# Poetry's Move Toward Python Standards

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This is an excerpt from the forthcoming Python Developer's Tool Handbook. The handbook provides comprehensive guidance on Python tooling and best practices for modern Python development.
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While modern Python build tools like [uv](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/uv.md), [Hatch](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/hatch.md), [PDM](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/pdm.md), and [Flit](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/flit.md) embraced [PEP 621](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-pep-621-compatibility.md)'s standardized project metadata from their inception, [Poetry](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/poetry.md) - one of the most widely used packaging tools - maintained its own configuration format in `tool.poetry` until version 2.0. This delay reflected both Poetry's established user base and its richer feature set beyond standard packaging needs.

[Poetry 2.0's adoption](https://python-poetry.org/blog/announcing-poetry-2.0.0) of the `project` section for [pyproject.toml](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/pyproject.toml.md) files represents a significant step toward ecosystem-wide standardization. This change brings Poetry into alignment with the broader Python packaging ecosystem while maintaining backwards compatibility through careful deprecation.

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Poetry retains its `tool.poetry.dependencies` section due to supporting features beyond PEP 621's scope, though users can opt to use `project.dependencies` for standard cases.
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The adoption of these standards delivers several key benefits:

* Improved Interoperability: Projects can move between different build tools more easily
* Future Compatibility: Better alignment with emerging Python packaging standards

Learn More:

* [Poetry 2.0 Release Blog Post](https://python-poetry.org/blog/announcing-poetry-2.0.0)
* [PEP 621 Specification](https://peps.python.org/pep-0621/)
* [Does Poetry support Python standards for dependency management?](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/poetry-python-dependency-management.md)
* [How do uv and Poetry compare?](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/how-do-uv-and-poetry-compare.md)
* [How to migrate from Poetry to uv](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/how-to/how-to-migrate-from-poetry-to-uv.md)
* [Poetry Documentation](https://python-poetry.org/docs/)