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uv-build adds a large Rust dependency to pure-Python package builds

blogs.gentoo.org Editor score 7/10

The author says uv-build’s wheels are 1.2–1.5 MiB versus 45 KiB for flit-core, and that Gentoo users must build it from source as it releases frequently. Those packaging costs matter when choosing build tooling for widely distributed software.

What

uv-build is a Rust build backend for pure-Python packages; the author argues small Python backends avoid its overhead.

How

Its wheels are 1.2–1.5 MiB; Gentoo users must build it from source, and portability problems can affect unsupported platforms.

Why it matters

Build-backend dependencies affect packaging portability and downstream maintenance, even when end users install prebuilt wheels.

Read on blogs.gentoo.org → Hacker News · 127 commentsLobsters · 30 comments

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