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OpenAI to Acquire Astral (maker of uv, ruff) (openai.com)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/python@programming.dev
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Today we’re announcing that OpenAI will acquire Astral⁠, bringing powerful open source developer tools into our Codex ecosystem.

Astral has built some of the most widely used open source Python tools, helping developers move faster with modern tooling like uv, Ruff, and ty. These tools power millions of developer workflows and have become part of the foundation of modern Python development. As part of our developer-first philosophy, after closing OpenAI plans to support Astral’s open source products. By bringing Astral’s tooling and engineering expertise to OpenAI, we will accelerate our work on Codex and expand what AI can do across the software development lifecycle.

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[–] 7 points 7 months ago (1 child)

OpenAI could direct anyone working at Astral to insert whatever they want into uv, ruff or ty, without any regard to the needs or desires of the wider community. Or just drop working on it entirely.

Sure, these tools are open source and can be forked. But to do that successfully you'll need to replace everything that Astral currently provides these projects: expertise of core contributors, the time they have to actually work on it, and organisational skills to manage these projects.

This isn't something you can do overnight.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

    OpenAI could direct anyone working at Astral to insert whatever they want

    This would be suicidal for the project if it ignores the community. the project would instantly risk forking and OpenAI losing the ability to influence the ecosystem direction.

    to your second point on needing contributors and infrastructor after a fork, while this is true, uv specifically has seen MASSIVE adoption both for hobbyists AND corporate interests. it has greatly simplified the overall python packaging experience. I would not be shocked if other corps began supporting a community fork if the main project went off the rails.

    Bun, another open source project, has been doing just fine under Anthropic nearly a year later. Until there is more concrete info on the direction this will take, the fear is MASSIVELY overblown. uv is quickly starting to hit critical mass adoption and may be too important for it to end up in a dumpster.

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