uv

uv is a high-performance Python package and project manager that provides a unified interface for installing Python versions, managing dependencies, creating virtual environments, running scripts, building packages, and publishing to package indexes.

Why uv?

Traditional Python development involves juggling multiple tools (e.g. pip, pip-tools, pipx, poetry, pyenv, virtualenv), each with different interfaces and behaviors. uv unifies these workflows while delivering 10-100x performance improvements over existing solutions.

• Speed: 10-100x faster than traditional Python tools
• Simplicity: One tool for all Python packaging needs
• Standards: Full compatibility with modern Python packaging standards
• Reliability: Reproducible builds with universal lockfiles

Installation

Quick Install

# macOS/Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Windows
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

See the official installation guide for more methods.

Command Categories

Project Management

Projects use pyproject.toml for configuration and uv.lock for dependency locking.

# Initialize new project
uv init my-project

# Add dependencies
uv add requests
uv add --dev pytest  # development dependency

# Install project and dependencies
uv sync

# Run commands in project environment
uv run python main.py
uv run pytest

# Build distributions
uv build

# Publish to PyPI
uv publish

Script Execution

Run standalone Python scripts with automatic dependency management.

# Run script with inline dependencies
uv run script.py

# Run with additional dependencies
uv run --with requests script.py

# Add dependencies to script metadata
uv add --script script.py requests

Inline Script Dependencies

uv allows you to specify dependencies for a script in the script itself, using the dependencies key.

Run uv add --script script.py requests rich to add the requests and rich dependencies to your script.

# /// script
# dependencies = ["requests", "rich"]
# requires-python = ">=3.8"
# ///

import requests
from rich import print

Tool Management

Install and run Python-based CLI tools in isolated environments.

# Run tool temporarily
uvx ruff .

# Install tool globally
uv tool install ruff

# Upgrade tools
uv tool upgrade ruff
uv tool upgrade --all

pip-Compatible Interface

uv provides a drop-in replacement for pip/pip-tools workflows with enhanced performance.

# Create virtual environment
uv venv

# Install packages
uv pip install requests
uv pip install -r requirements.txt
uv pip install -e .  # editable install

# Generate lockfiles
uv pip compile requirements.in
uv pip compile --universal requirements.in  # cross-platform

# Sync environment with lockfile
uv pip sync requirements.txt

Learn More

• Create your first Python project
• Setting up testing with pytest and uv
• Run your first Python script with uv
• uv documentation
• Installation guide
• Package management
• Project management
• Python version management
• Tool management