Python dependency management has long been… painful. If you've ever waited minutes for pip install or fought with environment inconsistencies, you know what I mean.

Enter uv — a blazing-fast Python package manager built in Rust, designed to be a drop-in replacement for pip, pip-tools, and even virtualenv.

If you care about speed, reliability, and reproducible environments — you should be using uv.

🚀 What Is uv?

uv is a packaging CLI for Python developed by Astral, focused on:

  • Lightning-fast dependency installs

  • Lockfile generation uv pip compile)

  • Isolated environment creation (no virtualenv required)

  • Full compatibility with existing pip and pip-tools workflows

Think of it as the Rust-powered version of pip + pip-tools + virtualenv, all in one binary.

⚙️ How to Use uv

Install it:

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

Try it out with this reproducible benchmark:

Step 1: Create a requirements.txt file

pandas

httpx

sqlalchemy

polars

requests

psycopg[binary]

Step 2: Benchmark with hyperfine

If you don’t already have it:

# macOS

brew install hyperfine

# Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install hyperfine
# Run the benchmark:

hyperfine -w 2 -r 5 'rm -rf venv-pip && python3 -m venv venv-pip && venv-pip/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt > /dev/null' 

hyperfine -w 2 -r 5 'rm -rf venv-uv && uv venv venv-uv && UV_CACHE_DIR=$(mktemp -d) uv pip install -r requirements.txt --python venv-uv/bin/python > /dev/null'

You’ll see uv run about 5–10x faster than pip — no magic, just Rust.

screenshot of the results from my personal Macbook Air (M3 Chip)

🔐 Why uv Is a Big Deal

  • Built in Rust → speed + safety

  • Drops into your existing project with zero config

  • Eliminates the need for virtualenv, pip-tools, or venv

  • Better DX for Python monorepos and CI pipelines

🧠 Why You Should Switch

  • You want faster CI/CD builds

  • You manage multiple environments and hate the overhead

  • You’re tired of pip silently doing the wrong thing

💬 Final Thoughts

Python tooling has lagged behind. uv is finally catching it up to modern expectations.

If you want:

  • One tool to manage environments, installs, and lockfiles

  • Ridiculous speed

  • Less frustration

Start using uv today.

It's not hype. It’s just better.

📚 Learn more:

Keep Reading

No posts found