uv python uninstall

Uninstall Python versions

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 versions
• 3.12.4 - Uninstall Python 3.12.4 specifically
• cpython@3.11 - Uninstall CPython 3.11.x
• pypy@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.

Version Request Formats

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

Output Format

Successful Uninstall

uv python uninstall 3.12

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

uv python uninstall 3.15

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

uv python uninstall 3.12

Removes all Python 3.12.x installations.

Uninstall a specific patch version

uv python uninstall 3.12.4

Removes only Python 3.12.4.

Uninstall multiple versions

uv python uninstall 3.10 3.11

Removes Python 3.10.x and 3.11.x.

Uninstall PyPy

uv python uninstall pypy@3.10

Uninstall all managed Python versions

uv python uninstall --all

Warning: This removes all Python versions installed by uv.

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

uv only uninstalls Python versions that it installed. System Python (from your OS package manager, Homebrew, etc.) cannot be removed by uv.

Version not found

error: Python 3.12 is not installed

The requested Python version is not installed, or it’s a system installation that uv doesn’t manage.

Check installed versions:

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

• uv python install - Download and install Python versions
• uv python list - List available Python installations
• uv python find - Find a Python installation
• uv python pin - Pin to a specific Python version