diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 076c41d7e..09aa5b057 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -5590,6 +5590,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "uv-client",
  "uv-distribution-filename",
  "uv-extract",
+ "uv-fs",
  "uv-pep440",
  "uv-platform",
  "uv-redacted",
@@ -6123,8 +6124,10 @@ dependencies = [
  "schemars",
  "serde",
  "tempfile",
+ "thiserror 2.0.17",
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
+ "uv-static",
  "windows 0.59.0",
 ]
 
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 56a8c29bb..93b8d0e82 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ tempfile = { version = "3.14.0" }
 textwrap = { version = "0.16.1" }
 thiserror = { version = "2.0.0" }
 astral-tl = { version = "0.7.9" }
-tokio = { version = "1.40.0", features = ["fs", "io-util", "macros", "process", "rt", "signal", "sync"] }
+tokio = { version = "1.40.0", features = ["fs", "io-util", "macros", "process", "rt", "signal", "sync", "time"] }
 tokio-stream = { version = "0.1.16" }
 tokio-util = { version = "0.7.12", features = ["compat", "io"] }
 toml = { version = "0.9.2", features = ["fast_hash"] }
diff --git a/crates/uv-auth/src/middleware.rs b/crates/uv-auth/src/middleware.rs
index a1fc2507f..66dfb7c2d 100644
--- a/crates/uv-auth/src/middleware.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-auth/src/middleware.rs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ use crate::{
     index::{AuthPolicy, Indexes},
     realm::Realm,
 };
-use crate::{Index, TextCredentialStore, TomlCredentialError};
+use crate::{Index, TextCredentialStore};
 
 /// Cached check for whether we're running in Dependabot.
 static IS_DEPENDABOT: LazyLock<bool> =
@@ -65,49 +65,55 @@ impl NetrcMode {
 
 /// Strategy for loading text-based credential files.
 enum TextStoreMode {
-    Automatic(LazyLock<Option<TextCredentialStore>>),
+    Automatic(tokio::sync::OnceCell<Option<TextCredentialStore>>),
     Enabled(TextCredentialStore),
     Disabled,
 }
 
 impl Default for TextStoreMode {
     fn default() -> Self {
-        // TODO(zanieb): Reconsider this pattern. We're just mirroring the [`NetrcMode`]
-        // implementation for now.
-        Self::Automatic(LazyLock::new(|| {
-            let path = TextCredentialStore::default_file()
-                .inspect_err(|err| {
-                    warn!("Failed to determine credentials file path: {}", err);
-                })
-                .ok()?;
-
-            match TextCredentialStore::read(&path) {
-                Ok((store, _lock)) => {
-                    debug!("Loaded credential file {}", path.display());
-                    Some(store)
-                }
-                Err(TomlCredentialError::Io(err)) if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {
-                    debug!("No credentials file found at {}", path.display());
-                    None
-                }
-                Err(err) => {
-                    warn!(
-                        "Failed to load credentials from {}: {}",
-                        path.display(),
-                        err
-                    );
-                    None
-                }
-            }
-        }))
+        Self::Automatic(tokio::sync::OnceCell::new())
     }
 }
 
 impl TextStoreMode {
+    async fn load_default_store() -> Option<TextCredentialStore> {
+        let path = TextCredentialStore::default_file()
+            .inspect_err(|err| {
+                warn!("Failed to determine credentials file path: {}", err);
+            })
+            .ok()?;
+
+        match TextCredentialStore::read(&path).await {
+            Ok((store, _lock)) => {
+                debug!("Loaded credential file {}", path.display());
+                Some(store)
+            }
+            Err(err)
+                if err
+                    .as_io_error()
+                    .is_some_and(|err| err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound) =>
+            {
+                debug!("No credentials file found at {}", path.display());
+                None
+            }
+            Err(err) => {
+                warn!(
+                    "Failed to load credentials from {}: {}",
+                    path.display(),
+                    err
+                );
+                None
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Get the parsed credential store, if enabled.
-    fn get(&self) -> Option<&TextCredentialStore> {
+    async fn get(&self) -> Option<&TextCredentialStore> {
         match self {
-            Self::Automatic(lock) => lock.as_ref(),
+            // TODO(zanieb): Reconsider this pattern. We're just mirroring the [`NetrcMode`]
+            // implementation for now.
+            Self::Automatic(lock) => lock.get_or_init(Self::load_default_store).await.as_ref(),
             Self::Enabled(store) => Some(store),
             Self::Disabled => None,
         }
@@ -736,7 +742,7 @@ impl AuthMiddleware {
             Some(credentials)
 
