Add Run Python Tools With uvx as a Python TIL

2026-10-30 16:13:26 +00:00 · 2026-09-09 17:57:41 -05:00
parent 6218839e46
commit 20ba238ffa
2 changed files with 58 additions and 1 deletions
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ working across different projects via [VisualMode](https://www.visualmode.dev/).

 For a steady stream of TILs, [sign up for my newsletter](https://visualmode.kit.com/newsletter).

-_1879 TILs and counting..._
+_1880 TILs and counting..._

 See some of the other learning resources I work on:

@@ -1130,6 +1130,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Reclassify Certain Packages As Dev Dependencies](python/reclassify-certain-packages-as-dev-dependencies.md)
 - [Register SQLite Adapter To Serialize Datetimes](python/register-sqlite-adapter-to-serialize-datetimes.md)
 - [Resurface Exceptions Swallowed By Click Under Test](python/resurface-exceptions-swallowed-by-click-under-test.md)
+- [Run Python Tools With `uvx`](python/run-python-tools-with-uvx.md)
 - [Select Implementation With Class Registry](python/select-implementation-with-class-registry.md)
 - [Set Up Pyright Type Checking In GitHub](python/set-up-pyright-type-checking-in-github.md)
 - [Skip Specific Pytest Test Cases](python/skip-specific-pytest-test-cases.md)
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+# Run Python Tools With `uvx`
+
+The [`uvx`](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/guides/tools/) binary which gets installed
+as part of `uv` is equivalent to using `uv tool run`. It installs the specified
+tool into an isolated, throwaway environment and then runs it from that
+environment. This is useful for running standalone Python tools that don't
+necessarily need to know anything about or use a specific codebase.
+
+A dummy example of this is the classic `cowsay` program.
+
+```bash
+❯ uvx cowsay -t "Python tooling is so powerful\!"
+  ______________________________
+| Python tooling is so powerful! |
+  ==============================
+                              \
+                               \
+                                 ^__^
+                                 (oo)\_______
+                                 (__)\       )\/\
+                                     ||----w |
+                                     ||     ||
+
+
+```
+
+As for some more practical examples, here I can use `rich-cli` to render and
+view a markdown file like a `README.md` right in the terminal.
+
+```bash
+❯ uvx --from rich-cli rich README.md --markdown --pager
+```
+
+Or how about trying out the latest version of a tool like `ruff` that differs
+from the version currently installed for the target project.
+
+```bash
+❯ uvx ruff@latest check .
+```
+
+As an example of another standalone tool, here is `yt-dlp` to grab a video from
+YouTube.
+
+```bash
+❯ uvx yt-dlp "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3-43VBqpPc"
+Installed 1 package in 9ms
+[youtube] Extracting URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3-43VBqpPc
+[youtube] U3-43VBqpPc: Downloading webpage
+[youtube] U3-43VBqpPc: Downloading visionos player API JSON
+[youtube] U3-43VBqpPc: Downloading m3u8 information
+[info] U3-43VBqpPc: Downloading 1 format(s): 616+251
+[hlsnative] Downloading m3u8 manifest
+[hlsnative] Total fragments: 456
+[download] Destination: FILLER vs VAN BOENING 🔥 EPIC QUARTER-FINAL ｜ Las Vegas Open 2026- Dramatic Match [U3-43VBqpPc].f616.mp4
+[download]  33.2% of ~ 775.25MiB at    9.37MiB/s ETA 00:56 (frag 152/456)
+```