MAKE_TARGET} "${_PROFILE_TASK[@]}" 2>&1 | tee make-static.log
 if rg "Failed to build these modules" make-static.log; then
   echo "(static) :: Failed to build some modules, check the log"
   exit 1
@@ -370,7 +378,7 @@ fi
 # build a static library with PIC objects and without LTO/PGO
 make -j${CPU_COUNT} -C ${_buildd_shared} \
         EXTRA_CFLAGS="${EXTRA_CFLAGS}" \
-        LIBRARY=libpython${VERABI}-pic.a libpython${VERABI}-pic.a
+        LIBRARY=libpython${VERABI_NO_DBG}-pic.a libpython${VERABI_NO_DBG}-pic.a
 
 make -C ${_buildd_static} install
 
@@ -389,13 +397,23 @@ if [[ ${_OPTIMIZED} == yes ]]; then
     _FLAGS_REPLACE+=("")
   done
 fi
-# Use sysconfigdata from the shared build, as we want packages to prefer
-# linking against the shared library. Issue #565.
-SYSCONFIG=$(find ${_buildd_shared}/$(cat ${_buildd_shared}/pybuilddir.txt) -name "_sysconfigdata*.py" -print0)
+# Use sysconfig from the shared build so extensions prefer .so (CF #565).
+# Shared libpython*.so/.dylib is installed by the libpython output, not here.
+BUILD_DIR=$(< ${_buildd_shared}/pybuilddir.txt)
+SYSCONFIG=$(find ${_buildd_shared}/${BUILD_DIR} -name "_sysconfigdata*.py" -print0)
 cat ${SYSCONFIG} | ${SYS_PYTHON} "${RECIPE_DIR}"/replace-word-pairs.py \
   "${_FLAGS_REPLACE[@]}"  \
-    > ${PREFIX}/lib/python${VERABI}/$(basename ${SYSCONFIG})
-MAKEFILE=$(find ${PREFIX}/lib/python${VERABI}/ -path "*config-*/Makefile" -print0)
+    > ${PREFIX}/lib/python${VERABI_NO_DBG}/$(basename ${SYSCONFIG})
+# CF copies build-details.json from the shared build (#565). Native only:
+# AR does not cross-compile (CONDA_BUILD_CROSS_COMPILATION is never 1).
+# if [[ "${CONDA_BUILD_CROSS_COMPILATION}" == "1" ]]; then
+#   # build-details.json is incorrect when cross-compiling:
+#   # https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/136267
+#   ...
+# fi
+BUILD_DETAILS=${_buildd_shared}/${BUILD_DIR}/build-details.json
+cp ${BUILD_DETAILS} ${PREFIX}/lib/python${VERABI_NO_DBG}/
+MAKEFILE=$(find ${PREFIX}/lib/python${VERABI_NO_DBG}/ -path "*config-*/Makefile" -print0)
 cp ${MAKEFILE} /tmp/Makefile-$$
 cat /tmp/Makefile-$$ | ${SYS_PYTHON} "${RECIPE_DIR}"/replace-word-pairs.py \
   "${_FLAGS_REPLACE[@]}"  \
@@ -417,7 +435,7 @@ ln -s ${PREFIX}/bin/pydoc${VER} ${PREFIX}/bin/pydoc
 # Remove test data to save space
 # Though keep `support` as some things use that.
 # TODO :: Make a subpackage for this once we implement multi-level testing.
-pushd ${PREFIX}/lib/python${VERABI}
+pushd ${PREFIX}/lib/python${VERABI_NO_DBG}
   mkdir test_keep
   mv test/__init__.py test/support test/test_support* test/test_script_helper* test_keep/
   rm -rf test */test
@@ -430,7 +448,7 @@ pushd ${PREFIX}
     chmod +w lib/libpython${VERABI}.a
     ${STRIP} -S lib/libpython${VERABI}.a
   fi
-  CONFIG_LIBPYTHON=$(find lib/python${VERABI}/config-${VERABI}* -name "libpython${VERABI}.a")
+  CONFIG_LIBPYTHON=$(find lib/python${VERABI_NO_DBG}/config-${VERABI}* -name "libpython${VERABI}.a")
   if [[ -f lib/libpython${VERABI}.a ]] && [[ -f ${CONFIG_LIBPYTHON} ]]; then
     chmod +w ${CONFIG_LIBPYTHON}
     rm ${CONFIG_LIBPYTHON}
@@ -440,7 +458,7 @@ popd
 # Copy sysconfig that gets recorded to a non-default name
 # using the new compilers with python will require setting _PYTHON_SYSCONFIGDATA_NAME
 # to the name of this file (minus the .py extension)
-pushd "${PREFIX}"/lib/python${VERABI}
+pushd "${PREFIX}"/lib/python${VERABI_NO_DBG}
   # On Python 3.5 _sysconfigdata.py was getting copied in here and compiled for some reason.
   # This breaks our attempt to find the right one as recorded_name.
   find lib-dynload -name "_sysconfigdata*.py*" -exec rm {} \;
@@ -497,6 +515,7 @@ pushd "${PREFIX}"/lib/python${VERABI}
 popd
 
