Set up Positron and uv

What each tool does¶

Step 1: install Positron¶

1. Open the official Positron download page.
2. Download the installer for your operating system.
3. Install and open Positron.

Step 2: check or install uv¶

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex

To verify it's actually installed:

1. In Positron, open View > Terminal.
2. Type the command below and press Enter.

uv --version

If a version number appears, uv is ready.

The official uv installation page lists alternative installation methods.

Step 3: create a project environment¶

The Positron menus may look slightly different across versions, but the workflow is the same.

1. In Positron, choose New > New Folder from Template.
2. Select Python Project.
3. Choose a location such as your Documents folder and name the project indigo-data.
4. When asked, create a pyproject.toml file.
5. Choose Create a new virtual environment.
6. Choose uv as the environment provider (default).
7. Name the environment .venv (default).
8. Choose the latest stable Python version offered by Positron, then select Create.

Positron may download Python through uv if Python is not already installed. This is expected. A new .venv folder should appear in the project, along with a pyproject.toml file.

Step 4: install one package and verify it can be used¶

We will install polars, a common package for working with tables.

1. Make sure the Positron terminal is open in the indigo-data project.
2. Go to Terminal:

uv add polars

The command adds the package to the project and updates the project's environment. It should also record the dependency in pyproject.toml.

1. Go to Console.
2. Copy the following code block, paste it, and press Enter:

import sys
import polars as pl

print(sys.executable)
print(sys.version)
print(pl.__version__)

You have succeeded when the cell prints a Python path, a Python version, and a polars version without errors.