         // Text credential store support.
-        } else if let Some(credentials) = self.text_store.get().and_then(|text_store| {
+        } else if let Some(credentials) = self.text_store.get().await.and_then(|text_store| {
             debug!("Checking text store for credentials for {url}");
             text_store.get_credentials(url, credentials.as_ref().and_then(|credentials| credentials.username())).cloned()
         }) {
diff --git a/crates/uv-auth/src/store.rs b/crates/uv-auth/src/store.rs
index fb05150e3..19a54192f 100644
--- a/crates/uv-auth/src/store.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-auth/src/store.rs
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ use fs_err as fs;
 use rustc_hash::FxHashMap;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use thiserror::Error;
-use uv_fs::{LockedFile, with_added_extension};
+use uv_fs::{LockedFile, LockedFileError, LockedFileMode, with_added_extension};
 use uv_preview::{Preview, PreviewFeatures};
 use uv_redacted::DisplaySafeUrl;
 
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ pub enum AuthBackend {
 }
 
 impl AuthBackend {
-    pub fn from_settings(preview: Preview) -> Result<Self, TomlCredentialError> {
+    pub async fn from_settings(preview: Preview) -> Result<Self, TomlCredentialError> {
         // If preview is enabled, we'll use the system-native store
         if preview.is_enabled(PreviewFeatures::NATIVE_AUTH) {
             return Ok(Self::System(KeyringProvider::native()));
@@ -36,12 +36,16 @@ impl AuthBackend {
 
         // Otherwise, we'll use the plaintext credential store
         let path = TextCredentialStore::default_file()?;
-        match TextCredentialStore::read(&path) {
+        match TextCredentialStore::read(&path).await {
             Ok((store, lock)) => Ok(Self::TextStore(store, lock)),
-            Err(TomlCredentialError::Io(err)) if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {
+            Err(err)
+                if err
+                    .as_io_error()
+                    .is_some_and(|err| err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound) =>
+            {
                 Ok(Self::TextStore(
                     TextCredentialStore::default(),
-                    TextCredentialStore::lock(&path)?,
+                    TextCredentialStore::lock(&path).await?,
                 ))
             }
             Err(err) => Err(err),
@@ -69,6 +73,8 @@ pub enum AuthScheme {
 pub enum TomlCredentialError {
     #[error(transparent)]
     Io(#[from] std::io::Error),
+    #[error(transparent)]
+    LockedFile(#[from] LockedFileError),
     #[error("Failed to parse TOML credential file: {0}")]
     ParseError(#[from] toml::de::Error),
     #[error("Failed to serialize credentials to TOML")]
@@ -83,6 +89,21 @@ pub enum TomlCredentialError {
     TokenNotUnicode(#[from] std::string::FromUtf8Error),
 }
 
+impl TomlCredentialError {
+    pub fn as_io_error(&self) -> Option<&std::io::Error> {
+        match self {
+            Self::Io(err) => Some(err),
+            Self::LockedFile(err) => err.as_io_error(),
+            Self::ParseError(_)
+            | Self::SerializeError(_)
+            | Self::BasicAuthError(_)
+            | Self::BearerAuthError(_)
+            | Self::CredentialsDirError
+            | Self::TokenNotUnicode(_) => None,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Error)]
 pub enum BasicAuthError {
     #[error("`username` is required with `scheme = basic`")]
@@ -233,12 +254,12 @@ impl TextCredentialStore {
     }
 
