diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e5865772c..1f10dbc17 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ Plus continued work on modernization of codebase: UI is now fully TypeScript bas
     see *settings -> huggingface -> download method* for options  
   - **Nunchaku** consider *DEV* builds when auto-installing
   - **Gallery** add clear cache button to folder menu
+  - **UV** much updated `--uv` support for fast installs  
+    now also supports global `uv` if present in the system  
 - **Changes**
   - all **Guidance** params are now set to *-1* by default to allow using model defaults and avoid confusion with different model behaviour  
     log will print default values used by model if not set by user  
diff --git a/installer.py b/installer.py
index 751d3f870..842e132c8 100644
--- a/installer.py
+++ b/installer.py
@@ -208,6 +208,37 @@ def uninstall(package, quiet = False):
     return txt
 
 
+def uv_info():
+    uv_version = None
+    uv_cache_dir = None
+    uv_cache_active = False
+    uv_local = os.path.join(sys.prefix, "bin", "uv") # Prefer uv inside the venv
+    if os.path.exists(uv_local):
+        uv_version = subprocess.check_output([uv_local, "--version"], text=True).strip()
+        uv_cache_dir = subprocess.check_output([uv_local, "cache", "dir"], text=True).strip()
+    uv_global = shutil.which("uv") # Fallback: system uv
+    if uv_global:
+        uv_version = subprocess.check_output([uv_global, "--version"], text=True).strip()
+        uv_cache_dir = subprocess.check_output([uv_global, "cache", "dir"], text=True).strip()
+    uv_cache_disabled = os.environ.get("UV_NO_CACHE") == "1"
+    site = next(p for p in sys.path if p.endswith("site-packages"))
+    if uv_cache_dir and not uv_cache_disabled:
+        for root, _dirs, files in os.walk(site):
+            for f in files:
+                full = os.path.join(root, f)
+                try:
+                    st = os.stat(full)
+                except FileNotFoundError:
+                    continue
+                if st.st_nlink > 1: # Hardlink count > 1 means deduped
+                    uv_cache_active = True
+                cache_path = os.path.join(uv_cache_dir, f) # Or check if inode matches something in cache
+                if os.path.exists(cache_path):
+                    if os.stat(cache_path).st_ino == st.st_ino:
+                        uv_cache_active = True
+    log.debug(f'Package manager: app=uv version="{uv_version}" folder="{uv_cache_dir}" dedup={uv_cache_active}')
+
+
 def run(cmd: str, *nargs: str, **kwargs):
     options = {
         "check": False,
@@ -253,7 +284,8 @@ def pip(arg: str, ignore: bool = False, quiet: bool = True, *, uv = True, constr
         log.warning('Offline mode enabled')
         return None, 'offline'
     package = arg.replace("install", "").replace("--upgrade", "").replace("--no-deps", "").replace("--force-reinstall", "").strip()
-    uv = uv and args.uv and not package.startswith('git+')
+    # uv = uv and args.uv and not package.startswith('git+')
+    uv = uv and args.uv
     pipCmd = "uv pip" if uv else "pip"
     if not quiet and '-r ' not in arg:
         log.info(f'Install: package="{package}" mode={"uv" if uv else "pip"}')
@@ -264,20 +296,26 @@ def pip(arg: str, ignore: bool = False, quiet: bool = True, *, uv = True, constr
     all_args.append(arg)
     if env_args:
         all_args.append(env_args)
-    if constraints and "-c " not in env_args:
+    if constraints and "-c " not in env_args and arg.startswith("install"):
         all_args.append("-c constraints.txt")
     if not quiet:
         log.debug(f'Running: {pipCmd}="{" ".join(all_args)}"')
 
-    result, output = run(sys.executable, "-m", pipCmd, *all_args)
+    if uv:
+        result, output = run("uv", "pip", *all_args)
+    else:
+        result, output = run(sys.executable, "-m", pipCmd, *all_args)
 
     if len(result.stderr) > 0:
         if uv and result.returncode != 0:
+            print('HERE1', result)
+            print('HERE2', output)
             log.warning(f'Install: cmd="{pipCmd}" args="{" ".join(all_args)}" cannot use uv, fallback to pip')
             debug(f'Install: uv pip error: {result.stderr}')
             cleanup_broken_packages()
             return pip(originalArg, ignore, quiet, uv=False)
-    debug(f'Install {pipCmd}: {output}')
+    if os.environ.get('SD_INSTALL_DEBUG', None) is not None:
+        log.debug(f'PIP cmd="{pipCmd}": {output}')
     if result.returncode != 0 and not ignore:
         errors.append(f'pip: {package}')
         log.error(f'Install: {pipCmd}: {arg}')
@@ -294,7 +332,7 @@ def install(package, friendly: str | None = None, ignore: bool = False, reinstal
     if args.reinstall or args.upgrade:
         global quick_allowed # pylint: disable=global-statement
         quick_allowed = False
-    if (args.reinstall) or (reinstall) or (not installed(package, friendly, quiet=quiet)):
+    if args.reinstall or reinstall or not installed(package, friendly, quiet=quiet):
         deps = '' if not no_deps else '--no-deps '
         isolation = '' if not no_build_isolation else '--no-build-isolation '
         cmd = f"install{' --upgrade' if not args.uv else ''}{' --force-reinstall' if force else ''} {deps}{isolation}{package}"
@@ -432,6 +470,8 @@ def get_platform():
             'locale': locale.getlocale(),
             'setuptools': package_version('setuptools'),
             'docker': os.environ.get('SD_DOCKER', None) is not None,
+            'pip': package_version('pip'),
+            'uv': package_version('uv'),
             # 'host': platform.node(),
             # 'version': platform.version(),
         }
@@ -539,9 +579,9 @@ def check_transformers():
                 log.info(f'Install: package="transformers" version={target_transformers}')
             else:
                 log.info(f'Update: package="transformers" current={pkg_transformers.version} target={target_transformers}')
-            pip('uninstall --yes transformers', ignore=True, quiet=True, uv=False)
-            pip(f'install --upgrade tokenizers=={target_tokenizers}', ignore=False, quiet=True, uv=False)
-            pip(f'install --upgrade transformers=={target_transformers}', ignore=False, quiet=True, uv=False)
+            pip('uninstall --yes transformers', ignore=True, quiet=True)
+            pip(f'install --upgrade tokenizers=={target_tokenizers}', ignore=False, quiet=True)
+            pip(f'install --upgrade transformers=={target_transformers}', ignore=False, quiet=True)
     else:
         # Git commit-pinned version
         current = opts.get('transformers_version', '')
@@ -550,9 +590,9 @@ def check_transformers():
                 log.info(f'Install: package="transformers" commit={target_commit}')
             else:
                 log.info(f'Update: package="transformers" current={pkg_transformers.version} hash={current} target={target_commit}')
-            pip('uninstall --yes transformers', ignore=True, quiet=True, uv=False)
-            pip(f'install --upgrade tokenizers=={target_tokenizers}', ignore=False, quiet=True, uv=False)
-            pip(f'install --upgrade git+https://github.com/huggingface/transformers@{target_commit}', ignore=False, quiet=True, uv=False)
+            pip('uninstall --yes transformers', ignore=True, quiet=True)
+            pip(f'install --upgrade tokenizers=={target_tokenizers}', ignore=False, quiet=True)
+            pip(f'install --upgrade git+https://github.com/huggingface/transformers@{target_commit}', ignore=False, quiet=True)
             global transformers_commit # pylint: disable=global-statement
             transformers_commit = target_commit
     ts('transformers', t_start)
@@ -1490,6 +1530,8 @@ def check_venv():
     import site
     pkg_path = [try_relpath(p) for p in site.getsitepackages() if os.path.exists(p)]
     log.debug(f'Packages: prefix={try_relpath(sys.prefix)} site={pkg_path}')
+    if args.uv:
+        uv_info()
     for p in pkg_path:
         invalid = []
         for f in os.listdir(p):
@@ -1791,12 +1833,18 @@ def read_options():
 def ensure_base_requirements():
     t_start = time.time()
     setuptools_version = '69.5.1'
+    if (args.uv or '--uv' in sys.argv) and (shutil.which('uv') is not None): # early enable uv
+        args.uv = True # pylint: disable=attribute-defined-outside-init
+        uv_info()
 
     def update_setuptools():
         local_log = logging.getLogger('sdnext.installer')
         global setuptools, distutils # pylint: disable=global-statement
         # python may ship with incompatible setuptools
-        subprocess.run(f'"{sys.executable}" -m pip install setuptools=={setuptools_version}', shell=True, check=False, env=os.environ, capture_output=True)
+        if args.uv:
+            subprocess.run(f'uv pip install setuptools=={setuptools_version} wheel', shell=True, check=False, env=os.environ, capture_output=True)
+        else:
+            subprocess.run(f'"{sys.executable}" -m pip install setuptools=={setuptools_version} wheel', shell=True, check=False, env=os.environ, capture_output=True)
         # need to delete all references to modules to be able to reload them otherwise python will use cached version
         modules = [m for m in sys.modules if m.startswith('setuptools') or m.startswith('distutils')]
         for m in modules:
@@ -1825,6 +1873,7 @@ def ensure_base_requirements():
 
     try:
         global setuptools # pylint: disable=global-statement
+        import wheel # pylint: disable=unused-import
         import setuptools # pylint: disable=redefined-outer-name
         if setuptools.__version__ != setuptools_version:
             update_setuptools()
@@ -1832,13 +1881,13 @@ def ensure_base_requirements():
         update_setuptools()
 
     # used by installler itself so must be installed before requirements
-    install('rich==14.1.0', 'rich', quiet=True)
+    install('rich==15.0.0', 'rich', quiet=True)
     install('psutil', 'psutil', quiet=True)
     install('requests==2.32.3', 'requests', quiet=True)
     ts('base', t_start)
 
-# startup
 
+# startup
 ensure_base_requirements()
 from modules.logger import setup_logging # must be loaded after ensure_base_requirements
 from modules.logger import log as log_instance
diff --git a/launch.py b/launch.py
index 20b982331..128135b95 100755
--- a/launch.py
+++ b/launch.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 import time
 import shlex
+import shutil
 import subprocess
 
 import installer
@@ -255,7 +256,7 @@ def main():
     log.info(f'Args: {sys.argv[1:]}')
     if not args.skip_env and not args.skip_all:
         installer.set_environment()
-    if args.uv:
+    if args.uv and shutil.which('uv') is None:
         installer.install('uv', 'uv')
     installer.install_gradio()
     installer.check_torch()
diff --git a/modules/mit_nunchaku.py b/modules/mit_nunchaku.py
index c15ccbd62..c9a26c31b 100644
--- a/modules/mit_nunchaku.py
+++ b/modules/mit_nunchaku.py
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ def install_nunchaku(force=False):
         if url is not None:
             cmd = f'install --upgrade {url}'
             log.debug(f'Nunchaku: install="{url}"')
-            result, _output = pip(cmd, uv=False, ignore=not force, quiet=not force)
+            result, _output = pip(cmd, ignore=not force, quiet=not force)
             return result.returncode == 0
         else:
             import torch
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ def install_nunchaku(force=False):
                     fn = f'nunchaku-{v}+{cuda_ver}torch{torch_ver}-cp{python_ver}-cp{python_ver}-{suffix}.whl'
                 else:
                     fn = f'nunchaku-{v}+{cuda_ver}torch{torch_ver}-cp{python_ver}-cp{python_ver}-{suffix}.whl'
-                result, _output = pip(f'install --upgrade {url+fn}', uv=False, ignore=True, quiet=True)
+                result, _output = pip(f'install --upgrade {url+fn}', ignore=True, quiet=True)
                 if (result is None) or (_output == 'offline'):
                     log.error(f'Nunchaku: install url="{url+fn}" offline mode')
                     return False
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ def install_nunchaku(force=False):
                     log.info(f'Nunchaku: install url="{url}"')
                     return True
                 fn = f'nunchaku-{v}+torch{torch_ver}-cp{python_ver}-cp{python_ver}-{suffix}.whl'
-                result, _output = pip(f'install --upgrade {url+fn}', uv=False, ignore=True, quiet=True)
+                result, _output = pip(f'install --upgrade {url+fn}', ignore=True, quiet=True)
                 if (result is None) or (_output == 'offline'):
                     log.error(f'Nunchaku: install url="{url+fn}" offline mode')
                     return False
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index a858f3fd8..c64603dc5 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ ftfy
 
 # versioned
 fastapi==0.124.4
-rich==14.1.0
+rich==15.0.0
 safetensors==0.8.0rc0
 peft==0.19.1
 httpx==0.28.1
@@ -30,12 +30,12 @@ requests==2.32.3
 tqdm==4.67.3
 accelerate==1.13.0
 einops==0.8.1
-huggingface_hub==1.15.0
+huggingface_hub==1.16.4
 hf_xet==1.5.0
 numpy==2.1.2
 pandas==2.3.1
-protobuf==6.33.5
-pytorch_lightning==2.6.1
+protobuf==7.35.0
+pytorch_lightning==2.6.5
 urllib3==1.26.19
 Pillow==12.2.0
 timm==1.0.24
diff --git a/webui.bat b/webui.bat
index 68fd17c86..382d7624f 100755
--- a/webui.bat
+++ b/webui.bat
@@ -16,24 +16,44 @@ goto :show_stdout_stderr
 
 :check_pip
 %PYTHON% -mpip --help >tmp/stdout.txt 2>tmp/stderr.txt
-if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :start_venv
+if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :check_uv_flag
 if "%PIP_INSTALLER_LOCATION%" == "" goto :show_stdout_stderr
 %PYTHON% "%PIP_INSTALLER_LOCATION%" >tmp/stdout.txt 2>tmp/stderr.txt
-if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :start_venv
+if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :check_uv_flag
 echo Cannot install pip
 goto :show_stdout_stderr
 
+:check_uv_flag
+set use_uv=0
+for %%i in (%*) do (
+    if /I "%%i"=="--uv" set use_uv=1
+)
+
+goto :start_venv
+
 :start_venv
 if ["%VENV_DIR%"] == ["-"] goto :skip_venv
 if ["%SKIP_VENV%"] == ["1"] goto :skip_venv
+if "%use_uv%" == "1" (
+    where uv >nul 2>&1
+    if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
+        echo Warning: uv is not installed, falling back to python venv
+        set use_uv=0
+    )
+)
 
 dir "%VENV_DIR%\Scripts\Python.exe" >tmp/stdout.txt 2>tmp/stderr.txt
 if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :activate_venv
 
 for /f "delims=" %%i in ('CALL %PYTHON% -c "import sys; print(sys.executable)"') do set PYTHON_FULLNAME="%%i"
 echo Using python: %PYTHON_FULLNAME%
-echo Creating VENV: %VENV_DIR%
-%PYTHON_FULLNAME% -m venv "%VENV_DIR%" >tmp/stdout.txt 2>tmp/stderr.txt
+if "%use_uv%" == "1" (
+    echo Creating VENV: UV
+    uv venv "%VENV_DIR%" >tmp/stdout.txt 2>tmp/stderr.txt
+) else (
+    echo Creating VENV: VENV
+    %PYTHON_FULLNAME% -m venv "%VENV_DIR%" >tmp/stdout.txt 2>tmp/stderr.txt
+)
 if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :activate_venv
 echo Failed creating VENV: "%VENV_DIR%"
 goto :show_stdout_stderr
diff --git a/webui.ps1 b/webui.ps1
index a607ac6f1..80675e50d 100755
--- a/webui.ps1
+++ b/webui.ps1
@@ -22,6 +22,14 @@ function ShowStdOutStdErr {
 $PYTHON = if ($env:PYTHON) { $env:PYTHON } else { 'python' }
 $VENV_DIR = if ($env:VENV_DIR) { $env:VENV_DIR } else { Join-Path $PSScriptRoot 'venv' }
 
+$use_uv = $false
+foreach ($arg in $args) {
+    if ($arg -eq '--uv') {
+        $use_uv = $true
+        break
+    }
+}
+
 New-Item -Path 'tmp' -ItemType Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
 
 try {
@@ -58,9 +66,21 @@ if ($VENV_DIR -ne '-' -and $env:SKIP_VENV -ne '1') {
         $PYTHON_FULLNAME = & $PYTHON -c 'import sys; print(sys.executable)'
 
         Write-Output "Using python: $PYTHON_FULLNAME"
-        Write-Output "Creating VENV: $VENV_DIR"
 
-        & $PYTHON_FULLNAME -m venv $VENV_DIR 2>tmp\stderr.txt | Out-File tmp\stdout.txt
+        if ($use_uv) {
+            if (-not (Get-Command uv -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+                Write-Output 'Warning: uv is not installed, falling back to python venv'
+                $use_uv = $false
+            }
+        }
+
+        if ($use_uv) {
+            Write-Output "Creating VENV: UV"
+            & uv venv $VENV_DIR 2>tmp\stderr.txt | Out-File tmp\stdout.txt
+        } else {
+            Write-Output "Creating VENV: VENV"
+            & $PYTHON_FULLNAME -m venv $VENV_DIR 2>tmp\stderr.txt | Out-File tmp\stdout.txt
+        }
 
         if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
             $PYTHON = Join-Path $VENV_DIR 'Scripts\Python.exe'
diff --git a/webui.sh b/webui.sh
index 63bbf8ddf..04945a83e 100755
--- a/webui.sh
+++ b/webui.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")"
 
 can_run_as_root=0
+use_uv=0
 export ERROR_REPORTING=FALSE
 export PIP_IGNORE_INSTALLED=0
 
@@ -34,6 +35,15 @@ then
     venv_dir="venv"
 fi
 
+for arg in "$@"
+do
+    if [[ "$arg" == "--uv" ]]
+    then
+        use_uv=1
+        break
+    fi
+done
+
 # read any command line flags to the webui.sh script
 while getopts "f" flag > /dev/null 2>&1
 do
@@ -59,16 +69,34 @@ do
     fi
 done
 
-if ! "${PYTHON}" -c "import venv" &>/dev/null
+if [[ "${use_uv}" -eq 1 ]]
 then
-    echo "Error: python3-venv is not installed"
-    exit 1
+    if ! hash "uv" &>/dev/null
+    then
+        echo "Warning: uv is not installed globally"
+        use_uv=0
+    fi
+fi
+
+if [[ "${use_uv}" -eq 0 ]]
+then
+    if ! "${PYTHON}" -c "import venv" &>/dev/null
+    then
+        echo "Error: python3-venv is not installed"
+        exit 1
+    fi
 fi
 
 if [[ ! -d "${venv_dir}" ]]
 then
-    echo "Create python venv"
-    "${PYTHON}" -m venv "${venv_dir}"
+    if [[ "${use_uv}" -eq 1 ]]
+    then
+        echo "Create VENV: UV"
+        uv venv "${venv_dir}"
+    else
+        echo "Create VENV: VENV"
+        "${PYTHON}" -m venv "${venv_dir}"
+    fi
     first_launch=1
 fi