diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml
index e6494ba6a..4f1e78f33 100644
--- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug-report.yml
@@ -21,10 +21,11 @@ body:
         - label: Consider asking first in the [Gitter chat room](https://gitter.im/pybind/Lobby) or in a [Discussion](https:/pybind/pybind11/discussions/new).
           required: false
 
-  - type: Input
+  - type: input
     id: version
     attributes:
       label: What version (or hash if on master) of pybind11 are you using?
+    validations:
       required: true
 
   - type: textarea
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ body:
         starting point for working out fixes.
       render: text
 
-  - type: Input
+  - type: input
     id: regression
     attributes:
       label: Is this a regression? Put the last known working version here if it is.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pip.yml b/.github/workflows/pip.yml
index fb181d2ed..9c7614999 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pip.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pip.yml
@@ -99,13 +99,13 @@ jobs:
     - uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
 
     - name: Publish standard package
-      uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@v1.5.1
+      uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@v1.5.2
       with:
         password: ${{ secrets.pypi_password }}
         packages_dir: standard/
 
     - name: Publish global package
-      uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@v1.5.1
+      uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@v1.5.2
       with:
         password: ${{ secrets.pypi_password_global }}
         packages_dir: global/
diff --git a/include/pybind11/cast.h b/include/pybind11/cast.h
index eb1199893..ee6ab1292 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/cast.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/cast.h
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@
 #endif
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
+
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
+
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(detail)
 
 #ifndef PYBIND11_USE_SMART_HOLDER_AS_DEFAULT
@@ -419,7 +422,7 @@ struct string_caster {
 
         // For UTF-8 we avoid the need for a temporary `bytes` object by using
         // `PyUnicode_AsUTF8AndSize`.
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(UTF_N == 8)) {
+        if (UTF_N == 8) {
             Py_ssize_t size = -1;
             const auto *buffer
                 = reinterpret_cast<const CharT *>(PyUnicode_AsUTF8AndSize(load_src.ptr(), &size));
@@ -446,7 +449,7 @@ struct string_caster {
             = reinterpret_cast<const CharT *>(PYBIND11_BYTES_AS_STRING(utfNbytes.ptr()));
         size_t length = (size_t) PYBIND11_BYTES_SIZE(utfNbytes.ptr()) / sizeof(CharT);
         // Skip BOM for UTF-16/32
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(UTF_N > 8)) {
+        if (UTF_N > 8) {
             buffer++;
             length--;
         }
@@ -606,7 +609,7 @@ public:
         // figure out how long the first encoded character is in bytes to distinguish between these
         // two errors.  We also allow want to allow unicode characters U+0080 through U+00FF, as
         // those can fit into a single char value.
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(StringCaster::UTF_N == 8) && str_len > 1 && str_len <= 4) {
+        if (StringCaster::UTF_N == 8 && str_len > 1 && str_len <= 4) {
             auto v0 = static_cast<unsigned char>(value[0]);
             // low bits only: 0-127
             // 0b110xxxxx - start of 2-byte sequence
@@ -632,7 +635,7 @@ public:
         // UTF-16 is much easier: we can only have a surrogate pair for values above U+FFFF, thus a
         // surrogate pair with total length 2 instantly indicates a range error (but not a "your
         // string was too long" error).
-        else if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(StringCaster::UTF_N == 16) && str_len == 2) {
+        else if (StringCaster::UTF_N == 16 && str_len == 2) {
             one_char = static_cast<CharT>(value[0]);
             if (one_char >= 0xD800 && one_char < 0xE000) {
                 throw value_error("Character code point not in range(0x10000)");
diff --git a/include/pybind11/detail/common.h b/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
index 6c594ab70..fbd4b4080 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
@@ -17,8 +17,69 @@
 // Additional convention: 0xD = dev
 #define PYBIND11_VERSION_HEX 0x020B00D1
 
-#define PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(name) namespace name {
-#define PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(name) }
+// Define some generic pybind11 helper macros for warning management.
+//
+// Note that compiler-specific push/pop pairs are baked into the
+// PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN/PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END pair of macros. Therefore manual
+// PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH/PYBIND11_WARNING_POP are usually only needed in `#include` sections.
+//
+// If you find you need to suppress a warning, please try to make the suppression as local as
+// possible using these macros. Please also be sure to push/pop with the pybind11 macros. Please
+// only use compiler specifics if you need to check specific versions, e.g. Apple Clang vs. vanilla
+// Clang.
+#if defined(_MSC_VER)
+#    define PYBIND11_COMPILER_MSVC
+#    define PYBIND11_PRAGMA(...) __pragma(__VA_ARGS__)
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH PYBIND11_PRAGMA(warning(push))
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_POP PYBIND11_PRAGMA(warning(pop))
+#elif defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
+#    define PYBIND11_COMPILER_INTEL
+#    define PYBIND11_PRAGMA(...) _Pragma(#    __VA_ARGS__)
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH PYBIND11_PRAGMA(warning push)
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_POP PYBIND11_PRAGMA(warning pop)
+#elif defined(__clang__)
+#    define PYBIND11_COMPILER_CLANG
+#    define PYBIND11_PRAGMA(...) _Pragma(#    __VA_ARGS__)
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH PYBIND11_PRAGMA(clang diagnostic push)
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_POP PYBIND11_PRAGMA(clang diagnostic push)
+#elif defined(__GNUC__)
+#    define PYBIND11_COMPILER_GCC
+#    define PYBIND11_PRAGMA(...) _Pragma(#    __VA_ARGS__)
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH PYBIND11_PRAGMA(GCC diagnostic push)
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_POP PYBIND11_PRAGMA(GCC diagnostic pop)
+#endif
+
+#ifdef PYBIND11_COMPILER_MSVC
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(name) PYBIND11_PRAGMA(warning(disable : name))
+#else
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(name)
+#endif
+
+#ifdef PYBIND11_COMPILER_CLANG
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_CLANG(name) PYBIND11_PRAGMA(clang diagnostic ignored name)
+#else
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_CLANG(name)
+#endif
+
+#ifdef PYBIND11_COMPILER_GCC
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC(name) PYBIND11_PRAGMA(GCC diagnostic ignored name)
+#else
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC(name)
+#endif
+
+#ifdef PYBIND11_COMPILER_INTEL
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_INTEL(name) PYBIND11_PRAGMA(warning disable name)
+#else
+#    define PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_INTEL(name)
+#endif
+
+#define PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(name)                                                            \
+    namespace name {                                                                              \
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+
+#define PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(name)                                                              \
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_POP                                                                          \
+    }
 
