Using uv in Docker

Getting started

Tip

Check out the uv-docker-example project for an example of best practices when using uv to build an application in Docker.

Running uv in a container

A Docker image is published with a built version of uv available. To run a uv command in a container:

$ docker run ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv --help

Available images

uv provides a distroless Docker image including the uv binary. The following tags are published:

• ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:latest
• ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:{major}.{minor}.{patch}, e.g., ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.5.4
• ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:{major}.{minor}, e.g., ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.5 (the latest patch version)

In addition, uv publishes the following images:

• Based on alpine:3.20:
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:alpine
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:alpine3.20
• Based on debian:bookworm-slim:
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:debian-slim
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:bookworm-slim
• Based on buildpack-deps:bookworm:
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:debian
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:bookworm
• Based on python3.x-alpine:
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.13-alpine
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.12-alpine
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.11-alpine
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.10-alpine
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.9-alpine
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.8-alpine
• Based on python3.x-bookworm:
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.13-bookworm
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.12-bookworm
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.11-bookworm
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.10-bookworm
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.9-bookworm
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.8-bookworm
• Based on python3.x-slim-bookworm:
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.13-bookworm-slim
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.12-bookworm-slim
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.11-bookworm-slim
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.10-bookworm-slim
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.9-bookworm-slim
  • ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:python3.8-bookworm-slim

As with the distroless image, each image is published with uv version tags as ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:{major}.{minor}.{patch}-{base} and ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:{major}.{minor}-{base}, e.g., ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.5.4-alpine.

For more details, see the GitHub Container page.

Installing uv

Use one of the above images with uv pre-installed or install uv by copying the binary from the official distroless Docker image:

Dockerfile

FROM python:3.12-slim-bookworm
COPY --from=ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:latest /uv /uvx /bin/

Or, with the installer:

Dockerfile

FROM python:3.12-slim-bookworm

# The installer requires curl (and certificates) to download the release archive
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends curl ca-certificates

# Download the latest installer
ADD https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh /uv-installer.sh

# Run the installer then remove it
RUN sh /uv-installer.sh && rm /uv-installer.sh

# Ensure the installed binary is on the `PATH`
ENV PATH="/root/.local/bin/:$PATH"

Note this requires curl to be available.

In either case, it is best practice to pin to a specific uv version, e.g., with:

COPY --from=ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.5.4 /uv /uvx /bin/

Or, with the installer:

ADD https://astral.sh/uv/0.5.4/install.sh /uv-installer.sh

Installing a project

If you're using uv to manage your project, you can copy it into the image and install it:

Dockerfile

# Copy the project into the image
ADD . /app

# Sync the project into a new environment, using the frozen lockfile
WORKDIR /app
RUN uv sync --frozen

Important

It is best practice to add .venv to a .dockerignore file in your repository to prevent it from being included in image builds. The project virtual environment is dependent on your local platform and should be created from scratch in the image.

Then, to start your application by default:

Dockerfile

# Presuming there is a `my_app` command provided by the project
CMD ["uv", "run", "my_app"]

Tip

It is best practice to use intermediate layers separating installation of dependencies and the project itself to improve Docker image build times.

See a complete example in the uv-docker-example project.

Using the environment

Once the project is installed, you can either activate the project virtual environment by placing its binary directory at the front of the path:

Dockerfile

ENV PATH="/app/.venv/bin:$PATH"

Or, you can use uv run for any commands that require the environment:

Dockerfile

RUN uv run some_script.py

Tip

Alternatively, the UV_PROJECT_ENVIRONMENT setting can be set before syncing to install to the system Python environment and skip environment activation entirely.

Using installed tools

To use installed tools, ensure the tool bin directory is on the path:

Dockerfile

ENV PATH=/root/.local/bin:$PATH
RUN uv tool install cowsay

$ docker run -it $(docker build -q .) /bin/bash -c "cowsay -t hello"
  _____
| hello |
  =====
     \
      \
        ^__^
        (oo)\_______
        (__)\       )\/\
            ||----w |
            ||     ||

Note

The tool bin directory's location can be determined by running the uv tool dir --bin command in the container.

Alternatively, it can be set to a constant location:

Dockerfile

ENV UV_TOOL_BIN_DIR=/opt/uv-bin/

Installing Python in musl-based images

While uv installs a compatible Python version if there isn't one available in the image, uv does not yet support installing Python for musl-based distributions. For example, if you are using an Alpine Linux base image that doesn't have Python installed, you need to add it with the system package manager:

apk add --no-cache python3~=3.12

Developing in a container

When developing, it's useful to mount the project directory into a container. With this setup, changes to the project can be immediately reflected in a containerized service without rebuilding the image. However, it is important not to include the project virtual environment (.venv) in the mount, because the virtual environment is platform specific and the one built for the image should be kept.

Mounting the project with docker run

Bind mount the project (in the working directory) to /app while retaining the .venv directory with an anonymous volume:

$ docker run --rm --volume .:/app --volume /app/.venv [...]

Tip

The --rm flag is included to ensure the container and anonymous volume are cleaned up when the container exits.

See a complete example in the uv-docker-example project.

Configuring watch with docker compose

When using Docker compose, more sophisticated tooling is available for container development. The watch option allows for greater granularity than is practical with a bind mount and supports triggering updates to the containerized service when files change.

