Poetry
A tool for managing Python project dependencies and packaging them, using one pyproject.toml file.
- Stars
- 34.3k
- Forks
- 2.6k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Python
- Last update
- 5 days ago
- Type
- Dev tool
What it is
Poetry helps Python developers declare the libraries their project needs, lock exact versions, and install them consistently on other machines. It replaces several older project files such as setup.py, requirements.txt and Pipfile with a single pyproject.toml file. It can also build and publish Python packages.
- Declare project dependencies in pyproject.toml and install them with poetry install
- Organize development, documentation and lint dependencies into separate groups and install only the ones you need
- Define a command-line script for your package through [project.scripts]
- Declare optional extras and install them with an extra flag
Great for
- Python developers starting a new project who want one config file for dependencies and packaging
- Teams that need the same dependency versions installed on every machine and in CI
- Maintainers of Python libraries who want to build packages from pyproject.toml
- Developers who want optional dependency groups such as dev, docs or lint
Not ideal for
- People who only need to run a single script and do not manage dependencies, since setup is more than they need
- Projects that must stay on the older setup.py or requirements.txt workflow, because migrating takes effort
- Non-Python projects, since the tool is specific to the Python ecosystem
How to get it
- 1
See the README
You'll need: Python (the README's example requires-python is >=3.9, but the Poetry version's own requirement is not stated in the README excerpt)
Install Poetry using the official script
curl -sSL https://install.python-poetry.org | python3 - - 2
Run it
- Follow the installation documentation at python-poetry.org to install Poetry
- Create or open a project that has a pyproject.toml file
- Run poetry install to install the declared dependencies
- Use the optional group flag such as poetry install --with docs to include optional groups
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use dependency groups such as dev, docs and lint to keep optional tools separate from runtime dependencies
- Add optional extras under [project.optional-dependencies] and install them with -E
- Use the related poetry-plugin-export plugin to export lock files to requirements.txt format
- Use poetry-plugin-bundle to install projects into external formats such as virtual environments
Downloads
Strengths
- Uses the standard pyproject.toml format, replacing several older project files
- Supports dependency groups and optional extras for organizing requirements
- Released under the permissive MIT license and actively maintained, with a large user base
Trade-offs
- The README is truncated here, so detailed command behavior and edge cases are not covered in this summary
- Adds a separate tool to learn and install alongside Python itself
- Some configuration uses Poetry-specific [tool.poetry] syntax alongside the standard [project] table, which can be confusing
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| poetry (this) | 34.3k | Dev tool | intermediate | 5 days ago | Python developers starting a new project who want one config file for dependencies and packaging |
| pipenv | 25k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 days ago | Python application developers who want one command set for environments and dependencies |
| composer | 29.6k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 days ago | PHP developers starting a new project who want standard third-party libraries |
| rye | 14.1k | Dev tool | beginner | 9 months ago | Developers who already run Rye and need a reference for its existing workflow |
| pnpm | 37k | Dev tool | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers working in Node.js projects who want faster installs and less disk use |
| patch-package | 11.2k | Dev tool | beginner | 1.1 years ago | Teams running a Node.js app who need a quick fix to a dependency before the upstream project publishes one |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.