 if [[ ${HOST} =~ .*linux.* ]]; then
+  # AR: historical path (CF uses share/python_compiler_compat).
   mkdir -p ${PREFIX}/compiler_compat
   ln -s ${PREFIX}/bin/${HOST}-ld ${PREFIX}/compiler_compat/ld
   echo "Files in this folder are to enhance backwards compatibility of anaconda software with older compilers."   > ${PREFIX}/compiler_compat/README
@@ -505,6 +524,13 @@ fi
 
 python -c "import compileall,os;compileall.compile_dir(os.environ['PREFIX'])"
 rm ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${VERABI}.a
+
+if [[ ${PY_INTERP_DEBUG} == yes ]]; then
+  rm ${PREFIX}/bin/python${VER}
+  ln -s ${PREFIX}/bin/python${VERABI} ${PREFIX}/bin/python${VER}
+  ln -s ${PREFIX}/include/python${VERABI} ${PREFIX}/include/python${VER}
+fi
+
 if [[ "$target_platform" == linux-* ]]; then
   rm ${PREFIX}/include/uuid.h
 fi
@@ -522,7 +548,7 @@ fi
 # <prefix>/lib/python3.13t/site-packages.
 # Note that these directories are not added to sys.path if they do not exist.
 SP_DIR="${PREFIX}/lib/python${PY_VER}${THREAD}/site-packages"
-if [[ ${PY_GIL_DISABLED} == yes ]]; then
+if [[ ${PY_FREETHREADING} == yes ]]; then
     echo "${PREFIX}/lib/python${PY_VER}/site-packages" >> $SP_DIR/conda-site.pth
 fi
 # Do not add ${PREFIX}/lib/python/site-packages (CF experimental ABI3/noarch
diff --git a/recipe/conda_build_config.yaml b/recipe/conda_build_config.yaml
index 5e998d424..fde999661 100644
--- a/recipe/conda_build_config.yaml
+++ b/recipe/conda_build_config.yaml
@@ -14,10 +14,16 @@ python_impl:
 # Override aggregate global tk 8.6 — build/test against tk 9 from pkgs/main
 tk:
   - '9.0'
-gil_type:
-  - normal
-  # Will be enabled as part of https://anaconda.atlassian.net/browse/PKG-5855
-  - disabled # [not (s390x or (osx and x86_64))]
+# Whether to build free-threaded Python (3.13+)
+freethreading:
+  - yes
+  - no
+
+# Debug interpreter lives on PR #258 / PKG-2624, not this CF-align PR.
+# Do not zip with channel_targets (F94): all variants upload to
+# ad-testing/label/py315.
+build_type:
+  - release
 
 # Override aggregate global clang 20 on osx. CPython 3.15 JIT requires LLVM 21
 # (Tools/jit/_llvm.py); mixing compiler('c')=20 with clang-21/llvm-tools-21
diff --git a/recipe/meta.yaml b/recipe/meta.yaml
index 0ca4fe2a7..58978a472 100644
--- a/recipe/meta.yaml
+++ b/recipe/meta.yaml
@@ -4,65 +4,70 @@
 {% set ver2 = '.'.join(version.split('.')[0:2]) %}
 {% set ver2nd = ''.join(version.split('.')[0:2]) %}
 {% set ver3nd = ''.join(version.split('.')[0:3]) %}
-{% set build_number = 0 %}
+{% set build_number = 1 %}
+
 {% set channel_targets = ('abc', 'def')  %}
-# this is just for the initial build, to break dependencies with python -> pip -> libpython-static
-{% set bootstrap = "false" %}
 
