install

Install a Python version.

Usage

scuv install [version] [options]

Arguments

Options

What gets installed where

The interpreter itself lands in uv’s own directory (~/.local/share/uv/python/...); scuv records nothing about it beyond what uv python list reports.

Since uv 0.8.0 there is a second effect worth knowing about: uv python install also links a versioned executable onto your PATH — typically ~/.local/bin/python3.13 — so the interpreter is reachable without going through a virtual environment at all.

$ ls -l ~/.local/bin/python3.14
~/.local/bin/python3.14 -> ~/.local/share/uv/python/cpython-3.14.../bin/python3.14

That executable points at the bare interpreter: standard library only, and you cannot install packages into it. Use a scuv environment for anything past a quick python3.14 -c '...'.

uv itself accepts --no-bin to skip the link, but scuv install does not currently forward flags to uv, so there is no way to opt out through scuv. Run uv python install --no-bin <version> directly if you need that.

Version Resolution

• No argument or --latest: installs latest Python 3.x
• --stable: installs Python 3.10 (oldest with active security support)
• 3.12: installs latest 3.12.x patch
• 3.12.3: installs exact version

Examples

scuv install                    # Install latest
scuv install --latest           # Same as above
scuv install --stable           # Install Python 3.10
scuv install 3.12               # Install latest 3.12.x
scuv install 3.12.3             # Install exact 3.12.3

Note: Python versions are managed by uv.

Python Discovery

You don’t always need scuv install. When you run scuv create, uv searches for a matching Python in this order:

1. uv-managed — installed via scuv install or uv python install
2. System PATH — Homebrew, apt, pyenv, or any Python on your PATH
3. Platform-specific — Windows registry, Microsoft Store

# See all Python versions uv can find
uv python list

# Example output:
# cpython-3.13.1    /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.13     (system)
# cpython-3.12.8    ~/.local/share/uv/python/...     (managed)
# cpython-3.11.5    /usr/bin/python3.11               (system)

# Use system Python directly — no scuv install needed
scuv create myenv 3.13

If the requested version isn’t found anywhere, scuv create will fail with an error. Use scuv install <version> to download it first.

See also: Python Management for custom Python paths, environment variables, and migration.