Why uv Became the Go-To Python Package Manager in 2026 (opens in new tab)

Installing 23 packages from a warm cache takes pip about 6.6 seconds, while uv handles the same task in just 0.12 seconds. On larger projects involving Django, Celery, Pandas, and scikit-learn, pip needs around 90 seconds, whereas uv finishes in roughly 8 seconds. uv is a single binary that consolidates five separate tools into one: pip, pip-tools, virtualenv, pyenv, and pipx. In March 2026, OpenAI acquired Astral, the company behind uv, to bring it into their Codex AI platform. What Tools Do...