diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index b1a6ebf1..0588d6dd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -34,32 +34,18 @@ jobs:
           - "3.12"
           - "3.13"
           - "3.14"
-          - "pypy-3.7"
           - "pypy-3.8"
           - "pypy-3.9"
           - "pypy-3.10"
           - "pypy-3.11"
-        include:
-          - os: windows-latest
-            python-version: "3.7"
-          - os: ubuntu-22.04
-            python-version: "3.7"
-          - os: ubuntu-22.04
-            python-version: "pypy-3.6"
-          - os: ubuntu-latest
-            container: python:3.6
-            python-version: "3.6"
-        exclude:
-          - os: macos-latest
-            python-version: "pypy-3.7"
 
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     container: ${{ matrix.container }}
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
         with:
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
           allow-prereleases: true
@@ -109,7 +95,7 @@ jobs:
           fi
 
       - name: Upload coverage data
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
         with:
           name: coverage-data.${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.python-version }}
           path: .coverage.*
@@ -122,8 +108,8 @@ jobs:
     needs: tests
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
         with:
           python-version-file: .python-version-default
           cache: pip
@@ -137,7 +123,7 @@ jobs:
           delete-merged: true
 
       - name: Download coverage data
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v6
         with:
           name: coverage-data
 
@@ -153,7 +139,7 @@ jobs:
           python -Im coverage report --format=markdown >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
 
       - name: Upload coverage to Codecov
-        uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4
+        uses: codecov/codecov-action@v5
         env:
           CODECOV_TOKEN: ${{secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN}}
 
@@ -163,7 +149,7 @@ jobs:
           python -Im coverage report --fail-under=100
 
       - name: Upload HTML report if check failed.
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v5
         with:
           name: html-report
           path: htmlcov
diff --git a/.github/workflows/codeql.yml b/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
index 19e407a8..84339a2f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: Initialize CodeQL
         uses: github/codeql-action/init@v2
diff --git a/bin/update-tables.py b/bin/update-tables.py
index fc85b7ce..c3975df2 100644
--- a/bin/update-tables.py
+++ b/bin/update-tables.py
@@ -675,8 +675,8 @@ def replace_if_modified(new_filename: str, original_filename: str) -> None:
     If there are other changes or the original doesn't exist, replace it.
     """
     if os.path.exists(original_filename):
-        with open(original_filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f1, \
-                open(new_filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f2:
+        with open(original_filename, encoding='utf-8') as f1, \
+                open(new_filename, encoding='utf-8') as f2:
             old_lines = f1.readlines()
             new_lines = f2.readlines()
 
diff --git a/bin/wcwidth-browser.py b/bin/wcwidth-browser.py
index 545f9113..18513101 100755
--- a/bin/wcwidth-browser.py
+++ b/bin/wcwidth-browser.py
@@ -290,8 +290,7 @@ def on_resize(self, *args):
         # pylint: disable=W0613
         #         Unused argument 'args'
         assert self.term.width >= self.screen.hint_width, (
-            'Screen to small {}, must be at least {}'.format(
-                self.term.width, self.screen.hint_width))
+            f'Screen to small {self.term.width}, must be at least {self.screen.hint_width}')
         self._set_lastpage()
         self.dirty = self.STATE_REFRESH
 
diff --git a/bin/wcwidth-libc-comparator.py b/bin/wcwidth-libc-comparator.py
index f07a4fe3..14f201f4 100755
--- a/bin/wcwidth-libc-comparator.py
+++ b/bin/wcwidth-libc-comparator.py
@@ -64,8 +64,10 @@ def report_ucs_msg(ucs, wcwidth_libc, wcwidth_local):
            .lstrip('0'))
     url = f"http://codepoints.net/U+{ucp}"
     name = unicodedata.name(ucs)
-    return ("libc,ours={},{} [--o{}o--] name={} val={} {}"
-            " ".format(wcwidth_libc, wcwidth_local, ucs, name, ord(ucs), url))
+    return (
+        f"libc,ours={wcwidth_libc},{wcwidth_local} "
+        f"[--o{ucs}o--] name={name} val={ord(ucs)} {url} ")
+
 
 
 if sys.maxunicode < 1114111:
diff --git a/docs/intro.rst b/docs/intro.rst
index 8d25b4fc..b8464a34 100644
--- a/docs/intro.rst
+++ b/docs/intro.rst
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ Install wcwidth in editable mode::
 
