[sofiathoren]

Why? Currently Apache Beam pins protobuf<7.0.0.dev0 in sdks/python/setup.py. Protobuf 7.34.0 was released on February 27, 2026 (https://pypi.org/project/protobuf/7.34.0/, https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases/tag/v34.0), and downstream Google Cloud dependencies (google-api-core, proto-plus, grpcio-status, google-cloud-bigquery) now support protobuf<8.0.0.

Fixes #40580.

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[github-actions]

📋 Review Summary

This PR updates the upper bound of the protobuf dependency in sdks/python/setup.py from <7.0.0.dev0 to <8.0.0.dev0 to allow Protobuf 7.x in the Python SDK. The change is clean, follows the precedent set for previous major Protobuf version bumps, and aligns with downstream Google Cloud dependencies.

🔍 General Feedback

• The version constraint update is well-scoped and preserves existing exclusions for known problematic 4.x versions.
• Consider adding a brief note in CHANGES.md if you'd like this dependency support expansion highlighted in the next release notes.

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[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 79.93%. Comparing base (76f6e6d) to head (d5c155c).
⚠️ Report is 164 commits behind head on master.

Additional details and impacted files

@@              Coverage Diff              @@
##             master   #40581       +/-   ##
=============================================
+ Coverage     56.16%   79.93%   +23.76%     
=============================================
  Files          1124      488      -636     
  Lines        178336    82347    -95989     
  Branches       1489        0     -1489     
=============================================
- Hits         100170    65825    -34345     
+ Misses        75645    16522    -59123     
+ Partials       2521        0     -2521     

Flag	Coverage Δ
go	?
java	?
python	79.93% <ø> (+0.37%)	⬆️

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[shunping]

LGTM, but similar rationale as #35477 (comment), we may want to do this after the coming release cut (10/18).

Also before we merge, let's add an entry to CHANGES.md.

[sofiathoren]

@shunping thanks for review. I added an entry in CHANGES.md so please have a look once you get time over :)

[shunping]

@shunping thanks for review. I added an entry in CHANGES.md so please have a look once you get time over :)

My mistake; the branch cut is actually on Oct 28. I will check back after that.