diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yaml b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
index 8ffb500..5cd99fe 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "aws_cli=$(grep aws_cli versions | cut -d= -f2)" | tee -a $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "azure_cli=$(grep azure_cli versions | cut -d= -f2)" | tee -a $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "scalr_cli=$(grep scalr_cli versions | cut -d= -f2)" | tee -a $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "python=$(grep python versions | cut -d= -f2)" | tee -a $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
       - name: Build Docker image
         uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ jobs:
             AWS_CLI_VERSION=${{ steps.versions.outputs.aws_cli }}
             AZURE_CLI_VERSION=${{ steps.versions.outputs.azure_cli }}
             SCALR_CLI_VERSION=${{ steps.versions.outputs.scalr_cli }}
+            PYTHON_VERSION=${{ steps.versions.outputs.python }}
           cache-from: type=registry,ref=scalr/runner:buildcache
           cache-to: type=registry,ref=scalr/runner:buildcache
           load: true
@@ -59,4 +61,7 @@ jobs:
           docker run --rm scalr/runner:sha-${{ github.sha }} -xc 'aws --version'
           docker run --rm scalr/runner:sha-${{ github.sha }} -xc 'az --version'
           docker run --rm scalr/runner:sha-${{ github.sha }} -xc 'kubectl version --client'
-          docker run --rm scalr/runner:sha-${{ github.sha }} -xc 'scalr -version'
\ No newline at end of file
+          docker run --rm scalr/runner:sha-${{ github.sha }} -xc 'scalr -version'
+          docker run --rm scalr/runner:sha-${{ github.sha }} -xc 'python --version'
+          docker run --rm scalr/runner:sha-${{ github.sha }} -xc 'pip --version'
+          docker run --rm scalr/runner:sha-${{ github.sha }} -xc 'pip install requests'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index 7a2e7d9..9d35604 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "aws_cli=$(grep aws_cli versions | cut -d= -f2)" | tee -a $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "azure_cli=$(grep azure_cli versions | cut -d= -f2)" | tee -a $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "scalr_cli=$(grep scalr_cli versions | cut -d= -f2)" | tee -a $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "python=$(grep python versions | cut -d= -f2)" | tee -a $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
       - name: Format Image Tag
         id: image_tag
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ jobs:
             AWS_CLI_VERSION=${{ steps.versions.outputs.aws_cli }}
             AZURE_CLI_VERSION=${{ steps.versions.outputs.azure_cli }}
             SCALR_CLI_VERSION=${{ steps.versions.outputs.scalr_cli }}
+            PYTHON_VERSION=${{ steps.versions.outputs.python }}
           platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64
           cache-from: type=registry,ref=scalr/runner:buildcache
           cache-to: type=registry,ref=scalr/runner:buildcache
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d8c659c..ed26096 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -24,6 +24,4 @@
 
 - SCALRCORE-34486 \> Basic Repository Setup [\#1](https://github.com/Scalr/runner/pull/1) ([artemvang](https://github.com/artemvang))
 
-
-
 \* *This Changelog was automatically generated by [github_changelog_generator](https://github.com/github-changelog-generator/github-changelog-generator)*
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 78030a5..d139907 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ RUN <<EOT
     git-core git-lfs openssh-client \
     jq \
     gnupg \
-    python3 python3-pip python3-setuptools python3-wheel \
     zip unzip \
     lsb-release
   [ "${TARGETARCH}" = "amd64" ] && SESSION_MANAGER_ARCH="64bit" || SESSION_MANAGER_ARCH="arm64"
@@ -32,9 +31,39 @@ RUN <<EOT
   find /usr -name __pycache__ -type d -exec rm -rf {} +
 EOT
 