 Execute unit tests using tox_ for all supported Python versions::
 
-   tox -e py36,py37,py38,py39,py310,py311,py312,py313,py314
+   tox -e py38,py39,py310,py311,py312,py313,py314
 
 Updating Unicode Version
 ------------------------
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ To upgrade requirements for updating unicode version, run::
 
 To upgrade requirements for testing, run::
 
-   tox -e update_requirements37,update_requirements39
+   tox -e update_requirements38,update_requirements39
 
 To upgrade requirements for building documentation, run::
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d5fc8767
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+[build-system]
+build-backend = "hatchling.build"
+requires = [ "hatchling" ]
+
+[project]
+name = "wcwidth"
+version = "0.2.14"
+description = "Measures the displayed width of unicode strings in a terminal"
+readme = "README.rst"
+keywords = [
+  "cjk",
+  "combining",
+  "console",
+  "eastasian",
+  "emoji",
+  "emulator",
+  "terminal",
+  "unicode",
+  "wcswidth",
+  "wcwidth",
+  "xterm",
+]
+license = "MIT"
+license-files = [ "LICENSE" ]
+authors = [
+  { name = "Jeff Quast", email = "contact@jeffquast.com" },
+]
+requires-python = ">=3.8"
+classifiers = [
+  "Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable",
+  "Environment :: Console",
+  "Intended Audience :: Developers",
+  "Natural Language :: English",
+  "Operating System :: POSIX",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: Only",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14",
+  "Topic :: Software Development :: Internationalization",
+  "Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries",
+  "Topic :: Software Development :: Localization",
+  "Topic :: Terminals",
+]
+
+[project.urls]
+Homepage = "https://github.com/jquast/wcwidth"
diff --git a/requirements-tests36.txt b/requirements-tests36.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 304eb080..00000000
--- a/requirements-tests36.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,41 +0,0 @@
-#
-# This file is autogenerated by pip-compile with python 3.6
-# To update, run:
-#
-#    pip-compile --no-emit-index-url --output-file=requirements-tests36.txt requirements-tests37.in
-#
-attrs==22.2.0
-    # via pytest
-coverage[toml]==5.5
-    # via
-    #   -r requirements-tests37.in
-    #   pytest-cov
-importlib-metadata==4.8.3 ; python_version < "3.8"
-    # via
-    #   -r requirements-tests37.in
-    #   pluggy
-    #   pytest
-iniconfig==1.1.1
-    # via pytest
-packaging==21.3
-    # via pytest
-pluggy==1.0.0
-    # via pytest
-py==1.11.0
-    # via pytest
-pyparsing==3.0.9
-    # via packaging
-pytest==6.2.5
-    # via
-    #   -r requirements-tests37.in
-    #   pytest-cov
-pytest-cov==4.0.0
-    # via -r requirements-tests37.in
-toml==0.10.2
-    # via
-    #   coverage
-    #   pytest
-typing-extensions==4.1.1
-    # via importlib-metadata
-zipp==3.6.0
-    # via importlib-metadata
diff --git a/requirements-tests37.in b/requirements-tests37.in
deleted file mode 100644
index d1b25eff..00000000
--- a/requirements-tests37.in
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-# for versions of python3.7 *and earlier*
-pytest<7
-pytest-cov
-coverage[toml]<6
-importlib_metadata; python_version < '3.8'
-pytest-benchmark
diff --git a/requirements-tests37.txt b/requirements-tests37.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index e3dc45b5..00000000
--- a/requirements-tests37.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-#
-# This file is autogenerated by pip-compile with Python 3.7
-# by the following command:
-#
-#    pip-compile --allow-unsafe --no-emit-index-url --output-file=requirements-tests37.txt --resolver=backtracking --strip-extras requirements-tests37.in
-#
-attrs==24.2.0
-    # via pytest
-coverage==5.5
-    # via
-    #   -r requirements-tests37.in
-    #   pytest-cov
-importlib-metadata==6.7.0 ; python_version < "3.8"
-    # via
-    #   -r requirements-tests37.in
-    #   attrs
-    #   pluggy
-    #   pytest
-iniconfig==2.0.0
-    # via pytest
-packaging==24.0
-    # via pytest
-pluggy==1.2.0
-    # via pytest
-py==1.11.0
-    # via pytest
-py-cpuinfo==9.0.0
-    # via pytest-benchmark
-pytest==6.2.5
-    # via
-    #   -r requirements-tests37.in
-    #   pytest-benchmark
-    #   pytest-cov
-pytest-benchmark==4.0.0
-    # via -r requirements-tests37.in
-pytest-cov==4.1.0
-    # via -r requirements-tests37.in
-toml==0.10.2
-    # via
-    #   coverage
-    #   pytest
-typing-extensions==4.7.1
-    # via importlib-metadata
-zipp==3.15.0
-    # via importlib-metadata
diff --git a/requirements-tests38.in b/requirements-tests38.in
