diff --git a/.cirrus.yml b/.cirrus.yml
index 57c953b..8dcda21 100644
--- a/.cirrus.yml
+++ b/.cirrus.yml
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ check_task:
   name: check (Linux - 3.10)
   alias: check
   depends_on: [build]
-  container: {image: "python:3.10-bullseye"}  # most recent => better types
+  container: {image: "python:3.10-bullseye"}  # 3.11+ don't understand some code paths
   dist_cache: {folder: dist, fingerprint_script: echo $CIRRUS_BUILD_ID}  # download
   <<: *task-template
   install_script: pip install tox
@@ -93,11 +93,6 @@ check_task:
 
 linux_task:
   matrix:
-    - name: test (Linux - 3.6)
-      container: {image: "python:3.6-bullseye"}
-      allow_failures: true  # EoL
-    - name: test (Linux - 3.7)
-      container: {image: "python:3.7-bullseye"}
     - name: test (Linux - 3.8)
       container: {image: "python:3.8-bullseye"}
     - name: test (Linux - 3.9)
@@ -107,7 +102,7 @@ linux_task:
     - name: test (Linux - 3.11)
       container: {image: "python:3.11-bullseye"}
     - name: test (Linux - 3.12)
-      container: {image: "python:3.12-rc-bullseye"}
+      container: {image: "python:3.12-bullseye"}
       allow_failures: true  # Experimental
   install_script:
     - python -m pip install --upgrade pip tox pipx
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 0304b23..5c0ffb1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ on:
     # relevant branches and tags. Other branches can be checked via PRs.
     # branches: [main]
     tags: ['v[0-9]*', '[0-9]+.[0-9]+*']  # Match tags that resemble a version
-  # pull_request:  # Run in every PR
+  pull_request:
+    paths: ['.github/workflows/ci.yml']  # On PRs only when this file itself is changed
   workflow_dispatch:  # Allow manually triggering the workflow
   schedule:
     # Run roughly every 15 days at 00:00 UTC
@@ -62,8 +63,8 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       matrix:
         python:
-        - "3.7"  # oldest Python supported by PSF
-        - "3.11"  # newest Python that is stable
+        - "3.8"  # oldest Python supported by PSF
+        - "3.12"  # newest Python that is stable
         platform:
         - ubuntu-latest
         - macos-13
diff --git a/.ruff.toml b/.ruff.toml
index e2fce3b..a36942a 100644
--- a/.ruff.toml
+++ b/.ruff.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # --- General config ---
 src = ["src"]
-target-version = "py37"
+target-version = "py38"
 
 # --- Linting config ---
 [lint]
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index ad38f9b..2863019 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -47,15 +47,13 @@ package_dir =
     =src
 
 # Require a min/specific Python version (comma-separated conditions)
-python_requires = >=3.6
+python_requires = >=3.8
 
 # Add here dependencies of your project (line-separated), e.g. requests>=2.2,<3.0.
 # Version specifiers like >=2.2,<3.0 avoid problems due to API changes in
 # new major versions. This works if the required packages follow Semantic Versioning.
 # For more information, check out https://semver.org/.
 install_requires =
-    importlib-metadata; python_version<"3.8"
-    importlib-resources; python_version<"3.7"
     fastjsonschema>=2.16.2,<=3
 
 
diff --git a/src/validate_pyproject/__init__.py b/src/validate_pyproject/__init__.py
index fbaff2e..be9fa4e 100644
--- a/src/validate_pyproject/__init__.py
+++ b/src/validate_pyproject/__init__.py
@@ -1,10 +1,4 @@
-import sys
-
-if sys.version_info[:2] >= (3, 8):
-    # TODO: Import directly (no need for conditional) when `python_requires = >= 3.8`
-    from importlib.metadata import PackageNotFoundError, version  # pragma: no cover
-else:
-    from importlib_metadata import PackageNotFoundError, version  # pragma: no cover
+from importlib.metadata import PackageNotFoundError, version  # pragma: no cover
 
 try:
     # Change here if project is renamed and does not equal the package name
diff --git a/src/validate_pyproject/api.py b/src/validate_pyproject/api.py
index 2c88ef2..887eaf7 100644
--- a/src/validate_pyproject/api.py
+++ b/src/validate_pyproject/api.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 
 import json
 import logging
-import sys
 import typing
 from enum import Enum
 from functools import partial, reduce
@@ -35,14 +34,11 @@
 
 
 try:  # pragma: no cover
-    if sys.version_info[:2] < (3, 7) or typing.TYPE_CHECKING:  # See #22
-        from importlib_resources import files
-    else:
-        from importlib.resources import files
+    from importlib.resources import files
 
     def read_text(package: Union[str, ModuleType], resource: str) -> str:
         """:meta private:"""
-        return files(package).joinpath(resource).read_text(encoding="utf-8")  # type: ignore[no-any-return]
+        return files(package).joinpath(resource).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
     from importlib.resources import read_text
diff --git a/src/validate_pyproject/plugins/__init__.py b/src/validate_pyproject/plugins/__init__.py
index 16393eb..f39175d 100644
--- a/src/validate_pyproject/plugins/__init__.py
+++ b/src/validate_pyproject/plugins/__init__.py
@@ -5,29 +5,14 @@
 .. _entry point: https://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/userguide/entry_point.html
 """
 
