uv/docs/guides/integration/github.md

Using uv in GitHub Actions

Installation

uv installation differs depending on the platform.

Unix

name: Example on Unix

jobs:
  uv-example-linux:
    name: python-linux
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up uv
        # Install uv using the standalone installer
        run: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Windows

name: Example on Windows

jobs:
  uv-example-windows:
    name: python-windows
    runs-on: windows-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up uv
        # Install uv using the standalone installer
        run: irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex
        shell: powershell

Using a matrix

name: Example

jobs:
  uv-example-multiplatform:
    name: python-${{ matrix.os }}

    strategy:
      matrix:
        os:
          - ubuntu-latest
          - windows-latest
          - macos-latest

      fail-fast: false

    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up uv
        if: ${{ matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest' || matrix.os == 'macos-latest' }}
        run: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

      - name: Set up uv
        if: ${{ matrix.os == 'windows-latest' }}
        run: irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex
        shell: powershell

Setting up Python

Python can be installed with the python install command:

steps:
  # ... setup up uv ...

  - name: Set up Python
    run: uv python install

This will respect the Python version pinned in the project.

Or, when using a matrix, as in:

strategy:
  matrix:
    python-version:
      - "3.10"
      - "3.11"
      - "3.12"

Provide the version to the python install invocation:

steps:
  # ... setup up uv ...

  - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
    run: uv python install ${{ matrix.python-version }}

Alternatively, the official GitHub setup-python action can be used. This is generally faster, but will not respect the project's pinned Python version.

steps:
  - name: "Set up Python"
    uses: actions/setup-python@v5
    with:
      python-version: 3.12

Syncing and running

Once uv and Python are installed, the project can be installed with uv sync and commands can be run in the environment with uv run:

steps:
  # ... setup up Python and uv ...

  - name: Install the project
    run: uv sync --all-extras --dev

  - name: Run tests
    # For example, using `pytest`
    run: uv run pytest tests

Caching

It may improve CI times to store uv's cache across workflow runs.

The cache can be saved and restored with the official GitHub cache action:

jobs:
  install_job:
    env:
      # Configure a constant location for the uv cache
      UV_CACHE_DIR: /tmp/.uv-cache

    steps:
      # ... setup up Python and uv ...

      - name: Restore uv cache
        uses: actions/cache@v4
        with:
          path: /tmp/.uv-cache
          key: uv-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('uv.lock') }}
          restore-keys: |
            uv-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('uv.lock') }}
            uv-${{ runner.os }}

      # ... install packages, run tests, etc ...

      - name: Minimize uv cache
        run: uv cache prune --ci

The uv cache prune --ci command is used to reduce the size of the cache and is optimized for CI. Its effect on performance is dependent on the packages being installed.

!!! tip

If using `uv pip`, use `requirements.txt` instead of `uv.lock` in the cache key.

Using uv pip

If using the uv pip interface instead of the uv project interface, uv requires a virtual environment by default. To allow installing packages into the system environment, use the --system flag on all uv invocations or set the UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON variable.

The UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON variable can be defined in at different scopes.

Opt-in for the entire workflow by defining it at the top level:

env:
  UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON: 1

jobs: ...

Or, opt-in for a specific job in the workflow:

jobs:
  install_job:
    env:
      UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON: 1
    ...

Or, opt-in for a specific step in a job:

steps:
  - name: Install requirements
    run: uv pip install -r requirements.txt
    env:
      UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON: 1

To opt-out again, the --no-system flag can be used in any uv invocation.