     /// Acquire a lock on the credentials file at the given path.
-    pub fn lock(path: &Path) -> Result<LockedFile, TomlCredentialError> {
+    pub async fn lock(path: &Path) -> Result<LockedFile, TomlCredentialError> {
         if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {
             fs::create_dir_all(parent)?;
         }
         let lock = with_added_extension(path, ".lock");
-        Ok(LockedFile::acquire_blocking(lock, "credentials store")?)
+        Ok(LockedFile::acquire(lock, LockedFileMode::Exclusive, "credentials store").await?)
     }
 
     /// Read credentials from a file.
@@ -269,8 +290,8 @@ impl TextCredentialStore {
     /// Returns [`TextCredentialStore`] and a [`LockedFile`] to hold if mutating the store.
     ///
     /// If the store will not be written to following the read, the lock can be dropped.
-    pub fn read<P: AsRef<Path>>(path: P) -> Result<(Self, LockedFile), TomlCredentialError> {
-        let lock = Self::lock(path.as_ref())?;
+    pub async fn read<P: AsRef<Path>>(path: P) -> Result<(Self, LockedFile), TomlCredentialError> {
+        let lock = Self::lock(path.as_ref()).await?;
         let store = Self::from_file(path)?;
         Ok((store, lock))
     }
@@ -450,8 +471,8 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(store.get_credentials(&url, None).is_none());
     }
 
-    #[test]
-    fn test_file_operations() {
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_file_operations() {
         let mut temp_file = NamedTempFile::new().unwrap();
         writeln!(
             temp_file,
@@ -487,7 +508,7 @@ password = "pass2"
         store
             .write(
                 temp_output.path(),
-                TextCredentialStore::lock(temp_file.path()).unwrap(),
+                TextCredentialStore::lock(temp_file.path()).await.unwrap(),
             )
             .unwrap();
 
diff --git a/crates/uv-bench/benches/uv.rs b/crates/uv-bench/benches/uv.rs
index 2dd1a21cc..cde282864 100644
--- a/crates/uv-bench/benches/uv.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-bench/benches/uv.rs
@@ -59,7 +59,10 @@ fn setup(manifest: Manifest) -> impl Fn(bool) {
         .build()
         .unwrap();
 
-    let cache = Cache::from_path("../../.cache").init().unwrap();
+    let cache = Cache::from_path("../../.cache")
+        .init_no_wait()
+        .expect("No cache contention when running benchmarks")
+        .unwrap();
     let interpreter = PythonEnvironment::from_root("../../.venv", &cache)
         .unwrap()
         .into_interpreter();
diff --git a/crates/uv-bin-install/Cargo.toml b/crates/uv-bin-install/Cargo.toml
index 0725556ec..98b9051ab 100644
--- a/crates/uv-bin-install/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/uv-bin-install/Cargo.toml
@@ -20,9 +20,11 @@ uv-cache = { workspace = true }
 uv-client = { workspace = true }
 uv-distribution-filename = { workspace = true }
 uv-extract = { workspace = true }
+uv-fs = { workspace = true }
 uv-pep440 = { workspace = true }
 uv-platform = { workspace = true }
 uv-redacted = { workspace = true }
+
 fs-err = { workspace = true, features = ["tokio"] }
 futures = { workspace = true }
 reqwest = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/crates/uv-bin-install/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv-bin-install/src/lib.rs
index 0e3264f38..1a26b0a56 100644
--- a/crates/uv-bin-install/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-bin-install/src/lib.rs
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ use uv_distribution_filename::SourceDistExtension;
 use uv_cache::{Cache, CacheBucket, CacheEntry};
 use uv_client::{BaseClient, is_transient_network_error};
 use uv_extract::{Error as ExtractError, stream};
+use uv_fs::LockedFileError;
 use uv_pep440::Version;
 use uv_platform::Platform;
 use uv_redacted::DisplaySafeUrl;
@@ -135,6 +136,9 @@ pub enum Error {
     #[error(transparent)]
     Io(#[from] std::io::Error),
 
