Using Python UV with Editable Source Code Dependencies in a Project TOML

Introduction

UV is a fast Python package manager that simplifies dependency management. For more details, refer to the official UV documentation. This guide covers how to set up an editable AutoClean source within a pyproject.toml configuration using UV.

Setting Up a Basic pyproject.toml

Before proceeding, ensure that your project has a pyproject.toml file. If one does not exist, create it with the following minimal configuration:

[project]
name = "autoclean_example_project"
version = "0.1.0"
description = "Autoclean Example Project"
requires-python = ">=3.10"

This file provides UV with a structure to modify when adding dependencies.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have:

• Python 3.10+ installed

• UV installed (pip install uv)

• AutoClean source code in your project structure

Steps to Configure an Editable Installation

1. Add an Editable Dependency

Download your source code to a local folder. To add an editable dependency, run the following command:

uv add --editable /path/to/your/local/package

This command will automatically update pyproject.toml with the necessary configuration:

[project]
dependencies = [
    ...
    "autocleaneeg",
]

[tool.uv.sources]
autocleaneeg = { path = "../autoclean_preprocessing", editable = true }

2. Sync Dependencies

Then, run UV to synchronize dependencies:

uv sync

This will ensure that AutoClean and all other dependencies are correctly installed.

3. Running the Project with Editable Mode

If debugging or making changes to your source code, you can use breakpoints with pdb to inspect the execution:

import pdb; pdb.set_trace()

# add to code
breakpoint()

This allows you to pause execution and interactively debug your code.

If making changes to AutoClean’s source, use:

If debugging or making changes to AutoClean’s source, use:

uv run your_script.py

This allows live updates to AutoClean without reinstalling.

Conclusion

Using UV with editable dependencies enables efficient debugging and iterative development.