 // Robust support for some features and loading modules compiled against different pybind versions
 // requires forcing hidden visibility on pybind code, so we enforce this by setting the attribute
@@ -151,9 +212,9 @@
 
 /// Include Python header, disable linking to pythonX_d.lib on Windows in debug mode
 #if defined(_MSC_VER)
-#    pragma warning(push)
+PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4505)
 // C4505: 'PySlice_GetIndicesEx': unreferenced local function has been removed (PyPy only)
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4505)
 #    if defined(_DEBUG) && !defined(Py_DEBUG)
 // Workaround for a VS 2022 issue.
 // NOTE: This workaround knowingly violates the Python.h include order requirement:
@@ -236,7 +297,7 @@
 #        define _DEBUG
 #        undef PYBIND11_DEBUG_MARKER
 #    endif
-#    pragma warning(pop)
+PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
 #endif
 
 #include <cstddef>
@@ -1160,17 +1221,6 @@ constexpr
 #    define PYBIND11_WORKAROUND_INCORRECT_GCC_UNUSED_BUT_SET_PARAMETER(...)
 #endif
 
-#if defined(_MSC_VER) // All versions (as of July 2021).
-
-// warning C4127: Conditional expression is constant
-constexpr inline bool silence_msvc_c4127(bool cond) { return cond; }
-
-#    define PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(...) ::pybind11::detail::silence_msvc_c4127(__VA_ARGS__)
-
-#else
-#    define PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(...) __VA_ARGS__
-#endif
-
 #if defined(__clang__)                                                                            \
     && (defined(__apple_build_version__) /* AppleClang 13.0.0.13000029 was the only data point    \
                                             available. */                                         \
diff --git a/include/pybind11/detail/init.h b/include/pybind11/detail/init.h
index 96db75cff..8e679295e 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/detail/init.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/detail/init.h
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@
 #include "smart_holder_sfinae_hooks_only.h"
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
+
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
+
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(detail)
 
 template <>
@@ -116,7 +119,7 @@ template <typename Class>
 void construct(value_and_holder &v_h, Cpp<Class> *ptr, bool need_alias) {
     PYBIND11_WORKAROUND_INCORRECT_MSVC_C4100(need_alias);
     no_nullptr(ptr);
-    if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(Class::has_alias) && need_alias && !is_alias<Class>(ptr)) {
+    if (Class::has_alias && need_alias && !is_alias<Class>(ptr)) {
         // We're going to try to construct an alias by moving the cpp type.  Whether or not
         // that succeeds, we still need to destroy the original cpp pointer (either the
         // moved away leftover, if the alias construction works, or the value itself if we
@@ -162,7 +165,7 @@ void construct(value_and_holder &v_h, Holder<Class> holder, bool need_alias) {
     auto *ptr = holder_helper<Holder<Class>>::get(holder);
     no_nullptr(ptr);
     // If we need an alias, check that the held pointer is actually an alias instance
-    if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(Class::has_alias) && need_alias && !is_alias<Class>(ptr)) {
+    if (Class::has_alias && need_alias && !is_alias<Class>(ptr)) {
         throw type_error("pybind11::init(): construction failed: returned holder-wrapped instance "
                          "is not an alias instance");
     }
@@ -180,7 +183,7 @@ void construct(value_and_holder &v_h, Cpp<Class> &&result, bool need_alias) {
     PYBIND11_WORKAROUND_INCORRECT_MSVC_C4100(need_alias);
     static_assert(std::is_move_constructible<Cpp<Class>>::value,
                   "pybind11::init() return-by-value factory function requires a movable class");
-    if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(Class::has_alias) && need_alias) {
+    if (Class::has_alias && need_alias) {
         construct_alias_from_cpp<Class>(is_alias_constructible<Class>{}, v_h, std::move(result));
     } else {
         v_h.value_ptr() = new Cpp<Class>(std::move(result));
diff --git a/include/pybind11/detail/internals.h b/include/pybind11/detail/internals.h
index 35a10d0de..93ae66b47 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/detail/internals.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/detail/internals.h
@@ -479,9 +479,6 @@ PYBIND11_NOINLINE internals &get_internals() {
         internals_ptr = new internals();
 #if defined(WITH_THREAD)
 
-#    if PY_VERSION_HEX < 0x03090000
-        PyEval_InitThreads();
-#    endif
         PyThreadState *tstate = PyThreadState_Get();
         if (!PYBIND11_TLS_KEY_CREATE(internals_ptr->tstate)) {
             pybind11_fail("get_internals: could not successfully initialize the tstate TSS key!");
diff --git a/include/pybind11/eigen/matrix.h b/include/pybind11/eigen/matrix.h
index 10433dd91..859c7d1a6 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/eigen/matrix.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/eigen/matrix.h
@@ -16,29 +16,15 @@
        https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2579576/i-dir-vs-isystem-dir
        https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1741816/isystem-for-ms-visual-studio-c-compiler
 */
-// The C4127 suppression was introduced for Eigen 3.4.0. In theory we could
-// make it version specific, or even remove it later, but considering that
-// 1. C4127 is generally far more distracting than useful for modern template code, and
-// 2. we definitely want to ignore any MSVC warnings originating from Eigen code,
-//    it is probably best to keep this around indefinitely.
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-#    pragma warning(push)
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4127) // C4127: conditional expression is constant
-#    pragma warning(disable : 5054) // https://github.com/pybind/pybind11/pull/3741
+PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(5054) // https://github.com/pybind/pybind11/pull/3741
 //       C5054: operator '&': deprecated between enumerations of different types
-#elif defined(__MINGW32__)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wmaybe-uninitialized"
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC("-Wmaybe-uninitialized")
 
