diff --git a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expand.go b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expand.go
index 62dc5296d472d..ae2445dd60b6a 100644
--- a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expand.go
+++ b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expand.go
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/pipelinex"
 	"github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx"
 	"github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/internal/errors"
+	"github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/log"
 	jobpb "github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/model/jobmanagement_v1"
 	pipepb "github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/model/pipeline_v1"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc"
@@ -231,3 +232,73 @@ func QueryAutomatedExpansionService(ctx context.Context, p *HandlerParams) (*job
 	// been via pointer.
 	return res, nil
 }
+
+func startPythonExpansionService(service, extraPackage string) (stopFunc func() error, address string, err error) {
+	venvPython, err := expansionx.SetUpPythonEnvironment(extraPackage)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, "", err
+	}
+	log.Debugf(context.Background(), "path: %v", venvPython)
+
+	serviceRunner, err := expansionx.NewPyExpansionServiceRunner(venvPython, service, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, "", fmt.Errorf("error in  startAutomatedPythonExpansionService(%s,%s): %w", venvPython, service, err)
+	}
+	err = serviceRunner.StartService()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, "", fmt.Errorf("error in starting expansion service, StartService(): %w", err)
+	}
+	stopFunc = serviceRunner.StopService
+	address = serviceRunner.Endpoint()
+	return stopFunc, address, nil
+}
+
+// QueryPythonExpansionService submits an external python transform to be expanded by the
+// expansion service and then eagerly materializes the artifacts for staging. The given
+// transform should be the external transform, and the components are any additional
+// components necessary for the pipeline snippet.
+//
+// The address to be queried is determined by the Config field of the HandlerParams after
+// the prefix tag indicating the automated service is in use.
+func QueryPythonExpansionService(ctx context.Context, p *HandlerParams) (*jobpb.ExpansionResponse, error) {
+	// Strip autoPython: tag to get actual python module
+	tag, module := parseAddr(p.Config)
+	// parse extra-packages from namespace if present
+	module, extraPackages := parseClasspath(module)
+
+	stopFunc, address, err := startPythonExpansionService(module, extraPackages)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer stopFunc()
+
+	p.Config = address
+
+	res, err := QueryExpansionService(ctx, p)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	exp := &graph.ExpandedTransform{
+		Components:   res.GetComponents(),
+		Transform:    res.GetTransform(),
+		Requirements: res.GetRequirements(),
+	}
+
+	p.ext.Expanded = exp
+	// Put correct expansion address into edge
+	p.edge.External.ExpansionAddr = address
+
+	_, err = ResolveArtifactsWithConfig(ctx, []*graph.MultiEdge{p.edge}, ResolveConfig{})
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Restore tag so we know the artifacts have been materialized eagerly down the road.
+	p.edge.External.ExpansionAddr = tag + Separator + module
+
+	// Can return the original response because all of our proto modification afterwards has
+	// been via pointer.
+	return res, nil
+}
diff --git a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expand_test.go b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expand_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..c7c90b65a9996
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expand_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+// Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+// contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+// this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+// The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+// (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+// the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package xlangx
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/core"
+)
+
+func TestStartAutomated(t *testing.T) {
+	if strings.HasSuffix(core.SdkVersion, ".dev") {
+		t.Skipf("need a released SDK version to test auto python expansion service, got: %s", core.SdkVersion)
+	}
+	sp, addr, err := startPythonExpansionService("apache_beam.runners.portability.expansion_service_main", "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if addr == "" {
+		t.Fatal("no address")
+	}
+	if err := sp(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal("error stoping service")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/download.go b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/download.go
index 12488638faba4..0a7eb482cc407 100644
--- a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/download.go
+++ b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/download.go
@@ -23,10 +23,15 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
+	"os/exec"
 	"os/user"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/core"
+	"github.com/apache/beam/sdks/v2/go/pkg/beam/internal/errors"
 )
 
