appenv 2026.5.18a1

Self-contained bootstrapping/updating of Python applications deployed through shared repositories.

appenv

appenv pins Python packages to exact versions and exposes their binaries via symlinks — one file, no installation step. Drop it into a repository, commit it, and every checkout (local or remote) gets the same tools at the same versions by running ./http, ./pytest, ./batou, or whatever you need.

appenv never modifies your system — all state lives in .appenv/ inside the project directory. Remove that folder and nothing is left behind.

Using an existing appenv project

Someone gave you a project that already uses appenv? Just run the command:

git clone <project> && cd <project>
./http  # First run sets up everything automatically

Running the command will get an appenv-managed uv if it's not globally available on your system.

No uv.lock (should be committed) or dependencies changed?

./appenv update-lockfile

(Only needed again after manually editing pyproject.toml)

Use ./appenv uv add/remove to manage your dependencies or just use uv as you are used to it.

Upgrading from requirements.txt

Already an appenv user and still using requirements.txt instead of pyproject.toml?

uvx appenv migrate

New Project

Requires Python 3.9+ (managed environments need 3.10+). uv 0.5.0+ is auto-installed if not found. Get appenv via uvx or download the single-file script.

appenv init will ask you some questions and set up the project. The example assumes that you want to run a binary called http from the httpie package.

uvx (uv)

uvx is part of uv — the easiest way to start:

# appenv init is interactive
# Answer: 
# httpie as dependency
# http as binary
uvx appenv init
./http

Manual Download

No uv installed? Download appenv directly:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/flyingcircusio/appenv/master/src/appenv.py -o appenv
chmod +x appenv
# appenv init is interactive
# Answer: 
# httpie as dependency
# http as binary
./appenv init 
./http

What just happened?

• appenv installed itself inplace by adding the ./appenv script.
• init created pyproject.toml and a symlink http → appenv.
• ./http set up the venv with pinned versions from uv.lock, then ran the http binary (from the httpie package)

The repository now contains:

myproject/
├── appenv          # The appenv script (single file, committed to git)
├── http -> appenv  # Runs the `http` binary from installed deps
├── pyproject.toml  # Project config and dependency list
└── uv.lock         # Exact versions of all dependencies (committed to git)

Development

For dev tooling, uv run and other uv commands work transparently. appenv automatically creates a .venv symlink to make this work:

# includes dev dependencies automatically
uv run pytest -xvs 

Documentation

Full documentation at Readthedocs:

• Installation -- how to get appenv
• Commands Reference -- all commands with options
• Workflows -- common usage patterns
• Locking Behavior -- how uv.lock works
• Developer Guide -- development setup and architecture