Note

This feature requires Compose 2.22.0 which is bundled with Docker Desktop 4.24.

Configure watch in your Docker compose file to mount the project directory without syncing the project virtual environment and to rebuild the image when the configuration changes:

compose.yaml

services:
  example:
    build: .

    # ...

    develop:
      # Create a `watch` configuration to update the app
      #
      watch:
        # Sync the working directory with the `/app` directory in the container
        - action: sync
          path: .
          target: /app
          # Exclude the project virtual environment
          ignore:
            - .venv/

        # Rebuild the image on changes to the `pyproject.toml`
        - action: rebuild
          path: ./pyproject.toml

Then, run docker compose watch to run the container with the development setup.

See a complete example in the uv-docker-example project.

Optimizations

Compiling bytecode

Compiling Python source files to bytecode is typically desirable for production images as it tends to improve startup time (at the cost of increased installation time).

To enable bytecode compilation, use the --compile-bytecode flag:

Dockerfile

RUN uv sync --compile-bytecode

Alternatively, you can set the UV_COMPILE_BYTECODE environment variable to ensure that all commands within the Dockerfile compile bytecode:

Dockerfile

ENV UV_COMPILE_BYTECODE=1

Caching

A cache mount can be used to improve performance across builds:

Dockerfile

ENV UV_LINK_MODE=copy

RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
    uv sync

Changing the default UV_LINK_MODE silences warnings about not being able to use hard links since the cache and sync target are on separate file systems.

If you're not mounting the cache, image size can be reduced by using the --no-cache flag or setting UV_NO_CACHE.

Note

The cache directory's location can be determined by running the uv cache dir command in the container.

Alternatively, the cache can be set to a constant location:

Dockerfile

ENV UV_CACHE_DIR=/opt/uv-cache/

Intermediate layers

If you're using uv to manage your project, you can improve build times by moving your transitive dependency installation into its own layer via the --no-install options.

uv sync --no-install-project will install the dependencies of the project but not the project itself. Since the project changes frequently, but its dependencies are generally static, this can be a big time saver.

Dockerfile

# Install uv
FROM python:3.12-slim
COPY --from=ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:latest /uv /uvx /bin/

# Change the working directory to the `app` directory
WORKDIR /app

# Install dependencies
RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
    --mount=type=bind,source=uv.lock,target=uv.lock \
    --mount=type=bind,source=pyproject.toml,target=pyproject.toml \
    uv sync --frozen --no-install-project

# Copy the project into the image
ADD . /app

# Sync the project
RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
    uv sync --frozen

Note that the pyproject.toml is required to identify the project root and name, but the project contents are not copied into the image until the final uv sync command.

Tip

If you're using a workspace, then use the --no-install-workspace flag which excludes the project and any workspace members.

If you want to remove specific packages from the sync, use --no-install-package <name>.

Non-editable installs

By default, uv installs projects and workspace members in editable mode, such that changes to the source code are immediately reflected in the environment.

uv sync and uv run both accept a --no-editable flag, which instructs uv to install the project in non-editable mode, removing any dependency on the source code.

In the context of a multi-stage Docker image, --no-editable can be used to include the project in the synced virtual environment from one stage, then copy the virtual environment alone (and not the source code) into the final image.

For example:

Dockerfile

# Install uv
FROM python:3.12-slim AS builder
COPY --from=ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:latest /uv /uvx /bin/

# Change the working directory to the `app` directory
WORKDIR /app

# Install dependencies
RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
    --mount=type=bind,source=uv.lock,target=uv.lock \
    --mount=type=bind,source=pyproject.toml,target=pyproject.toml \
    uv sync --frozen --no-install-project --no-editable

# Copy the project into the intermediate image
ADD . /app

# Sync the project
RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
    uv sync --frozen --no-editable

FROM python:3.12-slim

# Copy the environment, but not the source code
COPY --from=builder --chown=app:app /app/.venv /app/.venv

# Run the application
CMD ["/app/.venv/bin/hello"]

Using uv temporarily

If uv isn't needed in the final image, the binary can be mounted in each invocation:

Dockerfile

RUN --mount=from=ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv,source=/uv,target=/bin/uv \
    uv sync

Using the pip interface

Installing a package

The system Python environment is safe to use this context, since a container is already isolated. The --system flag can be used to install in the system environment:

Dockerfile

RUN uv pip install --system ruff

To use the system Python environment by default, set the UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON variable:

Dockerfile

ENV UV_SYSTEM_PYTHON=1

Alternatively, a virtual environment can be created and activated:

Dockerfile

RUN uv venv /opt/venv
# Use the virtual environment automatically
ENV VIRTUAL_ENV=/opt/venv
# Place entry points in the environment at the front of the path
ENV PATH="/opt/venv/bin:$PATH"

When using a virtual environment, the --system flag should be omitted from uv invocations:

Dockerfile

RUN uv pip install ruff

Installing requirements

To install requirements files, copy them into the container:

Dockerfile

COPY requirements.txt .
RUN uv pip install -r requirements.txt

Installing a project

When installing a project alongside requirements, it is best practice to separate copying the requirements from the rest of the source code. This allows the dependencies of the project (which do not change often) to be cached separately from the project itself (which changes very frequently).

Dockerfile

COPY pyproject.toml .
RUN uv pip install -r pyproject.toml
COPY . .
RUN uv pip install -e .