+    #[error(transparent)]
+    LockedFile(#[from] LockedFileError),
+
     #[error("Failed to detect platform")]
     Platform(#[from] uv_platform::Error),
 
diff --git a/crates/uv-build-frontend/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv-build-frontend/src/lib.rs
index 587bca9bb..f29be374a 100644
--- a/crates/uv-build-frontend/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-build-frontend/src/lib.rs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ use uv_distribution_types::{
     ConfigSettings, ExtraBuildRequirement, ExtraBuildRequires, IndexLocations, Requirement,
     Resolution,
 };
-use uv_fs::LockedFile;
+use uv_fs::{LockedFile, LockedFileMode};
 use uv_fs::{PythonExt, Simplified};
 use uv_normalize::PackageName;
 use uv_pep440::Version;
@@ -493,12 +493,16 @@ impl SourceBuild {
                 "uv-setuptools-{}.lock",
                 cache_digest(&canonical_source_path)
             ));
-            source_tree_lock = LockedFile::acquire(lock_path, self.source_tree.to_string_lossy())
-                .await
-                .inspect_err(|err| {
-                    warn!("Failed to acquire build lock: {err}");
-                })
-                .ok();
+            source_tree_lock = LockedFile::acquire(
+                lock_path,
+                LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+                self.source_tree.to_string_lossy(),
+            )
+            .await
+            .inspect_err(|err| {
+                warn!("Failed to acquire build lock: {err}");
+            })
+            .ok();
         }
         Ok(source_tree_lock)
     }
diff --git a/crates/uv-cache/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv-cache/src/lib.rs
index afb51f677..b38f15f36 100644
--- a/crates/uv-cache/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-cache/src/lib.rs
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ use rustc_hash::FxHashMap;
 use tracing::{debug, trace, warn};
 
 use uv_cache_info::Timestamp;
-use uv_fs::{LockedFile, Simplified, cachedir, directories};
+use uv_fs::{LockedFile, LockedFileError, LockedFileMode, Simplified, cachedir, directories};
 use uv_normalize::PackageName;
 use uv_pypi_types::ResolutionMetadata;
 
@@ -80,9 +80,14 @@ impl CacheEntry {
     }
 
     /// Acquire the [`CacheEntry`] as an exclusive lock.
-    pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, io::Error> {
+    pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, LockedFileError> {
         fs_err::create_dir_all(self.dir())?;
-        LockedFile::acquire(self.path(), self.path().display()).await
+        LockedFile::acquire(
+            self.path(),
+            LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+            self.path().display(),
+        )
+        .await
     }
 }
 
@@ -109,9 +114,14 @@ impl CacheShard {
     }
 
     /// Acquire the cache entry as an exclusive lock.
-    pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, io::Error> {
+    pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, LockedFileError> {
         fs_err::create_dir_all(self.as_ref())?;
-        LockedFile::acquire(self.join(".lock"), self.display()).await
+        LockedFile::acquire(
+            self.join(".lock"),
+            LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+            self.display(),
+        )
+        .await
     }
 
     /// Return the [`CacheShard`] as a [`PathBuf`].
@@ -182,7 +192,7 @@ impl Cache {
     }
 
     /// Acquire a lock that allows removing entries from the cache.
-    pub fn with_exclusive_lock(self) -> Result<Self, io::Error> {
+    pub async fn with_exclusive_lock(self) -> Result<Self, LockedFileError> {
         let Self {
             root,
             refresh,
@@ -198,8 +208,12 @@ impl Cache {
                 ),
             );
         }
-        let lock_file =
-            LockedFile::acquire_blocking(root.join(".lock"), root.simplified_display())?;
+        let lock_file = LockedFile::acquire(
+            root.join(".lock"),
+            LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+            root.simplified_display(),
+        )
+        .await?;
 
         Ok(Self {
             root,
@@ -220,7 +234,11 @@ impl Cache {
             lock_file,
         } = self;
 