 # this makes the linter happy
 {% set channel_targets = channel_targets or 'conda-forge main' %}
 
 # Sanitize build system env. var tweak parameters
 # (passed to the build scripts via script_env).
-{% set from_source_control = os.environ.get('CONDA_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE_CONTROL', '') %}
-{% if from_source_control == '' or from_source_control == 'no' %}
-  {% set from_source_control = 'no' %}
-{% else %}
-  {% set from_source_control = 'yes' %}
-{% endif %}
-{% set linkage_nature = os.environ.get('PY_INTERP_LINKAGE_NATURE', '') %}
-{% if linkage_nature != '' %}
-  {% set linkage_nature = "_" ~ linkage_nature %}
+{% if freethreading is not defined %}
+  {% set freethreading = "yes" %}
 {% endif %}
-{% if linkage_nature == 'shared' %}
-  {% set linkage_nature_env = 'shared' %}
+
+{% set abi_tag = "cp" + ver2nd %}
+# freethreading, set using conda_build_config.yaml
+{% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+  {% set abi_tag = abi_tag + "t" %}
 {% else %}
-  {% set linkage_nature_env = 'static' %}
+  {% set build_number = build_number + 100 %}
 {% endif %}
-{% set dbg_abi = "" %}
-{% set debug = os.environ.get('PY_INTERP_DEBUG', '') %}
-{% if debug != '' and debug != 'no' %}
+
+# build_type, set using conda_build_config.yaml
+{% if build_type == "debug" %}
   {% set py_interp_debug = "yes" %}
-  {% set debug = "_dbg" %}
-  {% set dbg_abi = "d" %}  # [win]
+  {% set debug = "_debug" %}
 {% else %}
   {% set py_interp_debug = "no" %}
+  {% set debug = "" %}
 {% endif %}
 
-# no-GIL, set using conda_build_config.yaml
-{% if gil_type is defined and gil_type == "disabled" %}
-  {% set py_gil_disabled = "yes" %}
-  {% set abi_suffix = "t" %}
+{% if win %}
+  {% set site_packages_path = "lib/python/site-packages" %}
+{% elif freethreading == "yes" %}
+  {% set site_packages_path = "lib/python" + ver2 + "t/site-packages" %}
 {% else %}
-  {% set py_gil_disabled = "no" %}
-  {% set abi_suffix = "" %}
-  {% set build_number = build_number + 100 %}
+  {% set site_packages_path = "lib/python" + ver2 + "/site-packages" %}
+{% endif %}
+
+# CMake needs to be told that the debug/freethreading ABI is fine; the option takes a 4-tuple,
+# Python_FIND_ABI=<pydebug>;<pymalloc>;<unicode>;<gil_disabled>; for details see
+# https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/FindPython.html#hints
+{% set cmake_test_args=" -DPython_FIND_ABI=\"" ~ ("ON" if build_type == "debug" else "OFF") ~ ";ANY;ANY;" ~ ("ON" if freethreading == "yes" else "OFF") ~ "\"" %}
+{% if unix %}
+  # for CMake invocations during testing, we need to avoid accidentally picking up python versions from
+  # the image, but we don't want to use `${CMAKE_ARGS}` from the compiler activation, because that contains
+  # `CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PROGRAM=NEVER`; while that's useful for building (i.e. don't look in `host:`,
+  # because we want to use binaries from `build:`), we want the exact opposite when running tests.
+  {% set cmake_test_args=cmake_test_args ~ " -DCMAKE_POLICY_DEFAULT_CMP0094=NEW -DCMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PROGRAM=ONLY -DCMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH=${PREFIX}" %}
+{% endif %}
+
+# extremely noisy; only use if needing to debug how CMake finds our libraries
+{% set cmake_debug = "" %}
+{% if False %}
+  {% set cmake_debug = "--debug-find --trace --debug-output --debug-trycompile" %}
 {% endif %}
-{% set abi_tag = "cp" + ver2nd + abi_suffix %}
 
