Stop Using Pip: Why I Switched to “uv” for Python Projects (10x Faster)

Source: Dev.to

Why the Hype?

• Ridiculously fast – written in Rust, uv resolves dependencies and installs packages in milliseconds where pip can take seconds or minutes.
• Cold install: ~10–100× faster than pip.
• Warm install: essentially instant.
• Disk usage: uses a global cache, so you don’t store the same package (e.g., NumPy) multiple times on disk.

Step 1: Installing uv

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux

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

Step 2: The “Magic” of uv run

source venv/bin/activate is no longer needed. With uv, you simply create a script and run it; uv automatically creates a temporary environment, installs any missing imports, runs the script, and cleans up.

Create a file hello.py:

import requests
print(requests.get("https://api.github.com").status_code)

Run it:

uv run hello.py

uv detects that requests is required, installs it in a cached environment, and executes the script instantly.

Step 3: Migrating a Project (requirements.txt)

Old way

pip install -r requirements.txt

New way

uv pip install -r requirements.txt

uv respects your existing virtual environment but performs the installation significantly faster.

Step 4: Initializing a New Project

uv init my-new-project
cd my-new-project
uv add pandas fastapi

This creates a pyproject.toml file automatically, eliminating the need for complex setup.

In 2025, speed matters. uv removes the friction of managing Python environments, letting you focus on coding—not waiting.