# Does Poetry Support Python Standards for Dependency Management?


[Poetry](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/poetry.md) supports [PEP 621 project metadata](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-pep-621-compatibility.md) and [PEP 735 dependency groups](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-pep-735.md). Use these standard tables for metadata and dependencies; keep Poetry-specific settings under `[tool.poetry]`.

## Declare metadata and dependencies in standard tables

In [pyproject.toml](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/pyproject.toml.md), put runtime dependencies in `[project]` and development tools in `[dependency-groups]`:

```toml
[project]
name = "my-package"
version = "1.0.0"
description = "A short description."
requires-python = ">=3.11"
dependencies = [
    "requests>=2.28",
    "httpx>=0.24",
]

[dependency-groups]
dev = ["pytest>=8.0"]
```

The `dependencies` array in `[project]` uses [PEP 508 dependency specifiers](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-pep-508.md), such as `requests>=2.28`. Poetry's caret syntax (`requests = "^2.28"`) belongs in `[tool.poetry.dependencies]`.

Reserve `[project.optional-dependencies]` for extras that users install to enable optional features. Development groups stay out of published package metadata, as explained in [Optional dependencies and dependency groups](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-are-optional-dependencies-and-dependency-groups.md).

## Keep Poetry-specific settings under `[tool.poetry]`

These settings remain Poetry-specific:

- Package discovery: `packages = [{include = "..."}]` controls which Python packages the build includes and excludes.
- Source configuration: `[[tool.poetry.source]]` points to private registries.
- Minimum Poetry version: `requires-poetry = ">=2.0"` sets the minimum Poetry version a project requires.
- Plugin requirements: `[tool.poetry.requires-plugins]` declares Poetry plugins the project depends on.

A project can use both tables at once: standard metadata in `[project]`, Poetry-specific options in `[tool.poetry]`.

## Build with poetry-core through a standard frontend

The metadata format and the build backend are separate choices. A [PEP 517 build frontend](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-a-build-frontend.md), such as [uv](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/uv.md) or [pip](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/pip.md), installs the backend declared in `[build-system]` into an isolated build environment by default.

For a Poetry package, declare the standalone `poetry-core` backend:

```toml
[build-system]
requires = ["poetry-core>=2.0"]
build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
```

With this configuration, `uv build` and `pip install .` work without the Poetry CLI, including when metadata lives in legacy `[tool.poetry]` tables. The backend interprets those tables; the frontend does not need to understand them.

Standard metadata makes dependencies readable across tools, but Poetry-specific sources, plugins, and package discovery still need review when [migrating from Poetry to uv](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/how-to/how-to-migrate-from-poetry-to-uv.md).