-import sys
 import typing
+from importlib.metadata import EntryPoint, entry_points
 from string import Template
 from textwrap import dedent
-from typing import Any, Callable, Iterable, List, Optional
+from typing import Any, Callable, Iterable, List, Optional, Protocol
 
 from .. import __version__
-
-if sys.version_info[:2] >= (3, 8):  # pragma: no cover
-    # TODO: Import directly (no need for conditional) when `python_requires = >= 3.8`
-    from importlib.metadata import EntryPoint, entry_points
-else:  # pragma: no cover
-    from importlib_metadata import EntryPoint, entry_points
-
-if typing.TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from ..types import Plugin, Schema
-
-    if sys.version_info < (3, 8):
-        from typing_extensions import Protocol
-    else:
-        from typing import Protocol
-else:
-    Protocol = object
+from ..types import Plugin, Schema
 
 ENTRYPOINT_GROUP = "validate_pyproject.tool_schema"
 
@@ -40,7 +25,7 @@ def id(self) -> str: ...
     def tool(self) -> str: ...
 
     @property
-    def schema(self) -> "Schema": ...
+    def schema(self) -> Schema: ...
 
     @property
     def help_text(self) -> str: ...
@@ -50,7 +35,7 @@ def fragment(self) -> str: ...
 
 
 class PluginWrapper:
-    def __init__(self, tool: str, load_fn: "Plugin"):
+    def __init__(self, tool: str, load_fn: Plugin):
         self._tool = tool
         self._load_fn = load_fn
 
@@ -63,7 +48,7 @@ def tool(self) -> str:
         return self._tool
 
     @property
-    def schema(self) -> "Schema":
+    def schema(self) -> Schema:
         return self._load_fn(self.tool)
 
     @property
diff --git a/src/validate_pyproject/pre_compile/__init__.py b/src/validate_pyproject/pre_compile/__init__.py
index 9cde18e..efa6d00 100644
--- a/src/validate_pyproject/pre_compile/__init__.py
+++ b/src/validate_pyproject/pre_compile/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import logging
 import os
-import sys
+from importlib import metadata as _M
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import MappingProxyType
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Dict, Mapping, Optional, Sequence, Union
@@ -9,11 +9,6 @@
 
 from .. import api, dist_name, types
 
-if sys.version_info[:2] >= (3, 8):  # pragma: no cover
-    from importlib import metadata as _M
-else:  # pragma: no cover
-    import importlib_metadata as _M
-
 if TYPE_CHECKING:  # pragma: no cover
     from ..plugins import PluginProtocol
 
diff --git a/src/validate_pyproject/pre_compile/cli.py b/src/validate_pyproject/pre_compile/cli.py
index 6694b7b..985ba74 100644
--- a/src/validate_pyproject/pre_compile/cli.py
+++ b/src/validate_pyproject/pre_compile/cli.py
@@ -17,13 +17,8 @@
 
 if sys.platform == "win32":  # pragma: no cover
     from subprocess import list2cmdline as arg_join
-elif sys.version_info[:2] >= (3, 8):  # pragma: no cover
-    from shlex import join as arg_join
 else:  # pragma: no cover
-    from shlex import quote
-
-    def arg_join(args: Sequence[str]) -> str:
-        return " ".join(quote(x) for x in args)
+    from shlex import join as arg_join
 
 
 _logger = logging.getLogger(__package__)
diff --git a/tests/test_plugins.py b/tests/test_plugins.py
index a5e8d01..1f07dec 100644
--- a/tests/test_plugins.py
+++ b/tests/test_plugins.py
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 # The code in this module is mostly borrowed/adapted from PyScaffold and was originally
 # published under the MIT license
 # The original PyScaffold license can be found in 'NOTICE.txt'
-
-import sys
+from importlib.metadata import EntryPoint  # pragma: no cover
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -15,13 +14,6 @@
 )
 
 
-if sys.version_info[:2] >= (3, 8):
-    # TODO: Import directly (no need for conditional) when `python_requires = >= 3.8`
-    from importlib.metadata import EntryPoint  # pragma: no cover
-else:
-    from importlib_metadata import EntryPoint  # pragma: no cover
-
-
 def test_load_from_entry_point__error():
     # This module does not exist, so Python will have some trouble loading it
     # EntryPoint(name, value, group)