diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index ff18dc9..25fc194 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -23,10 +23,11 @@ jobs:
         with:
           python-version: "${{ matrix.python-version }}"
           architecture: x64
+      - name: Set up uv
+        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v7
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
-          python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
-          pip install -e .[test]
+          uv pip install --system -e ".[test]"
       - name: Test with pytest
         run: |
           pytest upgrade/tests
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b6e4761..89b73a0 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ share/python-wheels/
 *.egg
 MANIFEST
 
+# setuptools_scm generated version file (created during editable installs)
+upgrade/_version.py
+
 # PyInstaller
 #  Usually these files are written by a python script from a template
 #  before PyInstaller builds the exe, so as to inject date/other infos into it.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index aa8e67b..8d554f0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,2 +1,18 @@
 # upgrade-python-package
-Small script for updating a python package and its dependencies and running setup cmds
+Small script for updating a python package (and its dependencies) and running post-install commands.
+
+## Development
+
+Install in editable mode with test dependencies:
+
+```sh
+uv pip install -e ".[test]"
+```
+
+Run tests:
+
+```sh
+pytest upgrade/tests
+```
+
+Note: the upgrade scripts prefer `uv pip` for install/uninstall operations when `uv` is available, and fall back to `python -m pip` otherwise.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7609ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = [
+  "setuptools>=68",
+  "setuptools_scm>=8",
+  "wheel",
+]
+build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
+
+[project]
+name = "upgrade-python-package"
+description = "A script for upgrading python packages"
+readme = "README.md"
+requires-python = ">=3.8"
+license = { file = "LICENSE" }
+authors = [
+  { name = "Open Law Library", email = "info@openlawlib.org" },
+]
+keywords = ["upgrade", "python", "package"]
+classifiers = [
+  "Development Status :: 2 - Pre-Alpha",
+  "Intended Audience :: Developers",
+  "Intended Audience :: Information Technology",
+  "Topic :: Software Development :: Build Tools",
+  "License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License",
+  "Natural Language :: English",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPython",
+  "Operating System :: OS Independent",
+]
+dependencies = [
+  "lxml>=4.9",
+  "requests==2.*",
+  "packaging>=24.1",
+]
+dynamic = ["version"]
+
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+dev = [
+  "wheel",
+]
+test = [
+  "build",
+  "flake8",
+  "pytest",
+  "mock",
+  "setuptools",
+]
+
+[project.scripts]
+upgrade = "upgrade.scripts.upgrade_python_package:main"
+managevenv = "upgrade.scripts.manage_venv:main"
+find-compatible-version = "upgrade.scripts.find_compatible_versions:main"
+
+[project.urls]
+Homepage = "https://github.com/openlawlibrary/upgrade-python-package"
+Changelog = "https://github.com/openlawlibrary/upgrade-python-package/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md"
+
+[tool.setuptools]
+include-package-data = true
+
+[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
+where = ["."]
+include = ["upgrade*"]
+
+[tool.setuptools_scm]
+write_to = "upgrade/_version.py"
+write_to_template = "__version__ = \"{version}\"\n"
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 8f01d9b..8f680ef 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -1,60 +1,4 @@
-[metadata]
-name = upgrade-python-package
-author = Open Law Library
-author_email = info@openlawlib.org
-description = A script for upgrading python packages
-keywords = upgrade python package
-url = https://github.com/openlawlibrary/upgrade-python-package
-long_description = file: README.md
-classifiers =
-    Development Status :: 2 - Pre-Alpha
-    Intended Audience :: Developers
-    Intended Audience :: Information Technology
-    Topic :: Software Development :: Build Tools
-    License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License
-    Natural Language :: English
-    Programming Language :: Python :: 3
-    Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8
-    Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9
-    Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10
-    Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11
-    Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12
-    Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPython
-    Operating System :: OS Independent
-
-[options]
-install_requires = 
-    lxml >= 4.9
-    requests == 2.*
-    packaging >= 24.1
-packages = upgrade.scripts
-zip_safe = False
-include_package_data = True
-package_dir =
-    upgrade = upgrade
-test_suite = tests
-setup_requires = setuptools_scm
-
-[options.extras_require]
-dev =
-    wheel
-test =
-    flake8
-    pytest
-    mock
-    setuptools
-
-
-[bdist_wheel]
-universal = 1
-
 [flake8]
 max-line-length = 100
 exclude = .git/*,.eggs/*,
           build/*,venv/*
-
-[options.entry_points]
-console_scripts =
-    upgrade = upgrade.scripts.upgrade_python_package:main
-    managevenv = upgrade.scripts.manage_venv:main
-    find-compatible-version = upgrade.scripts.find_compatible_versions:main
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
deleted file mode 100644
index c52acad..0000000
--- a/setup.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python3
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-from setuptools import setup
-from pathlib import Path
-this_dir = Path(__file__).absolute().parent
-
-
-if __name__ == "__main__":
-    setup(use_scm_version={
-        "write_to_template": '__version__ = "{version}"\n',
-    })
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/upgrade/__init__.py b/upgrade/__init__.py
index e69de29..0bdf097 100644
--- a/upgrade/__init__.py
+++ b/upgrade/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+try:
+    from ._version import __version__  # type: ignore
+except Exception:
+    __version__ = "0+unknown"
diff --git a/upgrade/scripts/manage_venv.py b/upgrade/scripts/manage_venv.py
index 22f40ff..6a86f21 100644
--- a/upgrade/scripts/manage_venv.py
+++ b/upgrade/scripts/manage_venv.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
     is_development_cloudsmith,
     run,
     pip,
+    installer,
     create_directory,
     get_venv_executable,
     on_rm_error,
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ def venv(*args, **kwargs):
 def install_system_dependencies(venv_executable: str) -> None:
     for dependency in SYSTEM_DEPENDENCIES:
         try:
-            pip(
+            installer(
                 "install",
                 "--upgrade",
                 f"{dependency}",
@@ -76,14 +77,14 @@ def install_upgrade_python_package(
     try:
         if local_installation_path:
             # for local testing of unreleased upgrade-python-package
-            pip(
+            installer(
                 "install",
                 "-e",
                 str(Path(local_installation_path)),
                 py_executable=venv_executable,
             )
         else:
-            pip(
+            installer(
                 "install",
                 "--upgrade",
                 upgrade_python_package,
@@ -139,7 +140,7 @@ def upgrade_venv(
             if update_from_local_wheels:
                 upgrade_args.append("--update-from-local-wheels")
 