 #include <Eigen/Core>
 #include <Eigen/SparseCore>
 
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-#    pragma warning(pop)
-#elif defined(__MINGW32__)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
 
 // Eigen prior to 3.2.7 doesn't have proper move constructors--but worse, some classes get implicit
 // move constructors that break things.  We could detect this an explicitly copy, but an extra copy
@@ -48,6 +34,8 @@ static_assert(EIGEN_VERSION_AT_LEAST(3, 2, 7),
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
 
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
+
 // Provide a convenience alias for easier pass-by-ref usage with fully dynamic strides:
 using EigenDStride = Eigen::Stride<Eigen::Dynamic, Eigen::Dynamic>;
 template <typename MatrixType>
@@ -189,8 +177,7 @@ struct EigenProps {
             EigenIndex np_rows = a.shape(0), np_cols = a.shape(1),
                        np_rstride = a.strides(0) / static_cast<ssize_t>(sizeof(Scalar)),
                        np_cstride = a.strides(1) / static_cast<ssize_t>(sizeof(Scalar));
-            if ((PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(fixed_rows) && np_rows != rows)
-                || (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(fixed_cols) && np_cols != cols)) {
+            if ((fixed_rows && np_rows != rows) || (fixed_cols && np_cols != cols)) {
                 return false;
             }
 
@@ -203,7 +190,7 @@ struct EigenProps {
                          stride = a.strides(0) / static_cast<ssize_t>(sizeof(Scalar));
 
         if (vector) { // Eigen type is a compile-time vector
-            if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(fixed) && size != n) {
+            if (fixed && size != n) {
                 return false; // Vector size mismatch
             }
             return {rows == 1 ? 1 : n, cols == 1 ? 1 : n, stride};
@@ -220,7 +207,7 @@ struct EigenProps {
             }
             return {1, n, stride};
         } // Otherwise it's either fully dynamic, or column dynamic; both become a column vector
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(fixed_rows) && rows != n) {
+        if (fixed_rows && rows != n) {
             return false;
         }
         return {n, 1, stride};
diff --git a/include/pybind11/eigen/tensor.h b/include/pybind11/eigen/tensor.h
index 343e31b80..325a496b3 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/eigen/tensor.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/eigen/tensor.h
@@ -13,28 +13,23 @@
 static_assert(__GNUC__ > 5, "Eigen Tensor support in pybind11 requires GCC > 5.0");
 #endif
 
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-#    pragma warning(push)
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4554) // Tensor.h warning
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4127) // Tensor.h warning
-#elif defined(__MINGW32__)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wmaybe-uninitialized"
-#endif
+// Disable warnings for Eigen
+PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4554)
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC("-Wmaybe-uninitialized")
 
 #include <unsupported/Eigen/CXX11/Tensor>
 
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-#    pragma warning(pop)
-#elif defined(__MINGW32__)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
 
 static_assert(EIGEN_VERSION_AT_LEAST(3, 3, 0),
               "Eigen Tensor support in pybind11 requires Eigen >= 3.3.0");
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
 
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
+
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(detail)
 
 inline bool is_tensor_aligned(const void *data) {
@@ -138,10 +133,8 @@ struct get_tensor_descriptor {
 //
 // We need to disable the type-limits warning for the inner loop when size = 0.
 
-#if defined(__GNUC__)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wtype-limits"
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC("-Wtype-limits")
 
 template <typename T, int size>
 std::vector<T> convert_dsizes_to_vector(const Eigen::DSizes<T, size> &arr) {
@@ -165,9 +158,7 @@ Eigen::DSizes<T, size> get_shape_for_array(const array &arr) {
     return result;
 }
 
-#if defined(__GNUC__)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
 
 template <typename Type>
 struct type_caster<Type, typename eigen_tensor_helper<Type>::ValidType> {
@@ -393,7 +384,7 @@ struct type_caster<Eigen::TensorMap<Type, Options>,
 
         constexpr bool is_aligned = (Options & Eigen::Aligned) != 0;
 
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(is_aligned) && !is_tensor_aligned(arr.data())) {
+        if (is_aligned && !is_tensor_aligned(arr.data())) {
             return false;
         }
 
@@ -403,7 +394,7 @@ struct type_caster<Eigen::TensorMap<Type, Options>,
             return false;
         }
 
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(needs_writeable) && !arr.writeable()) {
+        if (needs_writeable && !arr.writeable()) {
             return false;
         }
 
diff --git a/include/pybind11/embed.h b/include/pybind11/embed.h
index 0ac609e0f..749c75beb 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/embed.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/embed.h
@@ -86,38 +86,26 @@ inline wchar_t *widen_chars(const char *safe_arg) {
     return widened_arg;
 }
 
-PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(detail)
-
-/** \rst
-    Initialize the Python interpreter. No other pybind11 or CPython API functions can be
-    called before this is done; with the exception of `PYBIND11_EMBEDDED_MODULE`. The
-    optional `init_signal_handlers` parameter can be used to skip the registration of
-    signal handlers (see the `Python documentation`_ for details). Calling this function
-    again after the interpreter has already been initialized is a fatal error.
-
-    If initializing the Python interpreter fails, then the program is terminated.  (This
-    is controlled by the CPython runtime and is an exception to pybind11's normal behavior
-    of throwing exceptions on errors.)
-
-    The remaining optional parameters, `argc`, `argv`, and `add_program_dir_to_path` are
-    used to populate ``sys.argv`` and ``sys.path``.
-    See the |PySys_SetArgvEx documentation|_ for details.
-
-    .. _Python documentation: https://docs.python.org/3/c-api/init.html#c.Py_InitializeEx
-    .. |PySys_SetArgvEx documentation| replace:: ``PySys_SetArgvEx`` documentation
-    .. _PySys_SetArgvEx documentation: https://docs.python.org/3/c-api/init.html#c.PySys_SetArgvEx
- \endrst */
-inline void initialize_interpreter(bool init_signal_handlers = true,
-                                   int argc = 0,
-                                   const char *const *argv = nullptr,
-                                   bool add_program_dir_to_path = true) {
+inline void precheck_interpreter() {
     if (Py_IsInitialized() != 0) {
         pybind11_fail("The interpreter is already running");
     }
+}
 
