If Python is already installed on your system, uv will detect and use it without configuration. However, uv can also install and manage Python versions. uv automatically installs missing Python versions as needed — you don't need to install Python to get started.
Getting startedTo install the latest Python version:
Once Python is installed, it will be used by uv
commands automatically.
To install a specific Python version:
To install multiple Python versions:
$ uv python install 3.11 3.12
To install an alternative Python implementation, e.g., PyPy:
See the python install
documentation for more details.
To reinstall uv-managed Python versions, use --reinstall
, e.g.:
$ uv python install --reinstall
This will reinstall all previously installed Python versions. Improvements are constantly being added to the Python distributions, so reinstalling may resolve bugs even if the Python version does not change.
Viewing Python installationsTo view available and installed Python versions:
See the python list
documentation for more details.
Python does not need to be explicitly installed to use uv. By default, uv will automatically download Python versions when they are required. For example, the following would download Python 3.12 if it was not installed:
Even if a specific Python version is not requested, uv will download the latest version on demand. For example, if there are no Python versions on your system, the following will install Python before creating a new virtual environment:
Tip
Automatic Python downloads can be easily disabled if you want more control over when Python is downloaded.
Using existing Python versionsuv will use existing Python installations if present on your system. There is no configuration necessary for this behavior: uv will use the system Python if it satisfies the requirements of the command invocation. See the Python discovery documentation for details.
To force uv to use the system Python, provide the --no-managed-python
flag. See the Python version preference documentation for more details.
Important
Support for upgrading Python patch versions is in preview. This means the behavior is experimental and subject to change.
To upgrade a Python version to the latest supported patch release:
To upgrade all uv-managed Python versions:
See the python upgrade
documentation for more details.
To learn more about uv python
, see the Python version concept page and the command reference.
Or, read on to learn how to run scripts and invoke Python with uv.
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