Comparing Python package managers

pyproject.toml spec Link to heading

• PEP 517 – A build-system independent format for source trees
• PEP 518 – Specifying Minimum Build System Requirements for Python Projects
• PEP 621 – Storing project metadata in pyproject.toml
• pyproject.toml specification

Comparison Link to heading

uv Link to heading

GitHub | Docs

Pros Link to heading

• uv can install and manage Python version (like pyenv); Poetry can’t
• uv manages dependencies and environments for single-file scripts
  • uv add --script <my-script> <package> && uv run <my-script>
  • That’s cool, I never seen that in other Python tools
• Disk-space efficient; global cache for dependency deduplication
  • I don’t know how other tools manage that. It would be interesting to compare with Poetry
• Drop-in replacement for pip
  • alias pip='uv pip'

How to use Link to heading

Installing Link to heading

• pipx install uv to install uv

Managing Python versions Link to heading

• uv python install <version> to install a Python version
• uv run --python <version> -- <command> to run a command with a specific Python version

Tools Link to heading

• uvx (alias for uv tool run) same as pipx

Runnig scripts Link to heading

• uv add --script <my-script> <package> to install a package to one script.

PDM Link to heading

GitHub | Docs

Poetry Link to heading

GitHub | Docs

Pros Link to heading

• lock file

Cons Link to heading

• “does not follow the standard specifying how metadata should be represented in a pyproject.toml file (PEP 621), instead using a custom [tool.poetry] table. This is partly because Poetry came out before PEP 621.”