-#if PY_VERSION_HEX < 0x030B0000
+#if !defined(PYBIND11_PYCONFIG_SUPPORT_PY_VERSION_HEX)
+#    define PYBIND11_PYCONFIG_SUPPORT_PY_VERSION_HEX (0x03080000)
+#endif
 
+#if PY_VERSION_HEX < PYBIND11_PYCONFIG_SUPPORT_PY_VERSION_HEX
+inline void initialize_interpreter_pre_pyconfig(bool init_signal_handlers,
+                                                int argc,
+                                                const char *const *argv,
+                                                bool add_program_dir_to_path) {
+    detail::precheck_interpreter();
     Py_InitializeEx(init_signal_handlers ? 1 : 0);
+#    if defined(WITH_THREAD) && PY_VERSION_HEX < 0x03070000
+    PyEval_InitThreads();
+#    endif
 
     // Before it was special-cased in python 3.8, passing an empty or null argv
     // caused a segfault, so we have to reimplement the special case ourselves.
@@ -147,26 +135,30 @@ inline void initialize_interpreter(bool init_signal_handlers = true,
     auto *pysys_argv = widened_argv.get();
 
     PySys_SetArgvEx(argc, pysys_argv, static_cast<int>(add_program_dir_to_path));
-#else
-    PyConfig config;
-    PyConfig_InitIsolatedConfig(&config);
-    config.isolated = 0;
-    config.use_environment = 1;
-    config.install_signal_handlers = init_signal_handlers ? 1 : 0;
+}
+#endif
 
-    PyStatus status = PyConfig_SetBytesArgv(&config, argc, const_cast<char *const *>(argv));
-    if (PyStatus_Exception(status)) {
+PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(detail)
+
+#if PY_VERSION_HEX >= PYBIND11_PYCONFIG_SUPPORT_PY_VERSION_HEX
+inline void initialize_interpreter(PyConfig *config,
+                                   int argc = 0,
+                                   const char *const *argv = nullptr,
+                                   bool add_program_dir_to_path = true) {
+    detail::precheck_interpreter();
+    PyStatus status = PyConfig_SetBytesArgv(config, argc, const_cast<char *const *>(argv));
+    if (PyStatus_Exception(status) != 0) {
         // A failure here indicates a character-encoding failure or the python
         // interpreter out of memory. Give up.
-        PyConfig_Clear(&config);
-        throw std::runtime_error(PyStatus_IsError(status) ? status.err_msg
-                                                          : "Failed to prepare CPython");
+        PyConfig_Clear(config);
+        throw std::runtime_error(PyStatus_IsError(status) != 0 ? status.err_msg
+                                                               : "Failed to prepare CPython");
     }
-    status = Py_InitializeFromConfig(&config);
-    PyConfig_Clear(&config);
-    if (PyStatus_Exception(status)) {
-        throw std::runtime_error(PyStatus_IsError(status) ? status.err_msg
-                                                          : "Failed to init CPython");
+    status = Py_InitializeFromConfig(config);
+    if (PyStatus_Exception(status) != 0) {
+        PyConfig_Clear(config);
+        throw std::runtime_error(PyStatus_IsError(status) != 0 ? status.err_msg
+                                                               : "Failed to init CPython");
     }
     if (add_program_dir_to_path) {
         PyRun_SimpleString("import sys, os.path; "
@@ -174,6 +166,43 @@ inline void initialize_interpreter(bool init_signal_handlers = true,
                            "os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(sys.argv[0])) "
                            "if sys.argv and os.path.exists(sys.argv[0]) else '')");
     }
+    PyConfig_Clear(config);
+}
+#endif
+
+/** \rst
+    Initialize the Python interpreter. No other pybind11 or CPython API functions can be
+    called before this is done; with the exception of `PYBIND11_EMBEDDED_MODULE`. The
+    optional `init_signal_handlers` parameter can be used to skip the registration of
+    signal handlers (see the `Python documentation`_ for details). Calling this function
+    again after the interpreter has already been initialized is a fatal error.
+
+    If initializing the Python interpreter fails, then the program is terminated.  (This
+    is controlled by the CPython runtime and is an exception to pybind11's normal behavior
+    of throwing exceptions on errors.)
+
+    The remaining optional parameters, `argc`, `argv`, and `add_program_dir_to_path` are
+    used to populate ``sys.argv`` and ``sys.path``.
+    See the |PySys_SetArgvEx documentation|_ for details.
+
+    .. _Python documentation: https://docs.python.org/3/c-api/init.html#c.Py_InitializeEx
+    .. |PySys_SetArgvEx documentation| replace:: ``PySys_SetArgvEx`` documentation
+    .. _PySys_SetArgvEx documentation: https://docs.python.org/3/c-api/init.html#c.PySys_SetArgvEx
+ \endrst */
+inline void initialize_interpreter(bool init_signal_handlers = true,
+                                   int argc = 0,
+                                   const char *const *argv = nullptr,
+                                   bool add_program_dir_to_path = true) {
+#if PY_VERSION_HEX < PYBIND11_PYCONFIG_SUPPORT_PY_VERSION_HEX
+    detail::initialize_interpreter_pre_pyconfig(
+        init_signal_handlers, argc, argv, add_program_dir_to_path);
+#else
+    PyConfig config;
+    PyConfig_InitIsolatedConfig(&config);
+    config.isolated = 0;
+    config.use_environment = 1;
+    config.install_signal_handlers = init_signal_handlers ? 1 : 0;
+    initialize_interpreter(&config, argc, argv, add_program_dir_to_path);
 #endif
 }
 
@@ -261,6 +290,15 @@ public:
         initialize_interpreter(init_signal_handlers, argc, argv, add_program_dir_to_path);
     }
 