 type url string
@@ -42,7 +47,8 @@ var defaultJarGetter = newJarGetter()
 const (
 	apacheRepository = url("https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2")
 	beamGroupID      = "org/apache/beam"
-	jarCache         = "~/.apache_beam/cache/jars"
+	cacheDir         = "~/.apache_beam/cache"
+	jarCache         = cacheDir + "/jars"
 )
 
 func newJarGetter() *jarGetter {
@@ -375,3 +381,67 @@ func jarExists(jarPath string) bool {
 	_, err := os.Stat(jarPath)
 	return err == nil
 }
+
+func getPythonVersion() (string, error) {
+	for _, v := range []string{"python", "python3"} {
+		cmd := exec.Command(v, "--version")
+		if err := cmd.Run(); err == nil {
+			return v, nil
+		}
+	}
+	return "", fmt.Errorf("no python installation found")
+}
+
+// SetUpPythonEnvironment sets up the virtual ennvironment required for the
+// Apache Beam Python SDK to run an expansion service module.
+func SetUpPythonEnvironment(extraPackage string) (string, error) {
+	py, err := getPythonVersion()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("no python installation found: %v", err)
+	}
+	extraPackages := []string{}
+	if len(extraPackage) > 0 {
+		extraPackages = strings.Split(extraPackage, " ")
+	}
+
+	// create python virtual environment
+	sort.Strings(extraPackages)
+	beamPackage := fmt.Sprintf("apache_beam[gcp,aws,azure,dataframe]==%s", core.SdkVersion)
+	venvDir := filepath.Join(
+		cacheDir, "venvs",
+		fmt.Sprintf("py-%s-beam-%s-%s", py, core.SdkVersion, strings.Join(extraPackages, ";")),
+	)
+	venvPython := filepath.Join(venvDir, "bin", "python")
+
+	if _, err := os.Stat(venvPython); err != nil {
+		err := exec.Command(py, "-m", "venv", venvDir).Run()
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", errors.Wrap(err, "error creating new virtual environment for python expansion service")
+		}
+		err = exec.Command(venvPython, "-m", "pip", "install", "--upgrade", "pip").Run()
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", errors.Wrap(err, "error upgrading pip")
+		}
+		err = exec.Command(venvPython, "-m", "pip", "install", "--upgrade", "setuptools").Run()
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", errors.Wrap(err, "error upgrading setuptools")
+		}
+		err = exec.Command(venvPython, "-m", "pip", "install", beamPackage, "pyparsing==2.4.2").Run()
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", errors.Wrap(err, fmt.Sprintf("error installing beam package: %v", beamPackage))
+		}
+		if len(extraPackages) > 0 {
+			cmd := []string{"-m", "pip", "install"}
+			cmd = append(cmd, extraPackages...)
+			err = exec.Command(venvPython, cmd...).Run()
+			if err != nil {
+				return "", errors.Wrap(err, "error installing dependencies")
+			}
+		}
+		err = exec.Command(venvPython, "-c", "import apache_beam").Run()
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", errors.Wrap(err, "apache beam installation failed in virtualenv")
+		}
+	}
+	return venvPython, nil
+}
diff --git a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/process.go b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/process.go
index 80b52933c095b..28dc3294f44fb 100644
--- a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/process.go
+++ b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/process.go
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ import (
 // start up a Beam Expansion Service JAR and maintain a handle on the
 // process running the service to enable shutdown as well.
 type ExpansionServiceRunner struct {
-	jarPath        string
+	execPath       string
 	servicePort    string
 	serviceCommand *exec.Cmd
 }
@@ -55,11 +55,26 @@ func NewExpansionServiceRunner(jarPath, servicePort string) (*ExpansionServiceRu
 		servicePort = fmt.Sprintf("%d", port)
 	}
 	serviceCommand := exec.Command("java", "-jar", jarPath, servicePort)
-	return &ExpansionServiceRunner{jarPath: jarPath, servicePort: servicePort, serviceCommand: serviceCommand}, nil
+	return &ExpansionServiceRunner{execPath: jarPath, servicePort: servicePort, serviceCommand: serviceCommand}, nil
+}
+
+// NewExpansionServiceRunner builds an ExpansionServiceRunner struct for a given python module and
+// Beam version and returns a pointer to it. Passing an empty string as servicePort will request an
+// open port to be assigned to the service.
+func NewPyExpansionServiceRunner(pythonExec, module, servicePort string) (*ExpansionServiceRunner, error) {
+	if servicePort == "" {
+		port, err := findOpenPort()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to find open port for service, got %v", err)
+		}
+		servicePort = fmt.Sprintf("%d", port)
+	}
+	serviceCommand := exec.Command(pythonExec, "-m", module, "-p", servicePort, "--fully_qualified_name_glob=*")
+	return &ExpansionServiceRunner{execPath: pythonExec, servicePort: servicePort, serviceCommand: serviceCommand}, nil
 }
 
