Python Requirements Updater

Not pur, but pru. It updates and resolves requirements.txt based on the current Python environment and pip version. Unlike Poetry and other dependency management tools, pru can be used outside your project and doesn't need to be included as a project dependency. Just run pru whenever you want to install the latest packages and update requirements.txt accordingly.

For example, turn this requirements.txt:

requests>=2.32.1
numpy<=1.26.3
pandas==2.2.1
scipy

into this:

requests==2.32.3
numpy==2.0.0
pandas==2.2.2
scipy==1.14.0

The primary purpose of pru is to update packages and pin their versions in requirements.txt. The motivation behind this is that, unlike pyproject.toml, requirements.txt should lock the versions of the packages currently used in the environment to ensure future reproducibility. This is best suited for repositories containing experiments and examples, not for package development. An article explaining pru also available at Medium.

Performance with uv

pru automatically detects and uses uv when available, making package installations significantly faster.

Installation

Standard installation:

pip install pru

For faster performance, install with uv:

pip install uv
pip install pru

Or using uv directly:

uv pip install pru

Quick Start with uv

For developers working on a project, use pru to pin your requirements.txt as follows:

uv venv env3.14 --python 3.14
source env3.14/bin/activate
uv pip install pru
pru -r requirements.txt

Then, you can guide your users as follows:

uv venv env3.14 --python 3.14
source env3.14/bin/activate
uv pip install -r requirements.txt

Note

On windows, a Python environment can be activated using source env3.14\Scripts\activate.

Usage

pru has multiple use cases. The main utilities (but not limited to) are:

1. upgrade_requirements: upgrade and pin requirements.
2. replace_requirements_packages_versions: update and pin the requirements file based on the installed packages.
3. get_installed_packages_name_and_version: list the installed packages and their versions.
4. get_installed_requirements_packages_and_version: list the installed packages and their versions, based on the list of packages in the requirements file.

pru can be used both as a Python package and from the CLI.

Using CLI (automatically uses uv if available):

pru

Explicit run using CLI:

pru -r "requirements.txt" upgrade_requirements --cmd "uv pip install --upgrade" -o "requirements.txt"

Using Python:

from pru import upgrade_requirements

file_path = 'requirements.txt'
upgrade_requirements(file_path, command='uv pip install --upgrade')

Very useful in workflows (this will update requirements.txt, and you can commit the changes after this step):

      - name: Upgrade pip and install dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
          pip install pru
          pru

or to debug installed packages in a workflow:

      - name: Run pru if tests fail
        if: steps.pytest.outcome != 'success'
        run: |
          python_version_minor=$(python -c "import sys; print(f'{sys.version_info.minor}')")
          pru -r pytests/requirements/3_${python_version_minor}/requirements.txt
          echo "Contents of pytests/requirements/3_${python_version_minor}/requirements.txt:"
          cat pytests/requirements/3_${python_version_minor}/requirements.txt

Known Issue

In Python 3.7, pru sometimes cannot install and update requirements using a single call to upgrade_requirements. To fix this, simply run the command twice.