+#if PY_VERSION_HEX >= PYBIND11_PYCONFIG_SUPPORT_PY_VERSION_HEX
+    explicit scoped_interpreter(PyConfig *config,
+                                int argc = 0,
+                                const char *const *argv = nullptr,
+                                bool add_program_dir_to_path = true) {
+        initialize_interpreter(config, argc, argv, add_program_dir_to_path);
+    }
+#endif
+
     scoped_interpreter(const scoped_interpreter &) = delete;
     scoped_interpreter(scoped_interpreter &&other) noexcept { other.is_valid = false; }
     scoped_interpreter &operator=(const scoped_interpreter &) = delete;
diff --git a/include/pybind11/numpy.h b/include/pybind11/numpy.h
index 369e18649..ea64aa7e7 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/numpy.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/numpy.h
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ static_assert(std::is_signed<Py_intptr_t>::value, "Py_intptr_t must be signed");
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
 
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
+
 class array; // Forward declaration
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(detail)
@@ -875,7 +877,7 @@ public:
      */
     template <typename T, ssize_t Dims = -1>
     detail::unchecked_mutable_reference<T, Dims> mutable_unchecked() & {
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(Dims >= 0) && ndim() != Dims) {
+        if (Dims >= 0 && ndim() != Dims) {
             throw std::domain_error("array has incorrect number of dimensions: "
                                     + std::to_string(ndim()) + "; expected "
                                     + std::to_string(Dims));
@@ -893,7 +895,7 @@ public:
      */
     template <typename T, ssize_t Dims = -1>
     detail::unchecked_reference<T, Dims> unchecked() const & {
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(Dims >= 0) && ndim() != Dims) {
+        if (Dims >= 0 && ndim() != Dims) {
             throw std::domain_error("array has incorrect number of dimensions: "
                                     + std::to_string(ndim()) + "; expected "
                                     + std::to_string(Dims));
@@ -1865,9 +1867,10 @@ private:
         }
 
         auto result = returned_array::create(trivial, shape);
+
+        PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
 #ifdef PYBIND11_DETECTED_CLANG_WITH_MISLEADING_CALL_STD_MOVE_EXPLICITLY_WARNING
-#    pragma clang diagnostic push
-#    pragma clang diagnostic ignored "-Wreturn-std-move"
+        PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_CLANG("-Wreturn-std-move")
 #endif
 
         if (size == 0) {
@@ -1883,9 +1886,7 @@ private:
         }
 
         return result;
-#ifdef PYBIND11_DETECTED_CLANG_WITH_MISLEADING_CALL_STD_MOVE_EXPLICITLY_WARNING
-#    pragma clang diagnostic pop
-#endif
+        PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
     }
 
     template <size_t... Index, size_t... VIndex, size_t... BIndex>
diff --git a/include/pybind11/pybind11.h b/include/pybind11/pybind11.h
index b6d394441..84cc114a2 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/pybind11.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/pybind11.h
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@
 #    include <cxxabi.h>
 #endif
 
+PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
+
 /* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46798456/handling-gccs-noexcept-type-warning
    This warning is about ABI compatibility, not code health.
    It is only actually needed in a couple places, but apparently GCC 7 "generates this warning if
@@ -44,11 +46,10 @@
    No other GCC version generates this warning.
  */
 #if defined(__GNUC__) && __GNUC__ == 7
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wnoexcept-type"
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC("-Wnoexcept-type")
 #endif
 
-PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(detail)
 
@@ -178,22 +179,22 @@ protected:
         auto *rec = unique_rec.get();
 
         /* Store the capture object directly in the function record if there is enough space */
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(sizeof(capture) <= sizeof(rec->data))) {
+        if (sizeof(capture) <= sizeof(rec->data)) {
             /* Without these pragmas, GCC warns that there might not be
                enough space to use the placement new operator. However, the
                'if' statement above ensures that this is the case. */
-#if defined(__GNUG__) && __GNUC__ >= 6 && !defined(__clang__) && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wplacement-new"
+            PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+
+#if defined(__GNUG__) && __GNUC__ >= 6
+            PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC("-Wplacement-new")
 #endif
+
             new ((capture *) &rec->data) capture{std::forward<Func>(f)};
-#if defined(__GNUG__) && __GNUC__ >= 6 && !defined(__clang__) && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop
-#endif
-#if defined(__GNUG__) && !PYBIND11_HAS_STD_LAUNDER && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wstrict-aliasing"
+
+#if !PYBIND11_HAS_STD_LAUNDER
+            PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC("-Wstrict-aliasing")
 #endif
+
             // UB without std::launder, but without breaking ABI and/or
             // a significant refactoring it's "impossible" to solve.
             if (!std::is_trivially_destructible<capture>::value) {
@@ -203,9 +204,7 @@ protected:
                     data->~capture();
                 };
             }
-#if defined(__GNUG__) && !PYBIND11_HAS_STD_LAUNDER && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop
-#endif
+            PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
         } else {
             rec->data[0] = new capture{std::forward<Func>(f)};
             rec->free_data = [](function_record *r) { delete ((capture *) r->data[0]); };
@@ -2087,8 +2086,7 @@ private:
         if (holder_ptr) {
             init_holder_from_existing(v_h, holder_ptr, std::is_copy_constructible<holder_type>());
             v_h.set_holder_constructed();
-        } else if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(detail::always_construct_holder<holder_type>::value)
-                   || inst->owned) {
+        } else if (detail::always_construct_holder<holder_type>::value || inst->owned) {
             new (std::addressof(v_h.holder<holder_type>())) holder_type(v_h.value_ptr<type>());
             v_h.set_holder_constructed();
         }
@@ -3131,7 +3129,3 @@ inline function get_overload(const T *this_ptr, const char *name) {
     PYBIND11_OVERRIDE_PURE(PYBIND11_TYPE(ret_type), PYBIND11_TYPE(cname), fn, __VA_ARGS__);
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
-
-#if defined(__GNUC__) && __GNUC__ == 7
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop // -Wnoexcept-type
-#endif
diff --git a/include/pybind11/pytypes.h b/include/pybind11/pytypes.h
index 80b49ec39..f913565d3 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/pytypes.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/pytypes.h
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
 
