---
slug: moon-v2-rc
title: Release Candidate of moon v2 now available!
authors: [milesj]
tags: [rc, major, release, v2]
---

About two weeks ago we announced the [beta release of moon v2](/blog/moon-v2-alpha), and today we
are excited to share that the first release candidate is now available! With this RC, we're one step
closer to an official v2 release.

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## How to use

You can install the beta with proto (>= 0.54.1), or download it directly from the
[GitHub release page](https://github.com/moonrepo/moon/releases/tag/v2.0.0-rc.4).

```shell
$ proto install moon 2.0.0-rc.4
```

Alternatively, you can try using the new shell install scripts.

```shell
# Unix
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/moonrepo/moon/releases/download/v2.0.0-rc.4/moon_cli-installer.sh | sh

# Windows
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c "irm https://github.com/moonrepo/moon/releases/download/v2.0.0-rc.4/moon_cli-installer.ps1 | iex"
```

## What's changed since beta?

Besides a handful of bug fixes and performance improvements (thanks to all for testing), the biggest
change this release is [Python toolchain](https://github.com/moonrepo/plugins/pull/101) support.

Unlike other toolchains, the Python toolchain will be marked as unstable for a little while longer
as we work through some final issues (as we are not Python experts). However, you can now use Python
projects in moon v2!

```yaml title=".moon/toolchains.yml"
unstable_python:
  packageManager: 'pip' # or 'uv'

unstable_pip: {}
# unstable_uv: {}
```

When using the Python toolchain, please note the following conventions (subject to change):

- A `pyproject.toml` is preferred, but not a requirement. However, we haven't tested without one.
- Use either `pip` or `uv` as the package manager.
- When using `pip`, a `requirements.txt` is considered a lockfile, while `requirements.in` is a
  manifest.
- Virtual environments are supported, but are created in the package root (uv workspace root, pip
  package) by default. We know this is not ideal for all workflows, and are looking into options to
  improve this.

> As mentioned above, we are not Python experts, and don't have the requisite knowledge to implement
> Python developer workflows. We'd appreciate any help from the community to improve this toolchain!

## What's next?

Now that Python has landed, we are focused on wrapping up any remaining issues and PRs before the
stable release, which we are aiming for next week, February 2nd! We don't plan to introduce any new
breaking changes, only bug fixes, polish, and performance improvements.

We'd appreciate any help testing this release candidate before then!