-        match LockedFile::acquire_no_wait(root.join(".lock"), root.simplified_display()) {
+        match LockedFile::acquire_no_wait(
+            root.join(".lock"),
+            LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+            root.simplified_display(),
+        ) {
             Some(lock_file) => Ok(Self {
                 root,
                 refresh,
@@ -372,10 +390,8 @@ impl Cache {
         self.temp_dir.is_some()
     }
 
-    /// Initialize the [`Cache`].
-    pub fn init(self) -> Result<Self, io::Error> {
-        let root = &self.root;
-
+    /// Populate the cache scaffold.
+    fn create_base_files(root: &PathBuf) -> Result<(), io::Error> {
         // Create the cache directory, if it doesn't exist.
         fs_err::create_dir_all(root)?;
 
@@ -421,16 +437,32 @@ impl Cache {
                 .join(".git"),
         )?;
 
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Initialize the [`Cache`].
+    pub async fn init(self) -> Result<Self, LockedFileError> {
+        let root = &self.root;
+
+        Self::create_base_files(root)?;
+
         // Block cache removal operations from interfering.
-        let lock_file = match LockedFile::acquire_shared_blocking(
+        let lock_file = match LockedFile::acquire(
             root.join(".lock"),
+            LockedFileMode::Shared,
             root.simplified_display(),
-        ) {
+        )
+        .await
+        {
             Ok(lock_file) => Some(Arc::new(lock_file)),
-            Err(err) if err.kind() == io::ErrorKind::Unsupported => {
+            Err(err)
+                if err
+                    .as_io_error()
+                    .is_some_and(|err| err.kind() == io::ErrorKind::Unsupported) =>
+            {
                 warn!(
                     "Shared locking is not supported by the current platform or filesystem, \
-                    reduced parallel process safety with `uv cache clean` and `uv cache prune`."
+                        reduced parallel process safety with `uv cache clean` and `uv cache prune`."
                 );
                 None
             }
@@ -444,6 +476,27 @@ impl Cache {
         })
     }
 
+    /// Initialize the [`Cache`], assuming that there are no other uv processes running.
+    pub fn init_no_wait(self) -> Result<Option<Self>, io::Error> {
+        let root = &self.root;
+
+        Self::create_base_files(root)?;
+
+        // Block cache removal operations from interfering.
+        let Some(lock_file) = LockedFile::acquire_no_wait(
+            root.join(".lock"),
+            LockedFileMode::Shared,
+            root.simplified_display(),
+        ) else {
+            return Ok(None);
+        };
+        Ok(Some(Self {
+            root: std::path::absolute(root)?,
+            lock_file: Some(Arc::new(lock_file)),
+            ..self
+        }))
+    }
+
     /// Clear the cache, removing all entries.
     pub fn clear(self, reporter: Box<dyn CleanReporter>) -> Result<Removal, io::Error> {
         // Remove everything but `.lock`, Windows does not allow removal of a locked file
diff --git a/crates/uv-client/src/error.rs b/crates/uv-client/src/error.rs
index 7dc2b25a2..21180dc20 100644
--- a/crates/uv-client/src/error.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-client/src/error.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use std::ops::Deref;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 
 use uv_distribution_filename::{WheelFilename, WheelFilenameError};
+use uv_fs::LockedFileError;
 use uv_normalize::PackageName;
 use uv_redacted::DisplaySafeUrl;
 
@@ -337,6 +338,9 @@ pub enum ErrorKind {
     #[error("Failed to write to the client cache")]
     CacheWrite(#[source] std::io::Error),
 
+    #[error("Failed to acquire lock on the client cache")]
+    CacheLock(#[source] LockedFileError),
+
     #[error(transparent)]
     Io(std::io::Error),
 
diff --git a/crates/uv-client/src/registry_client.rs b/crates/uv-client/src/registry_client.rs
index 0c392a4c2..1f26461d3 100644
--- a/crates/uv-client/src/registry_client.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-client/src/registry_client.rs
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@ impl RegistryClient {
         #[cfg(windows)]
         let _lock = {
             let lock_entry = cache_entry.with_file(format!("{package_name}.lock"));
-            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(ErrorKind::CacheWrite)?
+            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(ErrorKind::CacheLock)?
         };
 