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
+
 /* A few forward declarations */
 class handle;
 class object;
@@ -884,10 +886,8 @@ object object_or_cast(T &&o);
 // Match a PyObject*, which we want to convert directly to handle via its converting constructor
 inline handle object_or_cast(PyObject *ptr) { return ptr; }
 
-#if defined(_MSC_VER) && _MSC_VER < 1920
-#    pragma warning(push)
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4522) // warning C4522: multiple assignment operators specified
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4522) // warning C4522: multiple assignment operators specified
 template <typename Policy>
 class accessor : public object_api<accessor<Policy>> {
     using key_type = typename Policy::key_type;
@@ -951,9 +951,7 @@ private:
     key_type key;
     mutable object cache;
 };
-#if defined(_MSC_VER) && _MSC_VER < 1920
-#    pragma warning(pop)
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(accessor_policies)
 struct obj_attr {
@@ -1693,7 +1691,7 @@ PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(detail)
 // unsigned type: (A)-1 != (B)-1 when A and B are unsigned types of different sizes).
 template <typename Unsigned>
 Unsigned as_unsigned(PyObject *o) {
-    if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(sizeof(Unsigned) <= sizeof(unsigned long))) {
+    if (sizeof(Unsigned) <= sizeof(unsigned long)) {
         unsigned long v = PyLong_AsUnsignedLong(o);
         return v == (unsigned long) -1 && PyErr_Occurred() ? (Unsigned) -1 : (Unsigned) v;
     }
@@ -1710,7 +1708,7 @@ public:
     template <typename T, detail::enable_if_t<std::is_integral<T>::value, int> = 0>
     // NOLINTNEXTLINE(google-explicit-constructor)
     int_(T value) {
-        if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(sizeof(T) <= sizeof(long))) {
+        if (sizeof(T) <= sizeof(long)) {
             if (std::is_signed<T>::value) {
                 m_ptr = PyLong_FromLong((long) value);
             } else {
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index f5ddb9f12..402fd4b25 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ Adds docstring and exceptions message sanitizers.
 import contextlib
 import difflib
 import gc
+import multiprocessing
+import os
 import re
 import textwrap
 
@@ -15,6 +17,22 @@ import pytest
 # Early diagnostic for failed imports
 import pybind11_tests
 
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session", autouse=True)
+def always_forkserver_on_unix():
+    if os.name == "nt":
+        return
+
+    # Full background: https://github.com/pybind/pybind11/issues/4105#issuecomment-1301004592
+    # In a nutshell: fork() after starting threads == flakiness in the form of deadlocks.
+    # It is actually a well-known pitfall, unfortunately without guard rails.
+    # "forkserver" is more performant than "spawn" (~9s vs ~13s for tests/test_gil_scoped.py,
+    # visit the issuecomment link above for details).
+    # Windows does not have fork() and the associated pitfall, therefore it is best left
+    # running with defaults.
+    multiprocessing.set_start_method("forkserver")
+
+
 _long_marker = re.compile(r"([0-9])L")
 _hexadecimal = re.compile(r"0x[0-9a-fA-F]+")
 
diff --git a/tests/test_builtin_casters.cpp b/tests/test_builtin_casters.cpp
index e0d1eaaa5..64843162d 100644
--- a/tests/test_builtin_casters.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_builtin_casters.cpp
@@ -80,6 +80,9 @@ PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(detail)
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(pybind11)
 
 TEST_SUBMODULE(builtin_casters, m) {
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
+
     // test_simple_string
     m.def("string_roundtrip", [](const char *s) { return s; });
 
@@ -93,7 +96,7 @@ TEST_SUBMODULE(builtin_casters, m) {
     std::wstring wstr;
     wstr.push_back(0x61);   // a
     wstr.push_back(0x2e18); // ⸘
-    if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(sizeof(wchar_t) == 2)) {
+    if (sizeof(wchar_t) == 2) {
         wstr.push_back(mathbfA16_1);
         wstr.push_back(mathbfA16_2);
     } // 𝐀, utf16
@@ -120,7 +123,7 @@ TEST_SUBMODULE(builtin_casters, m) {
     // Under Python 2.7, invalid unicode UTF-32 characters didn't appear to trigger
     // UnicodeDecodeError
     m.def("bad_utf32_string", [=]() { return std::u32string({a32, char32_t(0xd800), z32}); });
-    if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(sizeof(wchar_t) == 2)) {
+    if (sizeof(wchar_t) == 2) {
         m.def("bad_wchar_string", [=]() {
             return std::wstring({wchar_t(0x61), wchar_t(0xd800)});
         });
@@ -415,4 +418,6 @@ TEST_SUBMODULE(builtin_casters, m) {
         []() { return std::string_view("\xba\xd0\xba\xd0"); },
         py::return_value_policy::_return_as_bytes);
 #endif
+
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_class.cpp b/tests/test_class.cpp
index c8a08a65f..f4abfab43 100644
--- a/tests/test_class.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_class.cpp
@@ -22,10 +22,8 @@
 
 #include <utility>
 
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4324)
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4324)
 //     warning C4324: structure was padded due to alignment specifier
-#endif
 
 namespace {
 
diff --git a/tests/test_constants_and_functions.cpp b/tests/test_constants_and_functions.cpp
index 1918a429c..922375c5e 100644
--- a/tests/test_constants_and_functions.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_constants_and_functions.cpp
@@ -52,15 +52,12 @@ int f1(int x) noexcept { return x + 1; }
 #endif
 int f2(int x) noexcept(true) { return x + 2; }
 int f3(int x) noexcept(false) { return x + 3; }
-#if defined(__GNUG__) && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wdeprecated"
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC("-Wdeprecated")
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_CLANG("-Wdeprecated")
 // NOLINTNEXTLINE(modernize-use-noexcept)
 int f4(int x) throw() { return x + 4; } // Deprecated equivalent to noexcept(true)
-#if defined(__GNUG__) && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
 struct C {
     int m1(int x) noexcept { return x - 1; }
     int m2(int x) const noexcept { return x - 2; }
@@ -68,17 +65,14 @@ struct C {
     int m4(int x) const noexcept(true) { return x - 4; }
     int m5(int x) noexcept(false) { return x - 5; }
     int m6(int x) const noexcept(false) { return x - 6; }
-#if defined(__GNUG__) && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wdeprecated"
-#endif
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_GCC("-Wdeprecated")
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_CLANG("-Wdeprecated")
     // NOLINTNEXTLINE(modernize-use-noexcept)
     int m7(int x) throw() { return x - 7; }
     // NOLINTNEXTLINE(modernize-use-noexcept)
     int m8(int x) const throw() { return x - 8; }
-#if defined(__GNUG__) && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop
-#endif
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
 };
 } // namespace test_exc_sp
 