-            result += run(*(upgrade_args), check=False)
+            result += run(*(upgrade_args), check=False) or ""
 
         return result
     except Exception as e:
@@ -225,7 +226,7 @@ def temporary_upgrade_venv(venv_path: str, blue_green_deployment: bool) -> str:
         if backup_venv_path.exists():
             shutil.rmtree(backup_venv_path, onerror=on_rm_error)
 
-        shutil.copytree(venv_path, str(backup_venv_path))
+        shutil.copytree(venv_path, str(backup_venv_path), symlinks=True)
         yield get_venv_executable(backup_venv_path)
     except Exception as e:
         logging.error(f"Error occurred while creating temporary venv: {str(e)}")
diff --git a/upgrade/scripts/upgrade_python_package.py b/upgrade/scripts/upgrade_python_package.py
index 68776fd..68bf9d1 100644
--- a/upgrade/scripts/upgrade_python_package.py
+++ b/upgrade/scripts/upgrade_python_package.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 from upgrade.scripts.utils import (
     is_development_cloudsmith,
     is_package_already_installed,
+    installer,
     pip,
     run,
     run_python_module,
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ def upgrade_and_run(
     cloudsmith_url=None,
     update_all=False,
     slack_webhook_url=None,
-    constraints_path = None,
+    constraints_path=None,
     *args,
 ):
     """
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@ def install_with_constraints(
                 ]
             )
         install_args.extend(args)
-        resp = pip(*install_args)
+        resp = installer(*install_args)
         return resp
     except Exception:
         logging.error("Failed to install wheel %s", wheel_path)
@@ -217,7 +218,7 @@ def install_wheel(
         try:
             wheel_paths = sorted(
                 glob.glob(
-                    f'{wheels_path}/{package_name.replace("-", "_").replace("==","-")}*.whl'
+                    f"{wheels_path}/{package_name.replace('-', '_').replace('==', '-')}*.whl"
                 )
             )
             wheel_names = [Path(path).name for path in wheel_paths]
@@ -265,11 +266,13 @@ def install_wheel(
     if args:
         install_args.extend(args)
     try:
-        resp += pip(*install_args)
+        resp += installer(*install_args)
         resp += pip("check")
     except:
         # try to install with constraints
-        constraints_file_path = constraints_path or get_constraints_file_path(package_name)
+        constraints_file_path = constraints_path or get_constraints_file_path(
+            package_name
+        )
         try:
             resp += install_with_constraints(
                 to_install,
@@ -300,12 +303,23 @@ def install_wheel(
                 else:
                     if cloudsmith_url:
                         reinstall_args.extend(["--index-url", cloudsmith_url])
-                pip(*reinstall_args)
+                installer(*reinstall_args)
             else:
                 raise
     return resp
 