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d849b582
--- /dev/null
+++ b/requirements-tests38.in
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# for python3.8
+pytest<7
+pytest-cov
+coverage[toml]<6
+pytest-benchmark
diff --git a/requirements-tests38.txt b/requirements-tests38.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f11f44dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/requirements-tests38.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+#
+# This file is autogenerated by pip-compile with Python 3.8
+# by the following command:
+#
+#    pip-compile --allow-unsafe --no-emit-index-url --output-file=requirements-tests38.txt --strip-extras requirements-tests38.in
+#
+attrs==25.3.0
+    # via pytest
+coverage==5.5
+    # via
+    #   -r requirements-tests38.in
+    #   pytest-cov
+iniconfig==2.1.0
+    # via pytest
+packaging==25.0
+    # via pytest
+pluggy==1.5.0
+    # via pytest
+py==1.11.0
+    # via pytest
+py-cpuinfo==9.0.0
+    # via pytest-benchmark
+pytest==6.2.5
+    # via
+    #   -r requirements-tests38.in
+    #   pytest-benchmark
+    #   pytest-cov
+pytest-benchmark==4.0.0
+    # via -r requirements-tests38.in
+pytest-cov==5.0.0
+    # via -r requirements-tests38.in
+toml==0.10.2
+    # via
+    #   coverage
+    #   pytest
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
deleted file mode 100755
index c796519e..00000000
--- a/setup.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python
-"""
-Setup.py distribution file for wcwidth.
-
-https://github.com/jquast/wcwidth
-"""
-# std imports
-import os
-import codecs
-
-# 3rd party
-import setuptools
-
-
-def _get_here(fname):
-    return os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), fname)
-
-
-class _SetupUpdate(setuptools.Command):
-    # This is a compatibility, some downstream distributions might
-    # still call "setup.py update".
-    #
-    # New entry point is tox, 'tox -eupdate'.
-    description = "Fetch and update unicode code tables"
-    user_options = []
-
-    def initialize_options(self):
-        pass
-
-    def finalize_options(self):
-        pass
-
-    def run(self):
-        import sys
-        import subprocess
-        retcode = subprocess.Popen([
-            sys.executable,
-            _get_here(os.path.join('bin', 'update-tables.py'))]).wait()
-        assert retcode == 0, ('non-zero exit code', retcode)
-
-
-def main():
-    """Setup.py entry point."""
-    setuptools.setup(
-        name='wcwidth',
-        # NOTE: manually manage __version__ in wcwidth/__init__.py !
-        version='0.2.14',
-        description=(
-            "Measures the displayed width of unicode strings in a terminal"),
-        long_description=codecs.open(
-            _get_here('README.rst'), 'rb', 'utf8').read(),
-        author='Jeff Quast',
-        author_email='contact@jeffquast.com',
-        license='MIT',
-        packages=['wcwidth'],
-        url='https://github.com/jquast/wcwidth',
-        package_data={
-            '': ['LICENSE', '*.rst'],
-        },
-        zip_safe=True,
-        python_requires='>=3.6',
-        classifiers=[
-            'Intended Audience :: Developers',
-            'Natural Language :: English',
-            'Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable',
-            'Environment :: Console',
-            'License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License',
-            'Operating System :: POSIX',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13',
-            'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14',
-            'Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries',
-            'Topic :: Software Development :: Localization',
-            'Topic :: Software Development :: Internationalization',
-            'Topic :: Terminals'
-        ],
-        keywords=[
-            'cjk',
-            'combining',
-            'console',
-            'eastasian',
-            'emoji',
-            'emulator',
-            'terminal',
-            'unicode',
-            'wcswidth',
-            'wcwidth',
-            'xterm',
-        ],
-        cmdclass={'update': _SetupUpdate},
-    )
-
-
-if __name__ == '__main__':
-    main()
diff --git a/tests/test_core.py b/tests/test_core.py
index 34cee384..75c65a83 100755
--- a/tests/test_core.py
+++ b/tests/test_core.py
@@ -1,10 +1,5 @@
 """Core tests for wcwidth module. isort:skip_file"""
-try:
-    # std import
-    import importlib.metadata as importmeta
-except ImportError:
-    # 3rd party for python3.7 and earlier
-    import importlib_metadata as importmeta
+import importlib.metadata
 