 package:
   name: python-split
   version: {{ version }}{{ dev }}
 
 source:
-{% if from_source_control == 'yes' %}
-  - git_url: https://github.com/python/CPython.git
-    git_tag: v{{ version }}{{ dev }}
-{% else %}
   - url: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/{{ version }}/Python-{{ version }}{{ dev }}.tar.xz
-    # md5 from: https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-{{ ver3nd }}/
+    # sha256 from: https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-{{ ver3nd }}{{ dev }}/
     sha256: 506630aa66d5441188f34df22c0760bfe87fc92212630493ebc9ff3b3a7a1d49
-{% endif %}
     patches:
       - patches/0001-Win32-Change-FD_SETSIZE-from-512-to-2048.patch
       - patches/0002-Win32-Do-not-download-externals.patch
@@ -94,22 +99,22 @@ source:
       - patches/0023-branding.patch
       - patches/0024-Do-not-define-pid_t-as-it-might-conflict-with-the-ac.patch
       - patches/0025-Unvendor-zstd.patch
-      - patches/0026-Set-Py_GIL_DISABLED-in-windows-to-match-unix.patch  # [win and gil_type == "disabled"]
+{% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+      - patches/0026-Set-Py_GIL_DISABLED-in-windows-to-match-unix.patch
+{% endif %}
       - patches/0027-More-unixy-layout-for-windows.patch
       - patches/0028-Avoid-erroring-when-conda-site.pth-has-non-existent-.patch
       - patches/0029-Unvendor-zlib-ng.patch
-      - patches/0030-xxlimited-freethreading-stable-abi-link.patch  # [win and gil_type == "disabled"]
+{% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+      - patches/0030-xxlimited-freethreading-stable-abi-link.patch
+{% endif %}
 
 build:
   number: {{ build_number }}
 
 requirements:
   build:
-{% if from_source_control == 'yes' %}
-    - git
-{% else %}
     - msys2-gcc-libs        # [win]
-{% endif %}
 
