I like PDM
Bob Rubbens


I like PDM, the “modern Python package and dependency manager.” It can
do a whole bunch of things related to managing Python projects. In
particular, there are two features I rely upon often and really
appreciate.

Standalone Python scripts with dependencies

PDM allows you to write, more or less, Python scripts with dependencies
that do not require any setup steps beforehand. This is accomplished by
including a description of the requirements (Python version,
dependencies, and more), in a top-level comment, and then running the
script with pdm run $SCRIPTPATH. PDM will then create a Python
environment for you on the fly, set it up according to what you
specified in the comment, and run your script within it.

Of course, to run such a script, you still need PDM, which itself is a
reasonably heavyweight setup step. Since the interface is minimal (just
one PDM command), stable (written in ~~stone~~ PEP 723), and
interoperable (based on a PEP), I tolerate it.

The top-level comment and basic script machinery looks like this:

    # /// script
    # requires-python = ">=3.14"
    # dependencies = [
    #   "tqdm==4.70.1"
    # ]
    # ///

    # Run with `pdm run $SCRIPT`

    from pathlib import Path
    import json


    def main():
        pass


    if __name__ == "__main__":
        main()

I have the above script saved in ~/Templates/script.py such that my file
manager allows me to create a new one from the right-click context menu.
Any file manager worth it’s salt will likely support this, as it’s part
of the XDG user directory guidelines. Pretty nice if you ask me!

If you’re curious to read more, have a look at the documentation. PEP
723 specifies the metadata format used in the comments.

Not owned by Big AI

Before, I used a different Python project manager. Sadly, it got
acquired by OpenAI.

That’s it

I have yet to find a use case that’s not covered by PDM, though I’m sure
there are differences. If you like no-hassle Python tooling, give PDM a
try!