diff --git a/Doc/howto/argparse.rst b/Doc/howto/argparse.rst
index 1efbee64d60bb3..4bca472d822262 100644
--- a/Doc/howto/argparse.rst
+++ b/Doc/howto/argparse.rst
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ recommended command-line parsing module in the Python standard library.
 
    There are two other modules that fulfill the same task, namely
    :mod:`getopt` (an equivalent for ``getopt()`` from the C
-   language) and the deprecated :mod:`optparse`.
+   language) and the lower level :mod:`optparse` module.
    Note also that :mod:`argparse` is based on :mod:`optparse`,
    and therefore very similar in terms of usage.
 
diff --git a/Doc/library/allos.rst b/Doc/library/allos.rst
index 0223c1054ea5d8..1aed340b2527ac 100644
--- a/Doc/library/allos.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/allos.rst
@@ -15,14 +15,9 @@ but they are available on most other systems as well.  Here's an overview:
    os.rst
    io.rst
    time.rst
-   argparse.rst
    logging.rst
    logging.config.rst
    logging.handlers.rst
-   getpass.rst
-   curses.rst
-   curses.ascii.rst
-   curses.panel.rst
    platform.rst
    errno.rst
    ctypes.rst
diff --git a/Doc/library/argparse.rst b/Doc/library/argparse.rst
index 7638798ca2552f..522d1572c89178 100644
--- a/Doc/library/argparse.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/argparse.rst
@@ -11,6 +11,18 @@
 
 **Source code:** :source:`Lib/argparse.py`
 
+.. note::
+
+   While :mod:`argparse` is the recommended standard library module for
+   *implementing* basic command line applications, authors of third party
+   command line argument processing libraries may find that the
+   lower level :mod:`optparse` module serves as a better foundation for
+   that use case. ``optparse`` (or one of the third party libraries
+   based on it) may also be worth considering for applications where
+   stricter adherence to common Unix and Linux command line interface
+   conventions around the handling of option parameter values that start
+   with ``-`` is desired.
+
 --------------
 
 .. sidebar:: Tutorial
diff --git a/Doc/library/cmdlinelibs.rst b/Doc/library/cmdlinelibs.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..085d31af7bca1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Doc/library/cmdlinelibs.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+.. _cmdlinelibs:
+
+********************************
+Command Line Interface Libraries
+********************************
+
+The modules described in this chapter assist with implementing
+command line and terminal interfaces for applications.
+
+Here's an overview:
+
+.. toctree::
+   :maxdepth: 1
+
+   argparse.rst
+   optparse.rst
+   getpass.rst
+   fileinput.rst
+   curses.rst
+   curses.ascii.rst
+   curses.panel.rst
diff --git a/Doc/library/filesys.rst b/Doc/library/filesys.rst
index 0ccf2b7bf59a0f..f1ea4761af7cb1 100644
--- a/Doc/library/filesys.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/filesys.rst
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ in this chapter is:
 
    pathlib.rst
    os.path.rst
-   fileinput.rst
    stat.rst
    filecmp.rst
    tempfile.rst
diff --git a/Doc/library/getopt.rst b/Doc/library/getopt.rst
index d43d3250732306..e3f88df74a1d3b 100644
--- a/Doc/library/getopt.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/getopt.rst
@@ -7,11 +7,6 @@
 
 **Source code:** :source:`Lib/getopt.py`
 
-.. deprecated:: 3.13
-   The :mod:`getopt` module is :term:`soft deprecated` and will not be
-   developed further; development will continue with the :mod:`argparse`
-   module.
-
 .. note::
 
    The :mod:`getopt` module is a parser for command line options whose API is
@@ -144,13 +139,25 @@ In a script, typical usage is something like this::
                output = a
            else:
                assert False, "unhandled option"
-       # ...
+       process(args, output=output, verbose=verbose)
 
    if __name__ == "__main__":
        main()
 
 Note that an equivalent command line interface could be produced with less code
-and more informative help and error messages by using the :mod:`argparse` module::
+and more informative help and error messages by using the :mod:`optparse` module::
+
+   import optparse
+
+   if __name__ == '__main__':
+       parser = optparse.OptionParser()
+       parser.add_option('-o', '--output')
+       parser.add_option('-v', dest='verbose', action='store_true')
+       opts, args = parser.parse_args()
+       process(args, output=opts.output, verbose=opts.verbose)
+
+An equivalent command line interface for this simple case can also be produced
+by using the :mod:`argparse` module::
 
    import argparse
 
@@ -162,8 +169,15 @@ and more informative help and error messages by using the :mod:`argparse` module
        # ... do something with args.output ...
        # ... do something with args.verbose ..
 
+In more complex cases (such as options which accept values), the behaviour
+of the ``argparse`` version may diverge from that of the ``getopt`` and
+``optparse`` versions due to the way ``argparse`` handles parameter
+values that start with ``-``.
+
 .. seealso::
 
-   Module :mod:`argparse`
-      Alternative command line option and argument parsing library.
+   Module :mod:`optparse`
+      More object-oriented command line option parsing.
 
