pypa/pip-tools

What is it?

Key features

• 01Compiles pinned requirements.txt files from pyproject.toml, setup.py, setup.cfg, or requirements.in.
• 02Includes transitive dependencies and annotates which package requires each pin.
• 03Generates sha256 hashes for pip's hash-checking mode with --generate-hashes.
• 04Upgrades all packages or selected ones with --upgrade and --upgrade-package.
• 05Syncs a virtual environment to exactly match a requirements file with pip-sync.
• 06Supports layered requirement files that constrain one another.

Use cases

• Pinning application dependencies for reproducible production builds.
• Keeping a library's CI environment stable while still updating pins deliberately.
• Maintaining separate production and development requirement sets with shared constraints.
• Running pip-compile as a pre-commit hook to regenerate pins when inputs change.

Quick start

1. 1

   Activate your project's virtual environment and install pip-tools

   python -m pip install pip-tools
2. 2

   Compile your requirements.in into a pinned requirements.txt

   pip-compile requirements.in
3. 3

   Sync your virtual environment to match requirements.txt

   pip-sync

Topics

FAQ

What is pip-tools?

A set of command-line tools (pip-compile and pip-sync) that pin Python dependencies into reproducible requirements files and keep environments in sync with them. pip-tools helps Python projects keep pinned dependencies up to date while keeping builds predictable. pip-compile reads dependencies from pyproject.toml, setup.py, setup.cfg, or a requirements.in file and produces a fully pinned requirements.txt that includes all transitive dependencies, with optional hash generation for pip's hash-checking mode.

Is pip-tools free to use? What license does it have?

pip-tools is open source under the BSD-3-Clause license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.

Is pip-tools still maintained?

Actively maintained. The last commit to pip-tools was on Nov 6, 2026.

What can I use pip-tools for?

Pinning application dependencies for reproducible production builds. Keeping a library's CI environment stable while still updating pins deliberately. Maintaining separate production and development requirement sets with shared constraints. Running pip-compile as a pre-commit hook to regenerate pins when inputs change.

How do I install pip-tools?

Activate your project's virtual environment and install pip-tools: python -m pip install pip-tools Compile your requirements.in into a pinned requirements.txt: pip-compile requirements.in Sync your virtual environment to match requirements.txt: pip-sync

Where can I get pip-tools?

The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/pypa/pip-tools