 outputs:
   - name: python
@@ -126,8 +131,8 @@ outputs:
         # C++ only installed so CXX is defined for distutils/sysconfig.
         - {{ compiler('cxx') }}  # [unix]
         # These two are just to get the headers needed for tk.h, but is unused
-        - xorg-libx11            # [linux]
-        - xorg-xorgproto         # [linux]
+        - xorg-libx11            # [unix]
+        - xorg-xorgproto         # [unix]
       # Disabled until verified to work correctly
       detect_binary_files_with_prefix: true
       # detect_binary_files_with_prefix: False
@@ -141,30 +146,26 @@ outputs:
       #   - lib/libpython3.dylib  # [osx]
       # match python.org compiler standard
       skip: true  # [win and int(float(vc)) < 14]
-{% if 'conda-forge' in channel_targets %}
-      skip_compile_pyc:
-        - '*.py'            # [build_platform != target_platform]
-{% endif %}
-      string: {{ dev_ }}h{{ PKG_HASH }}_{{ PKG_BUILDNUM }}{{ linkage_nature }}{{ debug }}_{{ abi_tag }}
+      string: {{ dev_ }}h{{ PKG_HASH }}_{{ PKG_BUILDNUM }}{{ debug }}_{{ abi_tag }}
+      python_site_packages_path: {{ site_packages_path }}
       run_exports:
         noarch:
           - python
         weak:
           - python_abi {{ ver2 }}.* *_{{ abi_tag }}
-      track_features:     # [gil_type == "disabled"]
-        - free-threading  # [gil_type == "disabled"]
+{% if py_interp_debug == "yes" %}
+          - python {{ ver2 }}.* *_debug_{{ abi_tag }}
+{% endif %}
+{% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+      track_features:
+        - py_freethreading
+{% endif %}
       script_env:
-        - PY_INTERP_LINKAGE_NATURE={{ linkage_nature_env }}
         - PY_INTERP_DEBUG={{ py_interp_debug }}
-        - PY_GIL_DISABLED={{ py_gil_disabled }}
+        - PY_FREETHREADING={{ freethreading }}
         # Putting these here means they get emitted to build_env_setup.{sh,bat} meaning we can launch IDEs
         # after sourcing or calling that script without examine the contents of conda_build.{sh,bat} for
         # important env. vars.
-{% if 'conda-forge' in channel_targets %}
-        - CONDA_FORGE=yes
-{% else %}
-        - CONDA_FORGE=no
-{% endif %}
       missing_dso_whitelist:   # [win or linux]
         - '**/MSVCR71.dll'  # [win]
         - '**/MSVCR80.dll'  # [win]
@@ -189,57 +190,50 @@ outputs:
         - libtool                       # [unix]
         - pkg-config                    # [not win]
         - ld_impl_{{ target_platform }} # [linux]
-{% if 'conda-forge' in channel_targets %}
-        - binutils_impl_{{ target_platform }}  # [linux]
-{% endif %}
-        # called in build_base.sh
-        - sed                           # [unix]
-        - ripgrep                       # [not win]
+        # we haven't used binutils for builds of python on main
+        #- binutils_impl_{{ target_platform }}  # [linux]
         # https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/main/Tools/jit/README.md#installing-llvm:
         # "LLVM version 21 is the officially supported version"
         - clang-21         # [not win]
         # configure script looks for llvm-ar for lto.
-        # llvm-tools-21 also supplies llvm-ar-21, which build_base.sh wraps as the lto archiver
-        # that configure picks up via $HOST-llvm-ar.
+        # llvm-tools-21 also supplies llvm-ar-21, which build_base.sh
+        # wraps as the lto archiver that configure picks up via
+        # $HOST-llvm-ar.
         - llvm-tools-21    # [not win]
         - clang 21.*       # [win]
         - llvm-tools 21.*  # [win]
+        # called in build_base.sh
+        - sed                           # [unix]
+        - ripgrep                       # [unix]
       host:
         - bzip2 {{ bzip2 }}
-        - sqlite {{ sqlite }}
+        - expat {{ expat }}
+        - ld_impl_{{ target_platform }} >=2.36.1 # [linux]
+        - libffi {{ libffi }}
         - xz {{ xz }}
+        - libmpdec-devel {{ libmpdec }}
+        - libuuid {{ libuuid }}                  # [linux]
+        - sqlite {{ sqlite }}
+        - ncurses {{ ncurses }}                  # [unix]
+        - openssl {{ openssl }}
+        - readline {{ readline }}                # [unix]
+        - tk {{ tk }}
+        # These two are just to get the headers needed for tk.h, but is unused
+        - xorg-libx11 {{ xorg_libx11 }}          # [unix]
+        - xorg-xorgproto {{ xorg_xorgproto }}    # [unix]
         # Although we might like to use zlib-ng something else is
         # pulling in zlib and we get an overlinking error
         - zlib {{ zlib }}
         #- zlib-ng {{ zlib_ng }}
         - zstd {{ zstd }}
-        - openssl {{ openssl }}
-        - readline {{ readline }}                # [not win]
-        - tk {{ tk }}
-        # These two are just to get the headers needed for tk.h, but is unused
-        - xorg-libx11 {{ xorg_libx11 }}          # [linux]
-        - xorg-xorgproto {{ xorg_xorgproto }}    # [linux]
-        - ncurses {{ ncurses }}                  # [unix]
-        - libffi {{ libffi }}
-        - ld_impl_{{ target_platform }} >=2.35.1 # [linux]
-        - libuuid {{ libuuid }}                  # [linux]
-        - libmpdec-devel {{ libmpdec }}
-        - expat {{ expat }}
       run:
-        - ld_impl_{{ target_platform }} >=2.35.1  # [linux]
+        - ld_impl_{{ target_platform }} >=2.36.1  # [linux]
         - tzdata
         - python_abi {{ ver2 }}.* *_{{ abi_tag }}
-{% if 'conda-forge' in channel_targets %}
-        - ncurses  # [unix]
-      run_constrained:
-        - python_abi {{ ver2 }}.* *_cp{{ ver2nd }}
-{% endif %}
     test:
-{% if 'conda-forge' in channel_targets %}
-      downstreams:
-        - cython
-        - setuptools
-{% endif %}
+      #downstreams:
+      #  - cython
+      #  - setuptools