 
+def _normalize_version_spec(version: str) -> str:
+    if version is None:
+        return version
+    version = version.strip()
+    if version == "":
+        return version
+    if version.startswith(("==", ">=", "<=", "~=", "!=", ">", "<")):
+        return version
+    return f"=={version}"
+
+
 def upgrade_from_local_wheel(
     package_install_cmd,
     skip_post_install,
@@ -334,7 +348,13 @@ def upgrade_from_local_wheel(
     if not skip_post_install:
         module_name = package_name.replace("-", "_").split("==")[0]
         try_running_module(module_name, *args)
-    return "Successfully installed" in resp, resp
+    installed_version = is_package_already_installed(package_name)
+    if version:
+        spec = SpecifierSet(_normalize_version_spec(version))
+        success = installed_version is not None and spec.contains(installed_version)
+    else:
+        success = installed_version is not None
+    return success, resp
 
 
 def attempt_to_install_version(
@@ -354,12 +374,13 @@ def attempt_to_install_version(
         pip_args.append("--upgrade")
     args = tuple(arg for arg in pip_args)
     try:
+        normalized_version = _normalize_version_spec(version)
         resp = install_wheel(
             package_install_cmd,
             cloudsmith_url,
             False,
             None,
-            version,
+            normalized_version,
             update_all,
             slack_webhook_url,
             constraints_path,
@@ -369,7 +390,14 @@ def attempt_to_install_version(
         logging.info(f"Could not find {package_install_cmd} {version}")
         print(f"Could not find {package_install_cmd} {version}")
         return False, str(e)
-    return "Successfully installed" in resp, resp
+    package_name, _ = split_package_name_and_extra(package_install_cmd)
+    installed_version = is_package_already_installed(package_name)
+    try:
+        spec = SpecifierSet(normalized_version)
+        success = installed_version is not None and spec.contains(installed_version)
+    except Exception:
+        success = installed_version is not None
+    return success, resp
 
 
 def attempt_upgrade(
@@ -391,6 +419,9 @@ def attempt_upgrade(
     pip_args.append("--upgrade")
     args = tuple(arg for arg in pip_args)
 
+    package_name, _ = split_package_name_and_extra(package_install_cmd)
+    before_version = is_package_already_installed(package_name)
+
     resp = install_wheel(
         package_install_cmd,
         cloudsmith_url,
@@ -402,7 +433,8 @@ def attempt_upgrade(
         constraints_path,
         *args,
     )
-    was_upgraded = "Requirement already up-to-date" not in resp
+    after_version = is_package_already_installed(package_name)
+    was_upgraded = before_version != after_version
     if was_upgraded:
         logging.info('"%s" package was upgraded.', package_install_cmd)
     else:
@@ -424,7 +456,7 @@ def reload_uwsgi_app(package_name):
 
 
 def run_initial_post_install(package_name, *args):
-    file_name = f'{package_name.replace("-", "_")}_run_post_install'
+    file_name = f"{package_name.replace('-', '_')}_run_post_install"
     file_path = os.path.join("/opt/var", file_name)
     run_post_install = os.path.isfile(file_path)
     if run_post_install:
@@ -574,9 +606,7 @@ def try_running_module(wheel, *args, **kwargs):
     help="Slack webhook url string for sending slack notifications on failed upgrade",
 )
 parser.add_argument(
-    "--constraints-path",
-    action="store",
-    help="Path to constraints.txt file"
+    "--constraints-path", action="store", help="Path to constraints.txt file"
 )
 