 # local
 import wcwidth
@@ -13,7 +8,7 @@
 def test_package_version():
     """wcwidth.__version__ is expected value."""
     # given,
-    expected = importmeta.version('wcwidth')
+    expected = importlib.metadata.version('wcwidth')
 
     # exercise,
     result = wcwidth.__version__
diff --git a/tests/test_emojis.py b/tests/test_emojis.py
index 310d0c3d..9df6b34d 100644
--- a/tests/test_emojis.py
+++ b/tests/test_emojis.py
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ def test_longer_emoji_zwj_sequence():
 
 
 def read_sequences_from_file(filename):
-    fp = open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), filename), 'r', encoding='utf-8')
+    fp = open(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), filename), encoding='utf-8')
     lines = [line.strip()
              for line in fp.readlines()
              if not line.startswith('#') and line.strip()]
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 9d66fbf8..ba2e927f 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
 [tox]
-envlist = update, compile, autopep8, docformatter, isort, pylint, flake8, pydocstyle, docs, verify_tables, py{36, 37, 38, 39, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314}, pypy{36, 37, 38, 39, 310}
+envlist = update, compile, autopep8, docformatter, isort, pylint, flake8, pydocstyle, docs, verify_tables, py{38, 39, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314}, pypy{38, 39, 310, 311}
 skip_missing_interpreters = true
-# needed for Python 3.6
-# https://tox.wiki/en/4.11.3/faq.html#testing-end-of-life-python-versions
-requires = virtualenv<20.22.0
 
 [base]
 pip_compile_command = pip-compile --resolver=backtracking --strip-extras --no-emit-index-url --allow-unsafe --upgrade
@@ -39,7 +36,7 @@ atomic = true
 [pytest]
 norecursedirs = .git .tox build
 addopts = --disable-pytest-warnings
-          --cov-append --cov-report=html --color=yes --ignore=setup.py --ignore=.tox
+          --cov-append --cov-report=html --color=yes --ignore=.tox
           --cov=wcwidth
 filterwarnings =
     error
@@ -88,28 +85,16 @@ basepython = python3.9
 deps = pip-tools
 commands = {[base]pip_compile_command} requirements-tests39.in -o requirements-tests39.txt
 
