uv

name	uv
description	Python project management with uv — the fast, Rust-based package and project manager. Use this skill when working in a Python project that has uv.lock, .python-version, or when pyproject.toml uses [tool.uv] or [dependency-groups]. Also use when the user mentions uv, "uv run", "uv add", or asks about Python dependency management in a uv-managed project. Provides project setup, dependency management, running tools, and quality gate commands specific to uv workflows.
metadata	{"version":"1.0.0","author":"Stacey Vetzal"}

uv Project Management

uv is the single tool for managing Python versions, virtual environments, dependencies, and running project tools. All project operations go through uv.

Creating a New Project

# Create a new project
uv init my-project
cd my-project

# Or initialize in an existing directory
uv init

# Specify a Python version
uv init --python 3.12 my-project

This creates: pyproject.toml, .python-version, .gitignore, README.md, and a starter main.py.

Managing Python Versions

# Install specific Python versions
uv python install 3.11 3.12

# Pin the project to a specific version
uv python pin 3.12

The pinned version is stored in .python-version and used automatically by all uv commands.

Virtual Environment

uv auto-creates and manages .venv/ — you rarely need to interact with it directly.

# Explicitly create a venv (usually automatic)
uv venv

# Sync the environment to match the lockfile
uv sync

Never activate the venv manually. Use uv run to execute everything within the project environment.

Dependency Management

Adding dependencies:

uv add requests                      # Runtime dependency
uv add 'requests>=2.31,<3'          # With version constraints
uv add git+https://github.com/psf/requests  # From git
uv add -r requirements.txt          # Import from requirements.txt

Adding dev dependencies:

uv add --dev pytest                  # Default dev group
uv add --dev pytest-cov
uv add --dev pytest-asyncio
uv add --group lint ruff             # Named group
uv add --group docs mkdocs

Removing and upgrading:

uv remove requests                   # Remove a dependency
uv lock --upgrade-package requests   # Upgrade specific package
uv lock --upgrade                    # Re-lock all dependencies

pyproject.toml Structure

[project]
name = "my-project"
version = "0.1.0"
description = "Project description"
requires-python = ">=3.12"
dependencies = [
    "requests>=2.31,<3",
    "pydantic>=2.0",
]

[project.optional-dependencies]
excel = ["openpyxl>=3.1.0"]

[dependency-groups]
dev = [
    "pytest>=8.0",
    "pytest-cov>=4.0",
    "pytest-asyncio>=0.23",
    {include-group = "lint"},
]
lint = ["ruff>=0.4"]
docs = ["mkdocs>=1.5"]

[tool.uv]
default-groups = ["dev", "lint"]

Lockfile

uv.lock is a cross-platform lockfile. Auto-generated, commit to version control.

uv lock              # Update lockfile from pyproject.toml
uv sync              # Sync environment to lockfile
uv sync --group docs # Sync specific groups
uv sync --no-dev     # Production-only sync

Running Project Tools

Always use uv run for project tools:

uv run pytest                    # Run tests
uv run pytest --cov              # Tests with coverage
uv run ruff check src            # Linting
uv run ruff format src           # Formatting
uv run mypy src                  # Type checking
uv run python -m mypackage       # Run application

Use uvx for standalone/ephemeral tools:

uvx ruff check .                 # One-off tool without installing
uvx ruff@0.4.0 check .           # Specific version

Rule of thumb: uv run when the tool needs your project code. uvx for standalone utilities.

Building

uv build    # Produces wheel and sdist in dist/

Project Structure

project/
├── src/
│   └── mypackage/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── conftest.py
│       ├── core/
│       │   ├── pricing.py
│       │   └── pricing_spec.py
│       ├── adapters/
│       │   ├── payment_gateway.py
│       │   └── payment_gateway_spec.py
│       └── cli.py
├── docs/
├── pyproject.toml
├── uv.lock
├── .python-version
└── README.md

Dependency Best Practices

• Use uv add / uv remove — never edit pyproject.toml by hand for deps
• Use uv add --dev for dev-only dependencies
• Use uv add --group <name> for named dependency groups
• Version ranges for libraries, pin versions for applications
• Keep uv.lock committed for reproducible builds
• Run uv sync after cloning or pulling

Quality Gates (uv)

Before considering any code complete, MUST complete all steps:

1. Tests with Coverage

   • uv run pytest — all tests pass
   • uv run pytest --cov — coverage above threshold (MANDATORY)
   • Debug: uv run pytest path/to/test.py -v or uv run pytest --lf

2. Linting with ZERO warnings

   • uv run ruff check src — zero warnings (MANDATORY)
   • uv run ruff format src — consistent formatting
   • McCabe complexity <= 10

3. Security Audit

   • uvx pip-audit — check for known vulnerabilities (MANDATORY)
   • uv pip list --outdated — check for outdated dependencies

4. Documentation Sync

   • uv run mkdocs build — verify docs build
   • Ensure examples match current implementation