       requires:
         - ripgrep
         - cmake-no-system
@@ -252,6 +246,8 @@ outputs:
         - {{ compiler('c') }}
         # Tried to use enable_language(C) to avoid needing this. It does not work.
         - {{ compiler('cxx') }}
+        # For tkinter, but we expect from system
+        - xorg-libx11   # [unix]
       files:
         - tests/cmake/*
         - tests/cython/*
@@ -285,6 +281,19 @@ outputs:
         - test ! -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${PKG_VERSION%.*}.so           # [linux]
         - test ! -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${PKG_VERSION%.*}.dylib        # [osx]
         - test ! -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${PKG_VERSION%.*}.nolto.a      # [unix]
+        {% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\lib\\python3t.lib exit 1                # [win]
+        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\lib\\python{{ ver2nd }}t.lib exit 1     # [win]
+        # libs\ kept for link-time compat (CFEP-27 section 6, conda-forge PR 918)
+        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\libs\\python3t.lib exit 1               # [win]
+        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\libs\\python{{ ver2nd }}t.lib exit 1    # [win]
+        {% else %}
+        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\lib\\python3.lib exit 1                 # [win]
+        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\lib\\python{{ ver2nd }}.lib exit 1      # [win]
+        # libs\ kept for link-time compat (CFEP-27 section 6, conda-forge PR 918)
+        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\libs\\python3.lib exit 1                # [win]
+        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\libs\\python{{ ver2nd }}.lib exit 1     # [win]
+        {% endif %}
         # https://github.com/conda-forge/python-feedstock/issues/384
         - if exist %PREFIX%\\Scripts\\pydoc exit 1  # [win]
         - if exist %PREFIX%\\Scripts\\idle exit 1  # [win]
@@ -292,14 +301,10 @@ outputs:
         - if not exist %PREFIX%\\Scripts\\idle-script.py exit 1  # [win]
         - if not exist %PREFIX%\\Scripts\\idle.exe exit 1  # [win]
         - if not exist %PREFIX%\\Scripts\\pydoc.exe exit 1  # [win]
-        # 0027 unixy Win layout: getpath landmarks lib\python\os.py and include\python.
         - if not exist %PREFIX%\\include\\python\\pyconfig.h exit 1  # [win]
-        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\lib\\python{{ ver2nd }}{{ abi_suffix }}.lib exit 1  # [win]
-        # libs\ kept for link-time compat (CFEP-27 section 6, conda-forge PR 918)
-        - if not exist %PREFIX%\\libs\\python{{ ver2nd }}{{ abi_suffix }}.lib exit 1  # [win]
         - pushd tests
         - pushd cmake
-        - cmake -GNinja -DPY_VER={{ version }} -DEXTRA_COMPONENTS="Development.Module" --debug-find --trace --debug-output --debug-trycompile .
+        - cmake -GNinja {{ cmake_test_args }} -DPY_VER={{ version }} -DEXTRA_COMPONENTS="Development.Module" {{ cmake_debug }} .
         - popd
         - popd
         - python run_test.py
@@ -321,8 +326,8 @@ outputs:
         - {{ compiler('cxx') }}  # [unix]
       script_env:
         - PY_INTERP_DEBUG={{ py_interp_debug }}
-        - PY_FREETHREADING={{ py_gil_disabled }}
-      string: h{{ PKG_HASH }}_{{ PKG_BUILDNUM }}{{ linkage_nature }}{{ debug }}_{{ abi_tag }}
+        - PY_FREETHREADING={{ freethreading }}
+      string: h{{ PKG_HASH }}_{{ PKG_BUILDNUM }}{{ debug }}_{{ abi_tag }}
       run_exports:                                                           # [unix]
         weak:                                                                # [unix]
           - {{ pin_subpackage("libpython", min_pin="x.x", max_pin="x") }}    # [unix]
@@ -337,115 +342,139 @@ outputs:
         - {{ pin_subpackage('python', exact=True) }}
     test:
       files:
+        - tests/cmake/*
         - tests/prefix-replacement/*
       requires:
         - {{ stdlib('c') }}
         - {{ compiler('c') }}
+        # cmake expects a C++ compiler for some reason
         - {{ compiler('cxx') }}
         - ripgrep
+        - cmake-no-system
+        - ninja-base
       commands:
-        - VER=${PKG_VERSION%.*}    # [unix]
-        - VERABI=${VER}            # [unix]
-{% if py_gil_disabled == "yes" %}
-        - VERABI=${VERABI}t        # [unix]
+        - VER=${PKG_VERSION%.*}    # [not win]
+        - VERABI=${VER}            # [not win]
+{% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+        - VERABI=${VERABI}t        # [not win]
 {% endif %}
+        - VERABI_NO_DBG=${VERABI}  # [not win]
 {% if py_interp_debug == "yes" %}
-        - VERABI=${VERABI}d        # [unix]
+        - VERABI=${VERABI}d        # [not win]
 {% endif %}
         - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${VERABI}${SHLIB_EXT}       # [unix]
-{% if py_interp_debug == "no" %}
-        - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython3${SHLIB_EXT}               # [unix]
-{% endif %}
-        - pushd tests                 # [unix]
-        - pushd prefix-replacement    # [unix]
-        - bash build-and-test.sh      # [unix]
-        - popd                        # [unix]
-        - popd                        # [unix]
+        - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython3${SHLIB_EXT}               # [unix and build_type == "release"]
+        - pushd tests
+        - pushd prefix-replacement  # [unix]
+        - bash build-and-test.sh    # [unix]
+        - popd                      # [unix]
+        - pushd cmake
+        - cmake -GNinja {{ cmake_test_args }} -DPY_VER={{ version }} -DEXTRA_COMPONENTS="Development.Embed" {{ cmake_debug }} .
+        - popd
+        - popd
 