-[testenv:update_requirements37]
-basepython = python3.7
+[testenv:update_requirements38]
+basepython = python3.8
 deps = pip-tools
-commands = {[base]pip_compile_command} requirements-tests37.in -o requirements-tests37.txt
+commands = {[base]pip_compile_command} requirements-tests38.in -o requirements-tests38.txt
 
 [testenv:py38]
-deps = -r requirements-tests37.txt
+deps = -r requirements-tests38.txt
 
 [testenv:pypy38]
-deps = -r requirements-tests37.txt
-
-[testenv:py37]
-deps = -r requirements-tests37.txt
-
-[testenv:pypy37]
-deps = -r requirements-tests37.txt
-
-[testenv:py36]
-deps = -r requirements-tests36.txt
-
-[testenv:pypy36]
-deps = -r requirements-tests36.txt
+deps = -r requirements-tests38.txt
 
 [testenv:update]
 basepython = python3.13
@@ -126,7 +111,7 @@ commands =
         --recursive \
         --aggressive \
         --aggressive \
-        wcwidth/ bin/ tests/ setup.py
+        wcwidth/ bin/ tests/
 
 [testenv:isort]
 deps = isort
@@ -137,13 +122,13 @@ commands = {envbindir}/isort --quiet --apply --recursive wcwidth tests bin
 basepython = python3.13
 deps = pylint
 commands = {envbindir}/pylint --rcfile={toxinidir}/.pylintrc \
-           --ignore=tests,docs,setup.py,conf.py,build,distutils,.pyenv,.git,.tox \
+           --ignore=tests,docs,conf.py,build,distutils,.pyenv,.git,.tox \
            {posargs:{toxinidir}}/wcwidth
 
 [testenv:flake8]
 basepython = python3.13
 deps = flake8
-commands = {envbindir}/flake8 --exclude=tests setup.py docs/ wcwidth/ bin/ tests/
+commands = {envbindir}/flake8 --exclude=tests docs/ wcwidth/ bin/ tests/
 
 [testenv:docs]
 # matches .readthedocs.yaml and environment
diff --git a/wcwidth/wcwidth.py b/wcwidth/wcwidth.py
index 92ca14af..46dee418 100644
--- a/wcwidth/wcwidth.py
+++ b/wcwidth/wcwidth.py
@@ -274,11 +274,10 @@ def _wcmatch_version(given_version):
 
     except ValueError:
         # submitted value raises ValueError in int(), warn and use latest.
-        warnings.warn("UNICODE_VERSION value, {given_version!r}, is invalid. "
+        warnings.warn(f"UNICODE_VERSION value, {given_version!r}, is invalid. "
                       "Value should be in form of `integer[.]+', the latest "
-                      "supported unicode version {latest_version!r} has been "
-                      "inferred.".format(given_version=given_version,
-                                         latest_version=latest_version))
+                      f"supported unicode version {latest_version!r} has been "
+                      "inferred.")
         return latest_version
 
     # given version is less than any available version, return earliest
@@ -290,11 +289,9 @@ def _wcmatch_version(given_version):
         # this probably isn't what you wanted, the oldest wcwidth.c you will
         # find in the wild is likely version 5 or 6, which we both support,
         # but it's better than not saying anything at all.
-        warnings.warn("UNICODE_VERSION value, {given_version!r}, is lower "
+        warnings.warn(f"UNICODE_VERSION value, {given_version!r}, is lower "
                       "than any available unicode version. Returning lowest "
-                      "version level, {earliest_version!r}".format(
-                          given_version=given_version,
-                          earliest_version=earliest_version))
+                      f"version level, {earliest_version!r}")
         return earliest_version
 
     # create list of versions which are less than our equal to given version,