We present an update of our determination of the strong coupling α s from the quantum chromodynamics static energy. This updated analysis includes new lattice data, at smaller lattice spacings and reaching shorter distances, the use of better suited perturbative expressions to compare with data in a wider distance range, and a comprehensive and detailed estimate of the error sources that contribute to the uncertainty of the final result. Our updated value for α s at the Z -mass scale, M Z , is α s ( M Z ) = 0.116 6 + 0.0012 − 0.0008 , which supersedes our previous result.