A command-line tool for initializing Python projects using the new uv project management tool: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ This package integrates uv commands with a template for development configs, commitizen versioning, precommit hooks and CI
This project is in active development. Features and APIs may change. Please report issues on GitHub. Tests currently run only on Mac and Linux with Python 3.13.
This project uses Semantic Versioning and Conventional Commits.
Helfrid Hochegger
- Requires Python 3.13 (not tested on other versions)
- UV package manager installed (https://github.com/astral-sh/uv)
- GitHub CLI (
gh) authenticated viagh auth login, if using GitHub features
Created by Helfrid Hochegger Email: hh65@sussex.ac.uk GitHub Issues: https://github.com/hocheggerlab/uv-start/issues
This project is licensed under the MIT License
- Create Python libraries, packages, or applications
- Workspace support for monorepo setups
- Automatic setup of development tools:
- Ruff for linting and formatting
- Ty for type checking
- Pytest for testing
- Commitizen for conventional commits
- Pre-commit hooks
- loguru logging (opt-in
.envconfiguration via--dotenv)
- GitHub repository initialization with CI/CD workflows
- Semantic versioning support
- Python 3.10–3.14 support for project initialisation
Install as a global tool with uv (recommended):
uv tool install uv-startOr with pip:
pip install uv-startConfigure your author details (run once):
uv-start --config "Jane Doe" "jane@example.com"If you skip this step, uv-start falls back to your git config (user.name / user.email).
If you plan to use the --github flag, authenticate the gh CLI first:
gh auth loginFollow the interactive prompts to authenticate via OAuth (browser). This stores credentials securely via the gh keychain — no tokens need to be stored in any file.
By default, generated projects log to the console via loguru with no .env file required. Scaffold with --dotenv to opt into environment-driven logging — this adds python-dotenv and a .env.example you can copy to activate:
uv-start my-project --dotenv
cp .env.example .envThe .env file is gitignored by default — never commit it. Keep real credentials and environment-specific settings in .env only.
Basic usage to install a repo with pre-configured Ruff, Ty, Commitizen and Pre-Commit Hooks settings, optional setup of github repo and basic CI pipeline including version bumps on conventional commit messages.
To run the program cd to desired parent directory (this should not be a git repo!) The set the UV_ORIGINAL_CWD to $PWD and then execute uv run.
bash
cd "parent-directory"
UV_ORIGINAL_CWD="$PWD"
uv run --directory path_to/uv-start uv-start project-name [options]
Alternatively, add this function to your .zshrc or .bashrc config file
bash
uv_start() {
UV_ORIGINAL_CWD="$PWD" uv run --directory path_to/uv-start uv-start "$@"
}
alias uv-start='uv_start'
The restart your shell cd to the desried parent directory and type bash
uv-start project-name [options]
Options:
-t, --type [lib|package]: The type of project to create (default: lib, alternative: package)-p, --python [3.14|3.13|3.12|3.11|3.10]: Python version to use (default: 3.13)-w, --workspace: Create a workspace (monorepo setup)-g, --github: Create and initialize a GitHub repository--private: Create a private GitHub repository (requires --github)--data: Create a data analysis project (jupyter, pandas, matplotlib, seaborn)--napari: Create a napari plugin project (hello-world widget scaffold)--dotenv: Add.envhandling (python-dotenv) for env-driven log configuration--config NAME EMAIL: Save author name and email for project templates
Create a basic library: bash
uv-start my-package -t package -p 3.13
Create a workspace with GitHub repository:
bash
uv-start my-workspace -w -g
creates an upstream main branch on github (default public, use --private for private repos)
bash
uv-start my-workspace -w -g
This will generate a uv workspace (see: https://docs.astral.sh/uv/concepts/projects/workspaces/) The user will be prompted to add a common-utils library and an additional project.
The generated project follows this structure:
project_name/
├── src/
│ └── project_name/
│ └── __init__.py
├── tests/
├── pyproject.toml
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
├── .env.example
└── .pre-commit-config.yaml
For workspaces:
workspace_name/
├── packages/
│ ├── package1/
│ └── package2/
├── pyproject.toml
├── README.md
└── .pre-commit-config.yaml
UV Init sets up the following development tools:
- Ruff: Modern Python linter and formatter
- Ty: Static type checker
- Pytest: Testing framework
- Commitizen: Conventional commit tooling
- Pre-commit: Git hooks manager
- loguru: Logging with a colourised console sink by default and an
opt-in rotating file sink; env-driven configuration available via
--dotenv
- Line length: 79 characters
- Selected rules: flake8, pyupgrade, isort, and more
- Automatic fixes enabled
- Checks
srcandtests - Sets rule severity to errors for strict enforcement
- Excludes virtualenv/build/dist/migrations paths
- Uses conventional commits
- Automatic version bumping
- Changelog generation
- Synchronized version tracking across all workspace packages
- Colourised console sink at
INFOby default — no configuration required - Rotating file sink included (commented out) with rotation, retention and compression
- Global
logger(from loguru import logger); module/function/line captured automatically --dotenvadds env-driven config (LOG_LEVEL,LOG_FILE,ENV) with.env/.env.<ENV>support
When creating a workspace (-w flag), UV Init:
- Sets up a monorepo structure
- Offers to create a common utilities package
- Supports adding multiple projects
- Configures dependencies between workspace packages
- Synchronized versioning: All packages in the workspace share a single version number. Running
cz bumpat the root updatespyproject.toml,__init__.py, andREADME.mdacross all sub-packages simultaneously.
When using the -g flag, UV Init:
- Initializes a Git repository
- Creates a GitHub repository
- Sets up GitHub Actions workflows for:
- CI (linting, type checking, testing)
- Automated releases using conventional commits
additional --private flag for optional private repos
- Runs on Python 3.13
- Performs:
- Code linting with Ruff
- Type checking with Ty
- Unit tests with Pytest
- Format checking
- Automatic version bumping on main branch
- Creates releases based on conventional commits
- Generates changelogs
- For workspaces, a single
cz bumpat the root keeps all packages in sync
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes using conventional commits (
cz commit) - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request
uv syncuv run pytestuv run ty check .uv run sphinx-build -b html docs docs/_build/htmlThen open docs/_build/html/index.html in your browser.