uv: The Fastest Python Package Manager

uv is a blazing-fast, all-in-one Python package and project manager built in Rust by the creators of Ruff. It aims to replace pip, pip-tools, pipx, virtualenv, poetry, pyenv, and twine — in a single tool.

Highlights

• 🔥 10–100x faster than pip (Rust-powered, aggressive caching)
• 🌍 Universal lockfile for reproducible environments
• 🔧 Drop-in pip replacement — same commands, faster results
• 📦 Manages Python versions — like pyenv
• 🏗️ Cargo-style workspaces for mono-repos

Installation

# macOS / Linux (recommended)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
 
# Windows
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

With pip or pipx

pip install uv
# or
pipx install uv

To update:

uv self update

How to Use uv

1. Creating a new project

uv init myproject
cd myproject
uv add requests
uv run script.py

• Initializes pyproject.toml
• Creates .venv automatically
• Adds dependencies and runs the code

2. Using uv in an existing project

cd existing-project
uv venv        # create/manage virtualenv
uv sync        # install from lockfile
uv run app.py  # run code inside env

3. Full command reference

# Package management
uv add requests         # Add a dependency
uv remove requests      # Remove a dependency
uv sync                 # Install from lockfile
 
# Pip compatibility mode
uv pip install requests         # Use pip commands
uv pip sync requirements.txt    # Install requirements.txt
 
# Run scripts
uv run script.py     # Run Python file in env
uv run "command"     # Run shell command in venv
 
# Tools (like pipx)
uv tool install ruff             # Install CLI tool globally
uvx pycowsay "hello world"       # Run tool temporarily
 
# Scripts with inline metadata
uv add --script script.py requests  # Inject deps into script
uv run script.py                    # Run it in isolated env
 
# Cache and maintenance
uv cache clean    # Clear cache
uv self update    # Update uv itself

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Extremely fast (Rust-powered)
• Drop-in pip & pipx replacement
• All-in-one (env, deps, tools, Python)
• Global cache saves disk space
• Universal lockfile
• Great for mono-repos (Cargo-style workspaces)

Cons

• Still newer — less battle-tested than pip/poetry
• Not all advanced Poetry features are available yet
• Smaller ecosystem of plugins/integrations

Conclusion

uv is not just fast — it's a serious contender to unify the Python tooling ecosystem. Whether you're a beginner or managing large workspaces, it's worth trying. The speed improvement alone makes the switch worthwhile.

uv on GitHub · Official Docs