-{% if bootstrap != "true" %}
   - name: libpython-static
-    script: install_static.sh  # [unix]
+    script: install_static.sh   # [unix]
     build:
       number: {{ build_number }}
+      # hints for the CI system
       force_use_keys:
-        - gil_type
+        - freethreading
+        - build_type
       activate_in_script: true
       ignore_run_exports:
         - python_abi
       ignore_run_exports_from:   # [unix]
         - {{ compiler('cxx') }}  # [unix]
-      string: h{{ PKG_HASH }}_{{ PKG_BUILDNUM }}{{ linkage_nature }}{{ debug }}_{{ abi_tag }}
       script_env:
-        - PY_GIL_DISABLED={{ py_gil_disabled }}
         - PY_INTERP_DEBUG={{ py_interp_debug }}
-        - PY_FREETHREADING={{ py_gil_disabled }}
+        - PY_FREETHREADING={{ freethreading }}
+      string: h{{ PKG_HASH }}_{{ PKG_BUILDNUM }}{{ debug }}_{{ abi_tag }}
     requirements:
       build:
         - {{ stdlib('c') }}
         - {{ compiler('c') }}
         - {{ compiler('cxx') }}
-{% if from_source_control == 'yes' %}
-        - git
-{% endif %}
       host:
         - {{ pin_subpackage('python', exact=True) }}
       run:
         - {{ pin_subpackage('python', exact=True) }}
     test:
       files:
+        - tests/cmake/*
         - tests/prefix-replacement/*
       requires:
         - {{ stdlib('c') }}
         - {{ compiler('c') }}
-        # Tried to use enable_language(C) to avoid needing this. It does not work.
+        # cmake expects a C++ compiler for some reason
         - {{ compiler('cxx') }}
         - ripgrep
-
+        - cmake-no-system
+        - ninja-base
       commands:
-        - pushd tests                 # [unix]
-        - pushd prefix-replacement    # [unix]
-        - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${PKG_VERSION%.*}{{ abi_suffix }}.a  # [unix]
-        - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${PKG_VERSION%.*}{{ abi_suffix }}.nolto.a  # [unix]
-        - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/python${PKG_VERSION%.*}{{ abi_suffix }}/config-${PKG_VERSION%.*}{{ abi_suffix }}-darwin/libpython${PKG_VERSION%.*}{{ abi_suffix }}.a  # [osx]
-        - bash build-and-test.sh      # [unix]
-        - popd    # [unix]
-        - popd    # [unix]
+        - VER=${PKG_VERSION%.*}    # [not win]
+        - VERABI=${VER}            # [not win]
+{% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+        - VERABI=${VERABI}t        # [not win]
+{% endif %}
+        - VERABI_NO_DBG=${VERABI}  # [not win]
+{% if py_interp_debug == "yes" %}
+        - VERABI=${VERABI}d        # [not win]
 {% endif %}
+        - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${VERABI}.a  # [unix]
+        - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/libpython${VERABI_NO_DBG}.nolto.a  # [unix]
+        - test -f ${PREFIX}/lib/python${VERABI_NO_DBG}/config-${VERABI}-darwin/libpython${VERABI}.a  # [osx]
+        - pushd tests
+        - pushd prefix-replacement  # [unix]
+        - bash build-and-test.sh    # [unix]
+        - popd                      # [unix]
+        - pushd cmake
+        - cmake -GNinja {{ cmake_test_args }} -DPY_VER={{ version }} -DEXTRA_COMPONENTS="Development.Embed" {{ cmake_debug }} .
+        - popd
+        - popd
+
+  - name: cpython
+    build:
+      noarch: generic
+    requirements:
+      run:
+        - python {{ version }}{{ dev }}
+        - python_abi * *_{{ abi_tag }}
 