@@ -126,14 +120,12 @@ TEST_SUBMODULE(constants_and_functions, m) {
         .def("m8", &C::m8);
     m.def("f1", f1);
     m.def("f2", f2);
-#if defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma warning push
-#    pragma warning disable 878 // incompatible exception specifications
-#endif
+
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_INTEL(878) // incompatible exception specifications
     m.def("f3", f3);
-#if defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma warning pop
-#endif
+    PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
+
     m.def("f4", f4);
 
     // test_function_record_leaks
diff --git a/tests/test_eigen_matrix.cpp b/tests/test_eigen_matrix.cpp
index 71e41d198..554cc4d7f 100644
--- a/tests/test_eigen_matrix.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_eigen_matrix.cpp
@@ -13,9 +13,7 @@
 #include "constructor_stats.h"
 #include "pybind11_tests.h"
 
-#if defined(_MSC_VER)
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4996) // C4996: std::unary_negation is deprecated
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4996)
 
 #include <Eigen/Cholesky>
 
diff --git a/tests/test_eigen_tensor.inl b/tests/test_eigen_tensor.inl
index 09b35fa13..f46eb1803 100644
--- a/tests/test_eigen_tensor.inl
+++ b/tests/test_eigen_tensor.inl
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@
 
 #include "pybind11_tests.h"
 
-namespace PYBIND11_TEST_EIGEN_TENSOR_NAMESPACE {
+PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_TEST_EIGEN_TENSOR_NAMESPACE)
+
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4127)
 
 template <typename M>
 void reset_tensor(M &x) {
@@ -90,7 +92,7 @@ struct CustomExample {
 template <int Options>
 void init_tensor_module(pybind11::module &m) {
     const char *needed_options = "";
-    if (PYBIND11_SILENCE_MSVC_C4127(Options == Eigen::ColMajor)) {
+    if (Options == Eigen::ColMajor) {
         needed_options = "F";
     } else {
         needed_options = "C";
@@ -330,4 +332,4 @@ void test_module(py::module_ &m) {
     init_tensor_module<Eigen::RowMajor>(c_style);
 }
 
-} // namespace PYBIND11_TEST_EIGEN_TENSOR_NAMESPACE
+PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(PYBIND11_TEST_EIGEN_TENSOR_NAMESPACE)
diff --git a/tests/test_embed/catch.cpp b/tests/test_embed/catch.cpp
index a03a8b37c..558a7a35e 100644
--- a/tests/test_embed/catch.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_embed/catch.cpp
@@ -3,11 +3,9 @@
 
 #include <pybind11/embed.h>
 
-#ifdef _MSC_VER
 // Silence MSVC C++17 deprecation warning from Catch regarding std::uncaught_exceptions (up to
 // catch 2.0.1; this should be fixed in the next catch release after 2.0.1).
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4996)
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4996)
 
 // Catch uses _ internally, which breaks gettext style defines
 #ifdef _
diff --git a/tests/test_embed/test_interpreter.cpp b/tests/test_embed/test_interpreter.cpp
index b983385c3..f48b883a5 100644
--- a/tests/test_embed/test_interpreter.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_embed/test_interpreter.cpp
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 #include <pybind11/embed.h>
 
-#ifdef _MSC_VER
 // Silence MSVC C++17 deprecation warning from Catch regarding std::uncaught_exceptions (up to
 // catch 2.0.1; this should be fixed in the next catch release after 2.0.1).
-#    pragma warning(disable : 4996)
-#endif
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_MSVC(4996)
 
 #include <catch.hpp>
 #include <cstdlib>
@@ -16,6 +14,11 @@
 namespace py = pybind11;
 using namespace py::literals;
 
+size_t get_sys_path_size() {
+    auto sys_path = py::module::import("sys").attr("path");
+    return py::len(sys_path);
+}
+
 class Widget {
 public:
     explicit Widget(std::string message) : message(std::move(message)) {}
@@ -168,6 +171,70 @@ TEST_CASE("There can be only one interpreter") {
     py::initialize_interpreter();
 }
 