 func (e *ExpansionServiceRunner) String() string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("JAR: %v, Port: %v, Process: %v", e.jarPath, e.servicePort, e.serviceCommand.Process)
+	return fmt.Sprintf("Exec Path: %v, Port: %v, Process: %v", e.execPath, e.servicePort, e.serviceCommand.Process)
 }
 
 // Endpoint returns the formatted endpoint the ExpansionServiceRunner is set to start the expansion
diff --git a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/process_test.go b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/process_test.go
index 1410d444c5c57..6c1e229cc6b4b 100644
--- a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/process_test.go
+++ b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/expansionx/process_test.go
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func TestNewExpansionServiceRunner(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("NewExpansionServiceRunner failed, got %v", err)
 	}
-	if got, want := serviceRunner.jarPath, testPath; got != want {
+	if got, want := serviceRunner.execPath, testPath; got != want {
 		t.Errorf("got JAR path %v, want %v", got, want)
 	}
 	if got, want := serviceRunner.servicePort, testPort; got != want {
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ func TestStartService_good(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func makeTestServiceRunner() *ExpansionServiceRunner {
-	return &ExpansionServiceRunner{jarPath: "", serviceCommand: &exec.Cmd{}}
+	return &ExpansionServiceRunner{execPath: "", serviceCommand: &exec.Cmd{}}
 }
 
 func TestStopService_NoStart(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/registry.go b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/registry.go
index db6f86627abeb..425ed9aa8aa58 100644
--- a/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/registry.go
+++ b/sdks/go/pkg/beam/core/runtime/xlangx/registry.go
@@ -232,10 +232,13 @@ func (r *registry) getHandlerFunc(urn, expansionAddr string) (HandlerFunc, strin
 	}
 	// Check this after hardoverrides and URN overrides so those can point to automated expansion
 	// themselves.
-	if ns == autoJavaNamespace {
+	switch ns {
+	case autoJavaNamespace:
 		// Leave expansionAddr unmodified so the autoNamespace keyword sticks.
 		// We strip it manually in the HandlerFunc.
 		return QueryAutomatedExpansionService, expansionAddr
+	case autoPythonNamespace:
+		return QueryPythonExpansionService, expansionAddr
 	}
 
 	// Now that overrides have been handled, we can look up if there's a handler, and return that.
@@ -254,6 +257,7 @@ const (
 	ClasspathSeparator    = ";"
 	hardOverrideNamespace = "hardoverride"
 	autoJavaNamespace     = "autojava"
+	autoPythonNamespace   = "autopython"
 )
 
 // Require takes an expansionAddr and requires cross language expansion
@@ -295,6 +299,17 @@ func UseAutomatedJavaExpansionService(gradleTarget string, opts ...ExpansionServ
 	return expansionAddress
 }
 
+// UseAutomatedPythonExpansionService takes a expansion service module name and creates a
+// tagged string to indicate that it should be used to start up an
+// automated expansion service for a cross-language expansion.
+//
+// Intended for use by cross language wrappers to permit spinning
+// up an expansion service for a user if no expansion service address
+// is provided.
+func UseAutomatedPythonExpansionService(service string) string {
+	return autoPythonNamespace + Separator + service
+}
+
 // restricted namespaces to prevent some awkward edge cases.
 var restricted = map[string]struct{}{
 	hardOverrideNamespace: {}, // Special handler for overriding.