Master Python Project Management with PDM: Installation, Commands, and Tips

Introduction

In this article the author introduces PDM (Python Development Master), a modern Python package manager that aims to simplify dependency handling and project setup.

Installing and Using PDM

<code># macOS install pipx
brew install pipx
pipx ensurepath

# Linux install pipx
python3 -m pip install pipx
python3 -m pipx ensurepath</code>

Install PDM with pipx

PDM requires Python 3.7+. Using pipx avoids worrying about the Python version used for installation.

<code>pipx install pdm
pipx list</code>

Configure PDM auto-completion

<code># zsh method
mkdir $ZSH_CUSTOM/plugins/pdm
pdm completion zsh > $ZSH_CUSTOM/plugins/pdm/_pdm

vim ~/.zshrc
plugins=(
  pdm
  poetry
  git
  zsh-completions
  zsh-autosuggestions
)

source ~/.zshrc

pdm info</code>

Initialize a PDM project

Running

pdm init

prompts for project information such as PyPI upload, Python version, license, author, and email.

Upload to PyPI?

Python version

License type

Author information

Email

<code>mkdir pdm-demo
cd pdm-demo
pdm init</code>

Common PDM Commands

<code># Install package
pdm add requests

# List packages
pdm list

# List as graph
pdm list --graph

# Show package details
pdm show requests

# Remove package
pdm remove requests

# Show project config
pdm config

# Change PyPI source
pdm config pypi.url http://mirrors.aliyun.com/pypi/simple
pdm config pypi.url</code>

Run commands

Use

pdm run

to execute commands within the PDM environment.

<code>cat main.py
print('Hello, pdm')

pdm run python main.py</code>

View environment

<code>pdm info -v
pdm info --env
pdm info --packages
pdm info --where
pdm info --python</code>

Update packages

<code># Update all packages
pdm update

# Update a specific package
pdm update <pkg></code>

Additional options include

--save-compatible

,

--save-wildcard

,

--save-exact

,

--save-minimum

,

--update-reuse

,

--update-eager

,

--prerelease

,

--unconstrained

,

--top

,

--dry-run

, and

--no-sync

.

Switch Python version

Use

pdm use python3.9

to change the interpreter within the constraints set during initialization.

Command aliases

Add scripts under

[tool.pdm.scripts]

in

pyproject.toml

to create shortcuts.

<code># Example
[tool.pdm.scripts]
start = "python main.py"
# or
start = {cmd = "python main.py"}</code>

Aliases can include comments, shell execution, and environment files.

Compatibility with Other Tools

PDM can import projects from pipenv, poetry, or a requirements.txt file using

pdm import -f

or automatically during

pdm init

. It can also export to

setup.py

or

requirements.txt

.

<code>pdm export -f setuppy -o setup.py
pdm export -o requirements.txt</code>

Configure PDM in PyCharm

Create a project directory, run

pdm init

, set the PyPI source, and open the folder in PyCharm. Mark the

__pypackages__/3.10

lib folder as Sources Root and select the same Python interpreter shown by

pdm info

.

<code>pdm info
# shows interpreter path and project packages location</code>

The article concludes that PDM is powerful, flexible, and worth trying for Python development.