Say Hello to UV: A Fast Python Package & Project Manager Written in Rust

If you’ve been managing Python projects long enough, you’ve probably dealt with a mess of tools: pip, pip-tools, poetry, virtualenv, conda, maybe even pdm. Each brings something useful to the table, but also adds to the complexity. UV — a fast, Rust-powered Python package and project manager that aims to unify and simplify all of this. What is UV? UV is a blazing-fast package and project manager for Python, written in Rust. Think of it as a single tool to replace: pip pip-tools virtualenv pyenv poetry pdm and more... It handles dependency installation, environment management, Python version management, and script execution, all from a single CLI tool. Why is UV So Fast? The secret sauce? UV is written in Rust, which brings serious speed gains over traditional Python-based tooling. Benchmarks from the UV docs claim it's 10 to 100 times faster than pip. And in practice, it does feel ridiculously quick — installing NumPy, pandas, and other large libraries takes seconds, not minutes. Installing UV To get started: pip install uv You can also install it via curl or PowerShell, and it works across macOS, Linux, and Windows. Getting Started with UV Let’s walk through a quick project setup using UV. Step 1: Create a New Project uv init uv-demo This creates a structured project folder: uv-demo/ ├── .gitignore ├── main.py ├── project.uv.toml ├── README.md └── .python-version Step 2: Create a Virtual Environment uv venv This instantly creates a virtual environment using the selected Python version — no more typing python -m venv venv. To activate it (Linux/macOS): source .venv/bin/activate Or on Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate Step 3: Add Dependencies Adding dependencies is straightforward: uv add numpy pandas This installs the packages and updates your project.uv.toml file: Step 4: Install from requirements.txt You can even install dependencies from a requirements.txt file: # requirements.txt numpy pandas Then run: uv add -r requirements.txt Step 5: Run Python Scripts Instead of: python main.py With UV, just use: uv run main.py This runs your script using the active environment. Managing Python Versions UV also supports managing Python versions: uv python install 3.12 uv python install 3.11 Then create environments using a specific version: uv venv --python 3.11 Highlights ⚡ Lightning-fast installs (thanks, Rust)

Apr 17, 2025 - 17:48

Say Hello to UV: A Fast Python Package & Project Manager Written in Rust

If you’ve been managing Python projects long enough, you’ve probably dealt with a mess of tools: pip, pip-tools, poetry, virtualenv, conda, maybe even pdm.

Each brings something useful to the table, but also adds to the complexity.

UV — a fast, Rust-powered Python package and project manager that aims to unify and simplify all of this.

What is UV?

UV is a blazing-fast package and project manager for Python, written in Rust.

Think of it as a single tool to replace:

pip
pip-tools
virtualenv
pyenv
poetry
pdm
and more...

It handles dependency installation, environment management, Python version management, and script execution, all from a single CLI tool.

Why is UV So Fast?

The secret sauce? UV is written in Rust, which brings serious speed gains over traditional Python-based tooling.

Benchmarks from the UV docs claim it's 10 to 100 times faster than pip. And in practice, it does feel ridiculously quick — installing NumPy, pandas, and other large libraries takes seconds, not minutes.

Installing UV

To get started:

pip install uv

You can also install it via curl or PowerShell, and it works across macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Getting Started with UV

Let’s walk through a quick project setup using UV.

Step 1: Create a New Project

uv init uv-demo

This creates a structured project folder:

uv-demo/
├── .gitignore
├── main.py
├── project.uv.toml
├── README.md
└── .python-version

Step 2: Create a Virtual Environment

uv venv

This instantly creates a virtual environment using the selected Python version — no more typing python -m venv venv.

To activate it (Linux/macOS):

source .venv/bin/activate

Or on Windows:

.venv\Scripts\activate

Step 3: Add Dependencies

Adding dependencies is straightforward:

uv add numpy pandas

This installs the packages and updates your project.uv.toml file:

Step 4: Install from `requirements.txt`

You can even install dependencies from a requirements.txt file:

# requirements.txt
numpy
pandas

Then run:

uv add -r requirements.txt

Step 5: Run Python Scripts

Instead of:

python main.py

With UV, just use:

uv run main.py

This runs your script using the active environment.

Managing Python Versions

UV also supports managing Python versions:

uv python install 3.12
uv python install 3.11

Then create environments using a specific version:

uv venv --python 3.11

Highlights

⚡ Lightning-fast installs (thanks, Rust)