   - name: python-freethreading
     build:
       noarch: generic
-{% if gil_type == "normal" %}
-      skip: True
+{% if freethreading != "yes" %}
+      skip: true
 {% endif %}
     requirements:
       run:
-        - python {{ version }}{{ dev }}.*
+        - cpython {{ version }}{{ dev }}
         - python_abi * *_{{ abi_tag }}
 
   - name: python-gil
     build:
       noarch: generic
-{% if gil_type == "disabled" %}
-      skip: True
+{% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+      skip: true
 {% endif %}
     requirements:
       run:
-        - python {{ version }}{{ dev }}.*
+        - cpython {{ version }}{{ dev }}
         - python_abi * *_{{ abi_tag }}
 
   - name: python-jit
     script: install_jit_activation.sh   # [not win]
     script: install_jit_activation.bat  # [win]
     build:
-{% if gil_type == "disabled" %}
-      skip: True
+{% if freethreading == "yes" %}
+      skip: true
 {% endif %}
       skip: true  # [py<313]
       noarch: generic
     requirements:
       run:
-        - python {{ version }}{{ dev }}
+        - cpython {{ version }}{{ dev }}
         - __unix   # [unix]
         - __win    # [win]
     test:
@@ -468,8 +497,29 @@ about:
     fewer lines of code than would be possible in languages such as C++ or
     Java. The language provides constructs intended to enable clear programs
     on both a small and large scale.
-  doc_url: https://www.python.org/doc/versions/
-  dev_url: https://devguide.python.org/
+
+    We provide some meta packages for convenience.
+    To get a CPython flavour, use:
+
+        conda install cpython
+
+    To get the freethreading build (i.e. without the Global Interpreter Lock - GIL):
+
+        conda install python-freethreading
+
+    To get the default build (i.e. with the GIL):
+
+        conda install python-gil
+
+    To enable the use of the experimental JIT compiler in CPython:
+
+        conda install python-jit
+
+    or set the environment variable PYTHON_JIT=1. Note that the JIT support
+    is available for x86_64 builds only.
+
+  doc_url: https://devguide.python.org/
+  dev_url: https://github.com/python/cpython
 
 extra:
   feedstock-name: python
@@ -486,4 +536,4 @@ extra:
     - xhochy
   skip-lints:
     - license_file_overspecified
-    - parsing_jinja_failure  # gil_type / channel_targets jinja; linter cannot expand this recipe
+    - parsing_jinja_failure  # freethreading / channel_targets jinja; linter cannot expand this recipe
diff --git a/recipe/run_test_jit.py b/recipe/run_test_jit.py
index ae203f783..154fc1716 100644
--- a/recipe/run_test_jit.py
+++ b/recipe/run_test_jit.py
@@ -12,10 +12,14 @@
             sys.exit(0)
         else:
             print("JIT available but not enabled", file=sys.stderr)
+            sys.exit(1)
     else:
-        print("JIT not available", file=sys.stderr)
+        # python-jit is noarch and PBP tests it against every python variant.
+        # configure disables JIT for debug, freethreading, and some arches;
+        # the metapackage is a no-op there.
+        print("JIT not compiled into this interpreter; skip")
+        sys.exit(0)
 else:
     print(f"WARNING: cannot validate JIT using Python {sys.version}", file=sys.stderr)
-    print(f"WARNING: validate using Python >= 3.14", file=sys.stderr)
-
-sys.exit(1)
+    print("WARNING: validate using Python >= 3.14", file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/recipe/tests/prefix-replacement/a.c b/recipe/tests/prefix-replacement/a.c
index dacc1d63e..93922c20d 100644
--- a/recipe/tests/prefix-replacement/a.c
+++ b/recipe/tests/prefix-replacement/a.c
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
         fprintf(stderr, "Fatal error: cannot decode argv[0]\n");
         exit(1);
     }
-    Py_SetProgramName(program);  /* optional but recommended */
+    // Removed in Python 3.13 and needs to be replaced with https://docs.python.org/3.13/c-api/init_config.html#c.PyConfig.program_name
+    // Py_SetProgramName(program);  /* optional but recommended */
     Py_Initialize();
     PyRun_SimpleString("from time import time,ctime\n"
                        "print('Today is', ctime(time()))\n");