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Synopsis
uv python uninstall [OPTIONS] <TARGETS>...
uv python uninstall [OPTIONS] --all
Description
Uninstall Python versions.
Removes Python installations that were installed by uv. System Python installations cannot be uninstalled.
Either specific Python versions must be provided, or use --all to uninstall all managed Python versions.
Arguments
<TARGETS>...
The Python version(s) to uninstall.
See uv help python to view supported request formats.
Required unless --all is specified.
Examples:
3.12 - Uninstall all Python 3.12.x versions3.12.4 - Uninstall Python 3.12.4 specificallycpython@3.11 - Uninstall CPython 3.11.xpypy@3.10 - Uninstall PyPy 3.10
Options
Installation Directory
-d, --install-dir <INSTALL_DIR>
The directory where the Python was installed.
- Type: Path
- Default:
~/.local/share/uv/python
- Environment variable:
UV_PYTHON_INSTALL_DIR
Uninstall All
--all
Uninstall all managed Python versions.
- Conflicts with:
<TARGETS>
Warning: This will remove all Python versions installed by uv.
The following Python version request formats are supported:
<version> e.g. 3, 3.12, 3.12.3<version-specifier> e.g. >=3.12,<3.13<version><short-variant> e.g., 3.13t, 3.12.0d<version>+<variant> e.g., 3.13+freethreaded, 3.12.0+debug<implementation> e.g. cpython or cp<implementation>@<version> e.g. cpython@3.12<implementation><version> e.g. cpython3.12 or cp312<implementation><version-specifier> e.g. cpython>=3.12,<3.13<implementation>-<version>-<os>-<arch>-<libc> e.g. cpython-3.12.3-macos-aarch64-none
Successful Uninstall
Uninstalled Python 3.12.8
- cpython-3.12.8-macos-aarch64-none
Multiple Versions
uv python uninstall 3.11 3.12
Uninstalled 2 versions
- cpython-3.11.11-macos-aarch64-none
- cpython-3.12.8-macos-aarch64-none
Version Not Found
error: Python 3.15 is not installed
Installed Python versions:
cpython-3.13.1-macos-aarch64-none
cpython-3.12.8-macos-aarch64-none
cpython-3.11.11-macos-aarch64-none
cpython-3.10.16-macos-aarch64-none
Uninstall All
uv python uninstall --all
Uninstalled 4 versions
- cpython-3.13.1-macos-aarch64-none
- cpython-3.12.8-macos-aarch64-none
- cpython-3.11.11-macos-aarch64-none
- cpython-3.10.16-macos-aarch64-none
No Managed Pythons
uv python uninstall --all
No managed Python versions found
Examples
Uninstall a specific version
Removes all Python 3.12.x installations.
Uninstall a specific patch version
uv python uninstall 3.12.4
Uninstall multiple versions
uv python uninstall 3.10 3.11
Uninstall PyPy
uv python uninstall pypy@3.10
Uninstall all managed Python versions
uv python uninstall --all
Uninstall from custom directory
uv python uninstall 3.12 --install-dir /custom/python/dir
Uninstall specific full key
uv python uninstall cpython-3.12.8-macos-aarch64-none
Check before uninstalling
# List installed versions first
uv python list --only-installed
# Then uninstall
uv python uninstall 3.11
Use Cases
Free up disk space
# Check what's installed
uv python list --only-installed
# Remove old versions
uv python uninstall 3.9 3.10
Clean installation
# Remove all uv-managed Python
uv python uninstall --all
# Reinstall fresh
uv python install 3.12 3.13
Remove after upgrading
# Upgrade to latest patch
uv python install 3.12 --upgrade
# Old 3.12.7 is still there, remove it
uv python uninstall 3.12.7
Test environment cleanup
# After testing with multiple versions
uv python uninstall pypy@3.10 3.13t
Migration cleanup
# Migrated from 3.11 to 3.12
# Remove old version
uv python uninstall 3.11
Script cleanup
#!/bin/bash
# Clean up test Python installations
echo "Installed Python versions:"
uv python list --only-installed
read -p "Remove all managed Python versions? (y/n) " -n 1 -r
echo
if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
uv python uninstall --all
echo "All managed Python versions removed"
fi
Selective cleanup
# Keep 3.12 and 3.13, remove everything else
uv python list --only-installed | grep -v "3.12\|3.13" | while read -r version; do
uv python uninstall "$version"
done
Verify and uninstall
# Check if specific version is installed
if uv python find 3.10 > /dev/null 2>&1; then
echo "Uninstalling Python 3.10"
uv python uninstall 3.10
else
echo "Python 3.10 not installed"
fi
Reinstall
# Uninstall and reinstall to fix issues
uv python uninstall 3.12
uv python install 3.12
Important Notes
Virtual Environments
Warning: Uninstalling a Python version will break any virtual environments that use it.
# Check what's using a Python version
find . -name "pyvenv.cfg" -exec grep -l "3.11" {} \;
# Recreate environments after uninstalling
uv sync # In each project
System Python
uv cannot uninstall system Python installations. Only Python versions installed by uv can be removed.
# This won't work if Python 3.11 is a system installation
uv python uninstall 3.11
# Error: Cannot uninstall system Python
Executables
Uninstalling a Python version also removes associated executables installed in the bin directory.
No Confirmation
The uninstall command does not ask for confirmation. Use carefully, especially with --all.
# No "Are you sure?" prompt
uv python uninstall --all # Immediately removes everything
Verification
After uninstalling
# Verify removal
uv python list --only-installed
# Check specific version is gone
uv python find 3.11 # Should fail if 3.11 was uninstalled
Check disk space freed
# Before
du -sh ~/.local/share/uv/python
# Uninstall
uv python uninstall 3.10 3.11
# After
du -sh ~/.local/share/uv/python
Troubleshooting
Cannot uninstall system Python
error: Cannot uninstall system Python installation
Version not found
error: Python 3.12 is not installed
uv python list --only-installed
Virtual environment errors after uninstall
If you see errors in virtual environments after uninstalling Python:
# Recreate the virtual environment
rm -rf .venv
uv sync
See Also