astral-sh/uv · error · anyhow::Error

Symlink-based installation is not supported with `--no-cache

Error message

Symlink-based installation is not supported with `--no-cache`. The created environment will be rendered unusable by the removal of the cache.

What it means

Error "Symlink-based installation is not supported with `--no-cache`. The created environment will be rendered unusable by the removal of the cache." thrown in astral-sh/uv.

Source

Thrown at crates/uv-installer/src/installer.rs:100

        }
    }

    /// Install a set of wheels into a Python virtual environment.
    #[instrument(skip_all, fields(num_wheels = %wheels.len()))]
    pub async fn install(self, wheels: Vec<CachedDist>) -> Result<Vec<CachedDist>> {
        let Self {
            venv,
            cache,
            link_mode,
            reporter,
            name: installer_name,
            metadata: installer_metadata,
            preview,
        } = self;

        if cache.is_some_and(Cache::is_temporary) {
            if link_mode.is_symlink() {
                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
                    "Symlink-based installation is not supported with `--no-cache`. The created environment will be rendered unusable by the removal of the cache."
                ));
            }
        }

        let (tx, rx) = oneshot::channel();

        let layout = venv.interpreter().layout();
        let relocatable = venv.relocatable();
        // Initialize the threadpool with the user settings.
        initialize_rayon_once();
        rayon::spawn(move || {
            let result = install(
                wheels,
                &layout,
                installer_name.as_deref(),
                link_mode,
                reporter.as_ref(),

View on GitHub (pinned to f1a42680ff)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/uv-installer/src/installer.rs:100 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of astral-sh/uv@f1a42680ff (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a00a2938201df152. Report an issue: GitHub.