+   Module :mod:`argparse`
+      More opinionated command line option and argument parsing library.
diff --git a/Doc/library/index.rst b/Doc/library/index.rst
index 0b348ae6f5c8c0..8ef6a3aadf24ac 100644
--- a/Doc/library/index.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/index.rst
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ the `Python Package Index <https://pypi.org>`_.
    fileformats.rst
    crypto.rst
    allos.rst
+   cmdlinelibs.rst
    concurrency.rst
    ipc.rst
    netdata.rst
diff --git a/Doc/library/optparse.rst b/Doc/library/optparse.rst
index 74a49a8fb33666..ea5fb5c01fd1fb 100644
--- a/Doc/library/optparse.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/optparse.rst
@@ -10,18 +10,47 @@
 
 **Source code:** :source:`Lib/optparse.py`
 
-.. deprecated:: 3.2
-   The :mod:`optparse` module is :term:`soft deprecated` and will not be
-   developed further; development will continue with the :mod:`argparse`
-   module.
+.. note::
+
+   :mod:`argparse` (rather than this module) is the recommended standard
+   library module for implementing command line applications unless one
+   of the following caveats applies:
+
+   * the application requires additional control over the way options and
+     positional parameters are interleaved on the command line (including
+     the ability to disable the interleaving feature completely)
+   * the application requires additional control over the incremental parsing
+     of command line elements (while ``argparse`` does support this, the
+     exact way it works in practice is undesirable for some use cases)
+   * the application requires additional control over the handling of options
+     which accept parameter values that may start with ``-`` (such as delegated
+     options to be passed to invoked subprocesses).
+
+   These ``argparse`` caveats also mean that :mod:`optparse` is likely to
+   provide a better foundation for library authors *writing* third party
+   command line argument processing libraries.
+
+.. seealso::
+
+    The :pypi:`"click" package <click>` is an ``optparse`` based third party
+    argument processing library which allows command line applications to be
+    developed as a set of appropriately decorated command implementation
+    functions.
+
+.. seealso::
+
+    The :pypi:`"Typer" package <click>` is a ``click`` based third party
+    argument processing library which allows the use of annotated Python
+    type hints to define an application's command line interface.
 
 --------------
 
 :mod:`optparse` is a more convenient, flexible, and powerful library for parsing
-command-line options than the old :mod:`getopt` module.  :mod:`optparse` uses a
-more declarative style of command-line parsing: you create an instance of
-:class:`OptionParser`, populate it with options, and parse the command
-line. :mod:`optparse` allows users to specify options in the conventional
+command-line options than the minimalist :mod:`getopt` module.
+:mod:`optparse` uses a more declarative style of command-line parsing:
+you create an instance of :class:`OptionParser`,
+populate it with options, and parse the command line.
+:mod:`optparse` allows users to specify options in the conventional
 GNU/POSIX syntax, and additionally generates usage and help messages for you.
 
 Here's an example of using :mod:`optparse` in a simple script::
diff --git a/Doc/library/superseded.rst b/Doc/library/superseded.rst
index 17bfa66f043302..d120c6acf621e3 100644
--- a/Doc/library/superseded.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/superseded.rst
@@ -4,12 +4,23 @@
 Superseded Modules
 ******************
 
-The modules described in this chapter are deprecated or :term:`soft deprecated` and only kept for
-backwards compatibility. They have been superseded by other modules.
+The modules described in this chapter have been superseded by other modules
+for most use cases, and are retained primarily to preserve backwards compatibility.
 
+Modules may appear in this chapter because they only cover a limited subset of
+a problem space, and a more generally applicable solution is available elsewhere
+in the standard library (for example, :mod:`getopt` covers the very specific
+task of "mimic the C :c:func:`!getopt` API in Python", rather than the broader
+command line option parsing and argument parsing capabilities offered by
+:mod:`optparse` and :mod:`argparse`).
+
+Alternatively, modules may appear in this chapter because they are deprecated
+outright, and awaiting removal in a future release, or they are
+:term:`soft deprecated` and their use is actively discouraged in new projects.
+With the removal of various obsolete modules through :pep:`594`, there are
+currently no modules in this latter category.
 
 .. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 1
 
    getopt.rst
-   optparse.rst
diff --git a/Doc/whatsnew/3.13.rst b/Doc/whatsnew/3.13.rst
index de4c7fd4c0486b..8b0cbd9904aaae 100644
--- a/Doc/whatsnew/3.13.rst
+++ b/Doc/whatsnew/3.13.rst
@@ -1648,6 +1648,18 @@ opcode
   (Contributed by Irit Katriel in :gh:`105481`.)
 
 
+optparse
+--------
+
+* This module is no longer considered :term:`soft deprecated`.
+  While :mod:`argparse` remains preferred for new projects that
+  aren't using a third party command line argument processing
+  library, there are aspects of the way ``argparse`` works that
+  mean the lower level ``optparse`` module may provide a better
+  foundation for *writing* argument processing libraries.
+  (Contributed by Alyssa Coghlan in :gh:`126180`.)
+
+
 pathlib
 -------
 
@@ -1787,14 +1799,6 @@ New Deprecations
     Check membership in :data:`~dis.hasarg` instead.
     (Contributed by Irit Katriel in :gh:`109319`.)
 
-* :mod:`getopt` and :mod:`optparse`:
-
-  * Both modules are now :term:`soft deprecated`,
-    with :mod:`argparse` preferred for new projects.
-    This is a new soft-deprecation for the :mod:`!getopt` module,
-    whereas the :mod:`!optparse` module was already *de facto* soft deprecated.
-    (Contributed by Victor Stinner in :gh:`106535`.)
-
 * :mod:`gettext`:
 
   * Deprecate non-integer numbers as arguments to functions and methods
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2024-10-31-14-31-36.gh-issue-126225.vTxGXm.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2024-10-31-14-31-36.gh-issue-126225.vTxGXm.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..13a1f213c7a58e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2024-10-31-14-31-36.gh-issue-126225.vTxGXm.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+:mod:`getopt` and :mod:`optparse` are no longer marked as deprecated.
+There are legitimate reasons to use one of these modules in preference to
+:mod:`argparse`, and none of these modules are at risk of being removed
+from the standard library. Of the three, ``argparse`` remains the
+recommended default choice, *unless* one of the concerns noted at the top of
+the ``optparse`` module documentation applies.