+#if PY_VERSION_HEX >= PYBIND11_PYCONFIG_SUPPORT_PY_VERSION_HEX
+TEST_CASE("Custom PyConfig") {
+    py::finalize_interpreter();
+    PyConfig config;
+    PyConfig_InitPythonConfig(&config);
+    REQUIRE_NOTHROW(py::scoped_interpreter{&config});
+    {
+        py::scoped_interpreter p{&config};
+        REQUIRE(py::module_::import("widget_module").attr("add")(1, 41).cast<int>() == 42);
+    }
+    py::initialize_interpreter();
+}
+
+TEST_CASE("Custom PyConfig with argv") {
+    py::finalize_interpreter();
+    {
+        PyConfig config;
+        PyConfig_InitIsolatedConfig(&config);
+        char *argv[] = {strdup("a.out")};
+        py::scoped_interpreter argv_scope{&config, 1, argv};
+        std::free(argv[0]);
+        auto module = py::module::import("test_interpreter");
+        auto py_widget = module.attr("DerivedWidget")("The question");
+        const auto &cpp_widget = py_widget.cast<const Widget &>();
+        REQUIRE(cpp_widget.argv0() == "a.out");
+    }
+    py::initialize_interpreter();
+}
+#endif
+
+TEST_CASE("Add program dir to path pre-PyConfig") {
+    py::finalize_interpreter();
+    size_t path_size_add_program_dir_to_path_false = 0;
+    {
+        py::scoped_interpreter scoped_interp{true, 0, nullptr, false};
+        path_size_add_program_dir_to_path_false = get_sys_path_size();
+    }
+    {
+        py::scoped_interpreter scoped_interp{};
+        REQUIRE(get_sys_path_size() == path_size_add_program_dir_to_path_false + 1);
+    }
+    py::initialize_interpreter();
+}
+
+#if PY_VERSION_HEX >= PYBIND11_PYCONFIG_SUPPORT_PY_VERSION_HEX
+TEST_CASE("Add program dir to path using PyConfig") {
+    py::finalize_interpreter();
+    size_t path_size_add_program_dir_to_path_false = 0;
+    {
+        PyConfig config;
+        PyConfig_InitPythonConfig(&config);
+        py::scoped_interpreter scoped_interp{&config, 0, nullptr, false};
+        path_size_add_program_dir_to_path_false = get_sys_path_size();
+    }
+    {
+        PyConfig config;
+        PyConfig_InitPythonConfig(&config);
+        py::scoped_interpreter scoped_interp{&config};
+        REQUIRE(get_sys_path_size() == path_size_add_program_dir_to_path_false + 1);
+    }
+    py::initialize_interpreter();
+}
+#endif
+
 bool has_pybind11_internals_builtin() {
     auto builtins = py::handle(PyEval_GetBuiltins());
     return builtins.contains(PYBIND11_INTERNALS_ID);
diff --git a/tests/test_gil_scoped.py b/tests/test_gil_scoped.py
index e890a7b0c..6af6a472d 100644
--- a/tests/test_gil_scoped.py
+++ b/tests/test_gil_scoped.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import time
 
 import pytest
 
+import env
 from pybind11_tests import gil_scoped as m
 
 
@@ -144,7 +145,6 @@ def _intentional_deadlock():
 
 
 ALL_BASIC_TESTS_PLUS_INTENTIONAL_DEADLOCK = ALL_BASIC_TESTS + (_intentional_deadlock,)
-SKIP_IF_DEADLOCK = True  # See PR #4216
 
 
 def _run_in_process(target, *args, **kwargs):
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ def _run_in_process(target, *args, **kwargs):
         elif process.exitcode is None:
             assert t_delta > 0.9 * timeout
             msg = "DEADLOCK, most likely, exactly what this test is meant to detect."
-            if SKIP_IF_DEADLOCK:
+            if env.PYPY and env.WIN:
                 pytest.skip(msg)
             raise RuntimeError(msg)
         return process.exitcode
diff --git a/tests/test_kwargs_and_defaults.cpp b/tests/test_kwargs_and_defaults.cpp
index 2f3cabaf0..77e72c0c7 100644
--- a/tests/test_kwargs_and_defaults.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_kwargs_and_defaults.cpp
@@ -44,14 +44,13 @@ TEST_SUBMODULE(kwargs_and_defaults, m) {
 
     // test_args_and_kwargs
     m.def("args_function", [](py::args args) -> py::tuple {
+        PYBIND11_WARNING_PUSH
+
 #ifdef PYBIND11_DETECTED_CLANG_WITH_MISLEADING_CALL_STD_MOVE_EXPLICITLY_WARNING
-#    pragma clang diagnostic push
-#    pragma clang diagnostic ignored "-Wreturn-std-move"
+        PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_CLANG("-Wreturn-std-move")
 #endif
         return args;
-#ifdef PYBIND11_DETECTED_CLANG_WITH_MISLEADING_CALL_STD_MOVE_EXPLICITLY_WARNING
-#    pragma clang diagnostic pop
-#endif
+        PYBIND11_WARNING_POP
     });
     m.def("args_kwargs_function", [](const py::args &args, const py::kwargs &kwargs) {
         return py::make_tuple(args, kwargs);
diff --git a/tests/test_operator_overloading.cpp b/tests/test_operator_overloading.cpp
index a4b895a89..112a363b4 100644
--- a/tests/test_operator_overloading.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_operator_overloading.cpp
@@ -132,22 +132,18 @@ struct hash<HashMe> {
 // Not a good abs function, but easy to test.
 std::string abs(const Vector2 &) { return "abs(Vector2)"; }
 
-// MSVC & Intel warns about unknown pragmas, and warnings are errors.
-#if !defined(_MSC_VER) && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic push
 // clang 7.0.0 and Apple LLVM 10.0.1 introduce `-Wself-assign-overloaded` to
 // `-Wall`, which is used here for overloading (e.g. `py::self += py::self `).
-// Here, we suppress the warning using `#pragma diagnostic`.
+// Here, we suppress the warning
 // Taken from: https://github.com/RobotLocomotion/drake/commit/aaf84b46
 // TODO(eric): This could be resolved using a function / functor (e.g. `py::self()`).
-#    if defined(__APPLE__) && defined(__clang__)
-#        if (__clang_major__ >= 10)
-#            pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wself-assign-overloaded"
-#        endif
-#    elif defined(__clang__)
-#        if (__clang_major__ >= 7)
-#            pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wself-assign-overloaded"
-#        endif
+#if defined(__APPLE__) && defined(__clang__)
+#    if (__clang_major__ >= 10)
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_CLANG("-Wself-assign-overloaded")
+#    endif
+#elif defined(__clang__)
+#    if (__clang_major__ >= 7)
+PYBIND11_WARNING_DISABLE_CLANG("-Wself-assign-overloaded")
 #    endif
 #endif
 
@@ -283,6 +279,3 @@ TEST_SUBMODULE(operators, m) {
 
     m.def("get_unhashable_HashMe_set", []() { return std::unordered_set<HashMe>{{"one"}}; });
 }
-#if !defined(_MSC_VER) && !defined(__INTEL_COMPILER)
-#    pragma GCC diagnostic pop
-#endif