From 3402428aadc02cfdc9825c8feb593443e72f50cd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: jbranchaud <jbranchaud@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 4 May 2026 14:26:46 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Add Reclassify Certain Packagaes As Dev Dependencies as a
 Python TIL

---
 README.md                                     |  3 +-
 ...fy-certain-packages-as-dev-dependencies.md | 76 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 78 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 python/reclassify-certain-packages-as-dev-dependencies.md

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 59be89f..d24204b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -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).
 
-_1786 TILs and counting..._
+_1787 TILs and counting..._
 
 See some of the other learning resources I work on:
 
@@ -1072,6 +1072,7 @@ If you've learned something here, support my efforts writing daily TILs by
 - [Make Dataclass Sortable By Specific Field](python/make-dataclass-sortable-by-specific-field.md)
 - [Override The Boolean Context Of A Class](python/override-the-boolean-context-of-a-class.md)
 - [Parse Relative Time To datetime Object](python/parse-relative-time-to-datetime-object.md)
+- [Reclassify Certain Packages As Dev Dependencies](python/reclassify-certain-packages-as-dev-dependencies.md)
 - [Skip Specific Pytest Test Cases](python/skip-specific-pytest-test-cases.md)
 - [Sort A List Of Dataclass Instances](python/sort-a-list-of-dataclass-instances.md)
 - [Sort Normalized Version Of Data](python/sort-normalized-version-of-data.md)
diff --git a/python/reclassify-certain-packages-as-dev-dependencies.md b/python/reclassify-certain-packages-as-dev-dependencies.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..caa5cc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/reclassify-certain-packages-as-dev-dependencies.md
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+# Reclassify Certain Packages As Dev Dependencies
+
+When I first started working on [py-vmt](https://github.com/jbranchaud/py-vmt),
+I wasn't differentiating certain test packages as _dev_ dependencies as opposed
+to standard, production dependencies. This can lead to bloated installs across a
+variety of distribution channels.
+
+Notice that I have everything treated as production dependencies:
+
+```bash
+❯ uv tree --no-dev
+Resolved 18 packages in 2ms
+py-vmt v0.1.0
+├── click v8.3.1
+├── dateparser v1.3.0
+│   ├── python-dateutil v2.9.0.post0
+│   │   └── six v1.17.0
+│   ├── pytz v2026.1.post1
+│   ├── regex v2026.2.28
+│   └── tzlocal v5.3.1
+├── freezegun v1.5.5
+│   └── python-dateutil v2.9.0.post0 (*)
+├── platformdirs v4.9.4
+├── pytest v9.0.2
+│   ├── iniconfig v2.3.0
+│   ├── packaging v26.0
+│   ├── pluggy v1.6.0
+│   └── pygments v2.19.2
+└── types-dateparser v1.3.0.20260211
+(*) Package tree already displayed
+```
+
+`pytest`, `freezegun`, and `types-dateparser` are better suited as _dev_
+dependencies.
+
+I can reclassify them by moving them from `dependencies` into a `dev` dependency
+group in `pyproject.toml`:
+
+```toml
+dependencies = ["click>=8.3.1", "dateparser>=1.3.0", "platformdirs>=4.9.4"]
+[dependency-groups]
+dev = ["freezegun>=1.5.5", "pytest>=9.0.2", "types-dateparser>=1.3.0.20260211"]
+```
+
+I only had `dependencies` before, so I had to add `[dependency-groups]` and `dev = []` to my `pyproject.toml` file.
+
+I can then tell `uv` to sync up the installation and virtualenv based on the new
+organization of the dependencies.
+
+```bash
+❯ uv sync
+warning: Skipping installation of entry points (`project.scripts`) because this project is not packaged; to install entry points, set `tool.uv.package = true` or define a `build-system`
+Resolved 18 packages in 518ms
+```
+
+Now when I check the `--no-dev` tree of dependencies, it's just the essentials:
+
+```bash
+❯ uv tree --no-dev
+Resolved 18 packages in 1ms
+py-vmt v0.1.0
+├── click v8.3.1
+├── dateparser v1.3.0
+│   ├── python-dateutil v2.9.0.post0
+│   │   └── six v1.17.0
+│   ├── pytz v2026.1.post1
+│   ├── regex v2026.2.28
+│   └── tzlocal v5.3.1
+└── platformdirs v4.9.
+```
+
+Another way to achieve this would have been to run `uv remove` and `uv add` with
+the relevant sets of package names. In retrospect, I would have preferred using
+that approach in the first place. If you're wanting to be pinned to specific
+versions of certain packages, you'd have to be a little more careful to get this
+right.