Poetry's Move Toward Python Standards
ℹ️
This is an excerpt from the forthcoming Python Developer’s Tool Handbook. The handbook provides comprehensive guidance on Python tooling and best practices for modern Python development.
While modern Python build tools like uv, Hatch, PDM, and Flit embraced PEP 621’s standardized project metadata from their inception, Poetry - one of the most widely used packaging tools - maintained its own configuration format in tool.poetry until version 2.0. This delay reflected both Poetry’s established user base and its richer feature set beyond standard packaging needs.
Poetry 2.0’s adoption of the project section for pyproject.toml files represents a significant step toward ecosystem-wide standardization. This change brings Poetry into alignment with the broader Python packaging ecosystem while maintaining backwards compatibility through careful deprecation.
ℹ️
Poetry retains its
tool.poetry.dependencies section due to supporting features beyond PEP 621’s scope, though users can opt to use project.dependencies for standard cases.The adoption of these standards delivers several key benefits:
- Improved Interoperability: Projects can move between different build tools more easily
- Future Compatibility: Better alignment with emerging Python packaging standards
Learn More:
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Python Developer Tooling Handbook: