UV replaced my entire Python toolchain

UV replaced pip, virtualenv, pipenv, poetry, and pyenv. One tool. Installs in seconds. Runs everything faster.

Install

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

Beyond Python Projects

UV isn’t just for managing Python projects. uvx runs any Python CLI tool without installing it globally – replacing things you’d normally install with brew or pipx.

uvx marimo          # reactive notebooks
uvx harlequin       # SQL IDE in your terminal
uvx ruff check .    # lint Python
uvx yt-dlp URL      # download video
uvx llm "question"  # CLI access to LLMs

Install tools permanently with uv tool add:

uv tool add marimo
uv tool upgrade --all

Project Management

uv init myproject
uv add fastapi pydantic
uv run python main.py

No python -m venv, no pip install, no requirements.txt. UV creates the venv, resolves dependencies, and locks them automatically.

Self-Contained Scripts

UV also makes Python scripts fully portable with inline dependency metadata (PEP 723):

#!/usr/bin/env -S uv run --script
# /// script
# requires-python = ">=3.12"
# dependencies = ["httpx"]
# ///

import httpx
print(httpx.get("https://httpbin.org/ip").json())

Make it executable and it runs anywhere UV is installed. No venv, no setup. See runnable python scripts for more.

Why UV Over Traditional Tools

Speed: 10-100x faster than pip for dependency resolution. Reliability: Deterministic installs with automatic lock files. Simplicity: One tool for venvs, packages, scripts, and CLI tools.

It replaces pip, virtualenv, pipenv, poetry, and pyenv – combined.