Day 10 : UV — Lightweight Python Package Manager

Welcome to Day 10 of my 30 Days – 30 Tools for Developers series!

Today, we’re exploring UV, a lightweight Python package manager that simplifies dependency management and virtual environments — providing a smoother experience compared to pip, venv, or poetry.


🔎 What is UV?

UV is a Python package manager built with simplicity in mind. It handles both dependencies and virtual environments seamlessly, so you don’t have to juggle between tools.

Think of it as pip + venv + poetry-lite, all rolled into one, with a faster and more straightforward workflow.


💻 Why Developers Use UV

Simplicity → Minimal commands with sensible defaults
📦 Auto Virtualenv → Automatically creates and manages environments per project
Speed → Faster installs and setup compared to pip/poetry
🧹 Clean Workflow → No extra config files, no complex boilerplate


⚙️ Getting Started

  1. Install UV on Macos/Linux:

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

     powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
    
  3. Initialize a project:

     uv init
    
  4. Install dependencies:

     uv add <package-name>
    

That’s it — UV will handle the environment and package installation in one go.


🏁 Conclusion

If you want a fast, simple, and environment-aware Python package manager, UV is worth a try. It keeps your projects clean and avoids the typical dependency chaos.


❓ Question for You

Which Python package manager do you rely on most — pip, poetry, pipenv, or would you give UV a try?


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Written by

Shaharyar Shakir
Shaharyar Shakir