Meet UV: The Next-Gen Python Package Manager Built for Speed and Simplicity

UV is a blazing-fast, modern Python package manager designed to simplify dependency management and virtual environments. Built with performance in mind, UV replaces traditional tools like pip, virtual env, and pip-tools by offering a unified, Rust-powered solution that dramatically speeds up installs and resolves dependencies with precision. Whether you're managing complex projects or just starting out, UV streamlines your workflow with minimal configuration and maximum efficiency.

Introduction

Python's evolution has always been closely tied to advancements in package management. From manual installations to modern tools like pip, poetry, and virtual env, developers have witnessed significant progress over the years. Yet, as projects grow larger and more complex, traditional tools often fall short in speed, efficiency, and usability—hindering developers from achieving smooth project workflows.

Enter UV, a next-gen Python package and project manager designed to address these shortcomings. Written in Rust, UV is a cutting-edge tool that combines the functionality of widely used tools like pip, poetry, and virtual env—but with exceptional performance, simplicity, and reliability.

In this article, we’ll explore UV, its unique features, benchmarks, step-by-step installation, and how developers can use it effectively for dependency management, virtual environments, Python installations, and more.

Table of Contents

• Why Does pip Fall Short?
• What is UV?
• Key Features of UV
• Benchmarks
• Installation Guide
• Using UV for Virtual Environments
• Building a Flask App with UV
• Installing Python with UV
• CLI Tools with UV
• Cheat sheet for UV Operations
• Current Limitations
• Conclusion

Why Does pip Fall Short?

pip is unquestionably one of the most popular package management systems in Python, facilitating the installation and management of software packages. However, its limitations have been widely criticized by developers over the years:

1. Slow Installations: Developers often complain about the slowness of pip installations, especially in projects with numerous dependencies.
2. Dependency Smells: Poorly configured dependency files can lead to version conflicts, reduced maintainability, and increased project complexity.
3. Inconsistent Environment Restoration: Recreating runtime environments using pip often struggles to match Python code perfectly, leading to reliability issues during deployment.

What is UV?

UV is a modern, high-performance Python package manager, developed by the creators of ruff and written in Rust. It is designed as a drop-in replacement for tools like pip, pip-tools, and virtual env—while offering superior speed and functionality.

UV combines the best aspects of existing tools while incorporating innovative features that address common pain points in dependency management, environment creation, and project workflows. With cross-platform support (Linux, macOS, and Windows) and extensive testing against the PyPI index, UV aims to simplify Python development for both new and experienced programmers.

Key Features of UV

UV stands out from traditional package management tools due to its impressive features:

• ⚖️ Drop-in Compatibility: Seamlessly replaces pip, pip-tools, and virtual env with minimal friction.

• ⚡ Blazing Speed: Up to 100x faster than pip for dependency resolution and installation.

• 💾 Efficient Disk Space Usage: Minimizes storage usage using global dependency caching.

• 🐍 Flexible Installation Options: Installable via curl, pip, pipx, or natively via package managers like Homebrew and Pacman.

• 🧪 Thorough Testing: Verified for scale on over 10,000 PyPI packages.

• 🖥️ Cross-Platform Support: Compatible with macOS, Linux, and Windows.

• 🔩 Advanced Dependency Management: Offers alternative resolution strategies, conflict tracking, and version overrides.

• 🚀 Unified Tooling: Combines features of pip, poetry, pyenv, twine, and related tools into a single solution.

• 🏢 Workspace Management: Simplifies scalable projects with Cargo-style workspace handling.

Benchmarks

UV’s speed is one of its defining features. It is significantly faster than traditional tools in environments with both warm and cold caches:

Installation

Installing uv is quick and straightforward. You can opt for standalone installers or install it directly from PyPI.

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

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

# With pip.
pip install uv

# With pipx.
pipx install uv

# With Homebrew (Mac).
brew install uv

# With Pacman (Linux).
pacman -S uv

Using UV for Virtual Environments

Creating and activating virtual environments with UV is straightforward:

# Create a Virtual Environment
uv venv

# Activate the Virtual Environment On(macOS/Linux):
source .venv/bin/activate

# On Windows
.venv\Scripts\activate

# Installing packages follows standard commands:
uv pip install flask                       # Install Flask.  
uv pip install -r requirements.txt         # Install from a file.

Building a Flask App with UV

Here’s how to use UV to set up and run a Flask applications.

Installing Python Versions with UV

UV can optionally install Python versions with ease:

# Install Specific Python Version
uv python install 3.12

CLI Tools with UV

UV supports installing CLI tools like huggingface_hub:

uv tool install huggingface_hub
uv tool list                       # Lists all installed tools.

UV Commands Cheat Sheet

# Virtual Environment Management
uv venv                                # Create a virtual environment
uv activate                            # Activate the virtual environment
uv deactivate                          # Deactivate the virtual environment

# Dependency Management
uv pip install flask                   # Install 'flask' dependency
uv pip install <package>==<version>    # Install a specific version of a package
uv pip list                            # List installed dependencies in the current environment
uv pip uninstall <package>             # Uninstall a package

# Running Python Scripts
uv run script.py                       # Run Python script located at "script.py"
uv python                              # Start Python REPL in the UV environment

# Python Version Management
uv python install 3.12                 # Install Python version 3.12
uv python list                         # List Python versions available or installed
uv python use 3.12                     # Use Python version 3.12

# CLI Tool Management
uv tool install <tool>                 # Install a CLI tool
uv tool list                           # List installed CLI tools
uv tool update <tool>                  # Update a CLI tool
uv tool uninstall <tool>               # Uninstall a CLI tool

# Miscellaneous
uv --version                           # Check UV version
uv help                                # Display help menu for UV commands
uv pip freeze > requirements.txt       # Generate a `requirements.txt` file of installed packages
uv pip install -r requirements.txt     # Install dependencies from `requirements.txt`

Current Limitations

While UV is promising, it isn’t perfect:

1. Incomplete Compatibility with Pip: UV doesn’t yet cover all pip features, though its minimalist design compensates for this gap.
2. Platform-Specific Requirements Files: Like pip-compile, UV generates platform-specific requirements files, which may limit portability across operating systems.

Conclusion

UV is not just another Python package manager—it’s a game-changer that eliminates common developer frustrations. With its speed, simplicity, and modern features, UV represents the future of Python dependency management.

Disclaimer:
This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here are only those of the author and do not represent those of any organization or any individual with whom the author may be associated, professionally or personally.