I use Debian Linux; the current stable version of Debian has Python 3.11.2. At the time I write this, Python 3.13 has just been released. So I used my desire to try out the new Python as a chance to explore uv as well. My instructions here are tested on Debian Linux, but may work with modifications on other Linux-based systems like Ubuntu or Raspberry Pi OS.

What's uv, anyway?

uv is "An extremely fast Python package and project manager, written in Rust." It's on github and pypi and is also well-documented.

Among its many features, uv is capable of managing multiple versions of Python, so I decided to use it to test drive Python 3.13.

Installing uv via pipx

First, install the pipx command using the operating system package manager. (debian package name: pipx)

Then, install uv: pipx install uv

Once you've done this, you should have the uv command available. However, you may see a warning like this:

On Debian Linux, this message can be ignored. Instead, simply log out and log back in again. The per-user .local/bin directory is supported by default, but is only added to the path when exists at the moment you logged in. (it may also suffice to simply re-open your terminal window, so try that first if you would prefer to avoid logging out)

Installing Python versions via uv

Just run uv python install 3.13

At the moment, uv does not have the stable release of Python 3.13, so it installs a release candidate version instead:

Running Python by version with uv

"uv run" can accept a Python version. If the command is "python", the interactive Python prompt is started. If it's a Python script with the .py extension, the script is run.

One of the headline features, the new multiline editor, seems to work like a treat. Here, I've used the cursor up key to edit the if line after I hit enter and started typing the if-statement's body:

Creating a virtual environment with specific Python version with uv

The "uv venv" command creates a virtual environment. Again, a Python version can be specified. When the environment is activated (which lasts until you close that shell or terminal window), the python command refers to the specified version instead of the default version.