Update Python 3.11 support and release 1.6.9 (#510)

## Summary
- Restore Python 3.11 support alongside Python 3.12 in package metadata,
lockfile, and CI
- Remove the hard `.python-version` pin so the project can be exercised
against both supported runtimes
- Bump the package version to `1.6.9` and record the change in the
changelog

## Testing
- `uv sync --locked --all-groups --python 3.11`
- `uv sync --locked --all-groups --python 3.12`
- `CI=true uv run --locked --no-sync pytest -q -m "not slow"
test_unstructured_inference`
- `uv build`
- `ruff check .` and `ruff format --check .`

<!-- CURSOR_SUMMARY -->
---

> [!NOTE]
> **Medium Risk**
> Moderate risk because it expands the supported runtime to Python 3.11
and updates the `uv.lock` resolution, which can change dependency
selection and CI behavior across environments.
> 
> **Overview**
> Restores Python 3.11 support alongside 3.12 by widening
`requires-python` to `>=3.11, <3.13`, updating README messaging, and
running `lint`/`test` jobs in CI against a Python 3.11/3.12 matrix.
> 
> Removes the repo’s `.python-version` pin, makes the Docker base image
Python version configurable via a `PYTHON_VERSION` build arg, and
refreshes `uv.lock` to resolve dependencies for both runtimes (including
adding conditional deps needed for 3.11).
> 
> Bumps the package version to `1.6.9` and records the change in
`CHANGELOG.md`.
> 
> <sup>Reviewed by [Cursor Bugbot](https://cursor.com/bugbot) for commit
6a422a1. Bugbot is set up for automated
code reviews on this repo. Configure
[here](https://www.cursor.com/dashboard/bugbot).</sup>
<!-- /CURSOR_SUMMARY -->

Author: CyMule

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ permissions:
 jobs:
   lint:
     runs-on: opensource-linux-8core
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        python-version: ["3.11", "3.12"]
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
     - name: Install uv
@@ -21,7 +25,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set up Python
       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
-        python-version: "3.12"
+        python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
     - name: Install lint dependencies
       run: make install-lint
     - name: Lint
@@ -37,6 +41,10 @@ jobs:
   test:
     runs-on: opensource-linux-8core
     needs: lint
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        python-version: ["3.11", "3.12"]
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
     - name: Install uv
@@ -46,7 +54,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set up Python
       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
-        python-version: "3.12"
+        python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
     - name: Install system dependencies
       run: |
         sudo apt-get update

.python-version

@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+## 1.6.9
+
+### Enhancement
+- Restore support for Python 3.11 alongside Python 3.12.
+
 ## 1.6.8
 
 ### Fix

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # syntax=docker/dockerfile:experimental
-FROM python:3.12-slim AS base
+ARG PYTHON_VERSION=3.12
+FROM python:${PYTHON_VERSION}-slim AS base
 
 # Set up environment
 ENV HOME=/home/
@@ -12,7 +13,7 @@ COPY --from=ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:latest /uv /uvx /usr/local/bin/
 
 FROM base AS deps
 # Copy project files needed for dependency resolution
-COPY pyproject.toml uv.lock .python-version ./
+COPY pyproject.toml uv.lock ./
 COPY unstructured_inference/__version__.py unstructured_inference/__version__.py
 
 RUN uv sync --locked --all-groups --no-install-project

Dockerfile

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 The `unstructured-inference` repo contains hosted model inference code for layout parsing models. 
 These models are invoked via API as part of the partitioning bricks in the `unstructured` package.
 
-**Requires Python 3.12+.**
+**Requires Python >=3.11, <3.13.**
 
 ## Installation
 

README.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [project]
 name = "unstructured_inference"
 description = "A library for performing inference using trained models."
-requires-python = ">=3.12, <3.13"
+requires-python = ">=3.11, <3.13"
 authors = [{name = "Unstructured Technologies", email = "devops@unstructuredai.io"}]
 classifiers = [
     "Development Status :: 4 - Beta",
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ classifiers = [
     "License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License",
     "Operating System :: OS Independent",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
+    "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
     "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
     "Topic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Artificial Intelligence",
 ]

pyproject.toml

@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "1.6.8"  # pragma: no cover
+__version__ = "1.6.9"  # pragma: no cover