Why I'm Switching SOT to uv

I've migrated the SOT (System Observation Tool) project from traditional pip/venv workflows to uv, Astral's blazing-fast Python package manager. This is gonna be a game-changer for both contributors and users.

Maybe I was just finding an excuse to use something from F1 movie fever. But speed is about performance as much as it’s about being quick.

10-100x faster dependency resolution and installation

• pip install for our dev dependencies: ~45 seconds

• uv sync --dev: ~3 seconds

• Cold cache package installation improved by 15x on average

Lockfile generation performance:

• pip-tools pip-compile: ~12 seconds

• uv lock: ~800ms

This isn't just benchmark flaunting, these improvements compound during development, CI/CD, and Docker builds. In addition to an actually reliable dependency resolution.

Which then brings us to an universal resolution across platforms. uv resolves dependencies for all target platforms simultaneously. No more "works on my Linux but breaks on macOS" surprises Single uv.lock replaces platform-specific requirements files. Most importantly, better conflict detection. Someone told me once fail loudly always. I kinda took it to heart, and so did uv. All for improving developer experience. A single command covers most of them,which we handled via justfile earlier.

uv sync --dev

Workspace management without the pain:

• No more source venv/bin/activate dance

• uv run python script.py works from any directory

• Built-in tool isolation: uv tool install sot

Technical Architecture Benefits

This tool is Rust-native.
It’s written in Rust, not Python, which means there’s no Python bootstrap overhead. Installs and downloads run in parallel, and dependency resolution is memory-efficient.

It’s also pip/PyPI compatible.
So it’s a drop-in replacement for pip workflows. It uses the existing PyPI infrastructure and supports all pip-compatible packages. No ecosystem fragmentation.

Finally, it has advanced caching.
There’s a global package cache with deduplication, network-aware caching strategies, incremental lockfile updates, and cross-project dependency sharing.

Project-Specific Improvements

CI/CD is simpler.
Before: multiple cache keys, complex setup with actions/setup-python and actions/cache.
After: one command uv sync --dev handles caching and installs automatically.

Development is smoother.

• uv add package for instant dependency addition

• uv tree for dependency visualization

• uv lock --upgrade for controlled updates

• Hot-swappable dev dependencies

For Contributors

• Faster feedback loops: quicker setup, faster CI, smoother PR iterations

• Fewer environment issues: deterministic builds, no dependency hell, consistent tool versions

• Better dependency management: clear upgrades, easy dev testing, safe removals

Getting Started

For end users:

uv tool install sot

For contributors:

git clone https://github.com/anistark/sot.git
cd sot
uv sync --dev
# You're ready to code

The migration maintains full backward compatibility. Existing pip workflows still work, but uv offers a superior developer experience with tangible performance benefits.

uv isn't just faster. It's fundamentally more reliable, making our development process more predictable and our contributors more productive.

Migration completed in [PR #18] and available on sot v4.4.0 onwards. Questions or issues? Open an issue or discussion.