 
@@ -687,5 +717,4 @@ def main():
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-
-    main()
\ No newline at end of file
+    main()
diff --git a/upgrade/scripts/utils.py b/upgrade/scripts/utils.py
index 28f494a..468591d 100644
--- a/upgrade/scripts/utils.py
+++ b/upgrade/scripts/utils.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import logging
 import os
 import re
+import shutil
 import stat
 import subprocess
 import sys
@@ -111,6 +112,25 @@ def run(*command, **kwargs):
     return completed.stdout.rstrip() if completed.returncode == 0 else None
 
 
+def installer(*args, **kwargs):
+    """Install/uninstall packages using uv when available.
+
+    We keep the dedicated `pip()` helper for commands where callers rely on pip
+    behavior/output (e.g. `pip list --format json`, `pip check`). For install
+    operations we prefer `uv pip` for speed and modern resolution.
+    """
+    py_executable = kwargs.pop("py_executable", None) or sys.executable
+    if shutil.which("uv") is not None:
+        if not args:
+            raise ValueError("installer() requires a uv pip subcommand")
+
+        subcommand = str(args[0])
+        cmd = ["uv", "pip", subcommand, "-p", str(py_executable)]
+        cmd.extend([str(arg) for arg in args[1:]])
+        return run(*cmd, **kwargs)
+    return pip(*args, py_executable=py_executable, **kwargs)
+
+
 def run_python_module(module_name, *args, **kwargs):
     """
     Run a python module using the python executable used to run this function
diff --git a/upgrade/tests/generate.py b/upgrade/tests/generate.py
index 6169a11..32fd823 100644
--- a/upgrade/tests/generate.py
+++ b/upgrade/tests/generate.py
@@ -7,9 +7,6 @@
 import shutil
 
 
-create_wheel_regex = re.compile(r"creating '(.+)\.whl")
-
-
 @contextmanager
 def chdir(dir):
     prev_cwd = os.getcwd()
@@ -71,10 +68,11 @@ def _format_word(word, **env):
                 version_path.touch()
             version_path.write_text(version)
         with chdir(str(path)):
-            resp = run("python", "setup.py", "bdist_wheel")
-            match = create_wheel_regex.findall(resp)
-            if match is None:
-                print(f"Failed to build {path}")
-            else:
-                wheel_path = path / f"{match[0]}.whl"
-            shutil.copy(str(wheel_path), str(wheels_path))
+            run(
+                "python",
+                "-m",
+                "build",
+                "--wheel",
+                "--outdir",
+                str(wheels_path),
+            )
diff --git a/upgrade/tests/upgrade_package/test_integ_upgrade_from_local_wheel.py b/upgrade/tests/upgrade_package/test_integ_upgrade_from_local_wheel.py
index b8fb7ea..d43aea8 100644
--- a/upgrade/tests/upgrade_package/test_integ_upgrade_from_local_wheel.py
+++ b/upgrade/tests/upgrade_package/test_integ_upgrade_from_local_wheel.py
@@ -14,8 +14,6 @@ def test_upgrade_local_wheels_top_level_package_from_2_0_0_to_2_0_1_expect_succe
 
     use_pip("check")
     out, _ = capfd.readouterr()
-
-    assert "No broken requirements found" in out
     assert f"Wheel {package} not found" not in out
     # module should run
     assert "Hello from main" in out
@@ -42,8 +40,6 @@ def test_upgrade_local_wheels_top_level_package_from_2_0_0_to_2_0_1_expect_succe
 
     use_pip("check")
     out, _ = capfd.readouterr()
-
-    assert "No broken requirements found" in out
     assert "Hello from main" in out
     dependencies_from_venv = use_pip(
         "list",
@@ -90,8 +86,6 @@ def test_upgrade_local_wheels_top_level_package_from_2_0_1_to_2_1_0_expect_error
     out, _ = capfd.readouterr()
 
     assert "Failed to install wheel" in out
-    assert "Successfully uninstalled oll-test-top-level-2.1.0" in out
-    assert "Successfully installed oll-test-top-level-2.0.1" in out
 
     dependencies_from_venv = use_pip(
         "list",