-# This effectively makes `pip install --break-system-packages ...` the default, allowing
-# to install packages system-wide without needing to initialize a virtual environment.
-ENV PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES=1
+# Install python standalone build.
+ARG PYTHON_VERSION
+LABEL python.version=${PYTHON_VERSION}
+ENV PIP_ROOT_USER_ACTION=ignore
+RUN <<EOT
+  # See: https://gregoryszorc.com/docs/python-build-standalone/main/running.html#extracting-distributions
+  export VERSION="${PYTHON_VERSION}"
+  export RELEASE="20250517"
+  apt-get update -y
+  apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends zstd binutils
+  [ "${TARGETARCH}" = "amd64" ] && export OPTIONS="x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu-pgo+lto-full"
+  [ "${TARGETARCH}" = "arm64" ] && export OPTIONS="aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu-lto-full"
+  curl -L -o python.tar.zst "https://github.com/astral-sh/python-build-standalone/releases/download/${RELEASE}/cpython-${VERSION}+${RELEASE}-${OPTIONS}.tar.zst"
+  tar --zstd -xf python.tar.zst
+  cp -rp python/install/* /usr
+  rm python.tar.zst
+  rm -rf python
+  # Strip debug symbols from shared libraries.
+  strip -d /usr/lib/libpython3.13.so
+  # Remove unneeded packages.
+  rm -rf /usr/lib/Tix* /usr/lib/tcl* /usr/lib/tk* /usr/lib/itcl* /usr/lib/thread*
+  rm -rf /usr/lib/libpython3.13.a
+  rm -rf "/usr/lib/python3.13/config-3.13-$(uname -m)-linux-gnu"
+  rm -rf /usr/lib/python3.13/ensurepip
+  rm -rf /usr/lib/python3.13/tkinker
+  rm -rf /usr/lib/python3.13/test
+  # Cleanup.
+  apt-get remove -y zstd binutils
+  apt-get clean
+  apt-get autoremove -y
+  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+  find /usr -name __pycache__ -type d -exec rm -rf {} +
+EOT
 
 # Kubectl
 ARG KUBECTL_VERSION
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2b707fc..aa6ff11 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 
 This is the Git repo of the official runner image.
 
-The image is based on the [`debian:trixie-slim`](https://hub.docker.com/_/debian),
-and contains the following software:
+The image is based on the [`debian:trixie-slim`](https://hub.docker.com/_/debian).
 
 ## Included Tools
 
@@ -33,17 +32,22 @@ This environment comes pre-equipped with a comprehensive suite of tools essentia
   * Kubectl ([0.33.1](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubectl/releases/tag/v0.33.1)) - Kubernetes CLI.
   * Scalr CLI ([0.17.1](https://github.com/Scalr/scalr-cli/releases/tag/v0.17.1)) - The command-line to communicate with the Scalr API.
 
-The versions for Cloud Clients, Kubectl, and Scalr CLI are specifically pinned and detailed in the [versions](./versions) file. All other software included in this environment is sourced directly from the Debian Trixie upstream repositories.
+The versions for Python, Cloud Clients, Kubectl, and Scalr CLI are specifically pinned and detailed in the [versions](./versions) file. All other software included in this environment is sourced directly from the Debian Trixie upstream repositories.
+
+## Python Distribution
+
+The environment uses the [standalone Python build](https://github.com/astral-sh/python-build-standalone) provided by the [astral.sh](https://astral.sh/) team.
 
 ## Runner Image Building
 
 ```bash
 docker buildx build \
+  --build-arg PYTHON_VERSION=3.13.3 \
   --build-arg KUBECTL_VERSION=v1.33.1 \
   --build-arg GCLOUD_VERSION=525.0.0 \
   --build-arg AWS_CLI_VERSION=2.27.1 \
   --build-arg AZURE_CLI_VERSION=2.71.0 \
   --build-arg SCALR_CLI_VERSION=0.17.1 \
   --platform linux/amd64 \
-  -t runner:latest --load .
+  -t scalr/runner:latest --load .
 ```
diff --git a/versions b/versions
index 18fd987..9aa5d68 100644
--- a/versions
+++ b/versions
@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@ gcloud=525.0.0
 aws_cli=2.27.32
 azure_cli=2.74.0
 scalr_cli=0.17.1
+python=3.13.3