3 Essential Tools Every Python Developer Should Know

In the world of Python development, there are a ton of tools out there. But there are three that I believe should be part of every modern developer’s toolbox:

Uv, Ruff, and Taskfile.

Uv – Fast Python Package Manager

Uv is a modern, drop-in replacement for pip, venv, and pip-tools. Built in Rust, it dramatically speeds up Python environment setup and dependency installs.

Why I use it:

Zero configuration required
Fully compatible with requirements.txt and pyproject.toml
Much faster than pip and virtualenv

Install:

curl -Ls https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Example:

# Create a new virtual environment and install packages
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install requests fastapi

# Freeze the current environment
uv pip freeze > requirements.txt

Ruff – All-in-One Linter & Formatter for Python

Ruff combines the best parts of tools like flake8, black, isort, and pylint – and runs 10–100x faster.

Why I use it:

One tool to handle linting, formatting, and import sorting
Easy to integrate into CI/CD pipelines
Extremely fast

Install:

pip install ruff

Example:

# Lint (check) your code for issues
ruff check .

# Auto-fix lint and style problems
ruff check . --fix

# Format your code like black
ruff format .

pyproject.toml config:

[tool.ruff]
line-length = 100
target-version = "py311"
fix = true

Task – A Better Alternative to Make

Task is a YAML-based task runner (think of it as a modern alternative to Makefile). It’s perfect for managing local dev tasks, testing, or Docker builds. Even though it's written in Go, it's great for Python workflows and tasks.

Why I use it:

Easier syntax than Make
Built-in support for environment variables, conditionals, and dependencies
Helps standardize commands across teams

Install:

brew install go-task/tap/go-task

Here's an example Taskfile.yml:

version: '3'

tasks:
  setup:
    desc: Set up Python environment
    cmds:
      - uv venv
      - source .venv/bin/activate && uv pip install -r requirements.txt

  lint:
    desc: Run Ruff for linting
    cmds:
      - uv run ruff check . --fix

  format:
    desc: Format code using Ruff
    cmds:
      - uv run ruff format .

  run:
    desc: Run the app
    cmds:
      - uv run python app.py

Usage: