diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 469bbce..c4bc43a 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@
 __pycache__/
 *.pyo
 *.pyc
+.venv/ 
+
+# sacrificial
+uv.lock
 
 # configs
 config/
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe9b5d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+[project]
+name = "pi-dashboard-server"
+version = "0.1.0"
+description = "WebSocket servers for the ESP32-S3 RLCD dashboard"
+requires-python = ">=3.10"
+dependencies = [
+    "websockets>=12.0",
+    "psutil>=5.9.0",
+    "Pillow>=10.0",
+]
diff --git a/scripts/setup.sh b/scripts/setup.sh
index a5f531b..0281476 100755
--- a/scripts/setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup.sh
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ PROJECT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
 UNIT_FILE="/etc/systemd/system/${SERVICE_NAME}.service"
 RUN_USER="$(whoami)"
 
-echo "==> Installing Python dependencies..."
-uv pip install -r "${PROJECT_DIR}/requirements.txt"
+echo "==> Syncing Python dependencies..."
+uv sync --project "${PROJECT_DIR}"
 
 echo "==> Generating systemd unit file..."
 cat > "/tmp/${SERVICE_NAME}.service" <<EOF