         let result = if matches!(index, IndexUrl::Path(_)) {
@@ -1031,7 +1031,7 @@ impl RegistryClient {
             #[cfg(windows)]
             let _lock = {
                 let lock_entry = cache_entry.with_file(format!("{}.lock", filename.stem()));
-                lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(ErrorKind::CacheWrite)?
+                lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(ErrorKind::CacheLock)?
             };
 
             let response_callback = async |response: Response| {
@@ -1115,7 +1115,7 @@ impl RegistryClient {
         #[cfg(windows)]
         let _lock = {
             let lock_entry = cache_entry.with_file(format!("{}.lock", filename.stem()));
-            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(ErrorKind::CacheWrite)?
+            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(ErrorKind::CacheLock)?
         };
 
         // Attempt to fetch via a range request.
diff --git a/crates/uv-client/tests/it/remote_metadata.rs b/crates/uv-client/tests/it/remote_metadata.rs
index b6461027c..cbfe60bf6 100644
--- a/crates/uv-client/tests/it/remote_metadata.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-client/tests/it/remote_metadata.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ use uv_redacted::DisplaySafeUrl;
 
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn remote_metadata_with_and_without_cache() -> Result<()> {
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).build();
 
     // The first run is without cache (the tempdir is empty), the second has the cache from the
diff --git a/crates/uv-client/tests/it/ssl_certs.rs b/crates/uv-client/tests/it/ssl_certs.rs
index b634b425b..6c88cd7d5 100644
--- a/crates/uv-client/tests/it/ssl_certs.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-client/tests/it/ssl_certs.rs
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ async fn ssl_env_vars() -> Result<()> {
     }
     let (server_task, addr) = start_https_user_agent_server(&standalone_server_cert).await?;
     let url = DisplaySafeUrl::from_str(&format!("https://{addr}"))?;
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).build();
     let res = client
         .cached_client()
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ async fn ssl_env_vars() -> Result<()> {
     }
     let (server_task, addr) = start_https_user_agent_server(&standalone_server_cert).await?;
     let url = DisplaySafeUrl::from_str(&format!("https://{addr}"))?;
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).build();
     let res = client
         .cached_client()
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ async fn ssl_env_vars() -> Result<()> {
     }
     let (server_task, addr) = start_https_user_agent_server(&standalone_server_cert).await?;
     let url = DisplaySafeUrl::from_str(&format!("https://{addr}"))?;
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).build();
     let res = client
         .cached_client()
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ async fn ssl_env_vars() -> Result<()> {
     }
     let (server_task, addr) = start_https_user_agent_server(&standalone_server_cert).await?;
     let url = DisplaySafeUrl::from_str(&format!("https://{addr}"))?;
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).build();
     let res = client
         .cached_client()
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ async fn ssl_env_vars() -> Result<()> {
     }
     let (server_task, addr) = start_https_mtls_user_agent_server(&ca_cert, &server_cert).await?;
     let url = DisplaySafeUrl::from_str(&format!("https://{addr}"))?;
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).build();
     let res = client
         .cached_client()
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ async fn ssl_env_vars() -> Result<()> {
     }
     let (server_task, addr) = start_https_mtls_user_agent_server(&ca_cert, &server_cert).await?;
     let url = DisplaySafeUrl::from_str(&format!("https://{addr}"))?;
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).build();
     let res = client
         .cached_client()
diff --git a/crates/uv-client/tests/it/user_agent_version.rs b/crates/uv-client/tests/it/user_agent_version.rs
index 0b2c31bfd..ac0bc4034 100644
--- a/crates/uv-client/tests/it/user_agent_version.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-client/tests/it/user_agent_version.rs
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ async fn test_user_agent_has_version() -> Result<()> {
     let (server_task, addr) = start_http_user_agent_server().await?;
 
     // Initialize uv-client
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).build();
 
     // Send request to our dummy server
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ async fn test_user_agent_has_subcommand() -> Result<()> {
     let (server_task, addr) = start_http_user_agent_server().await?;
 
     // Initialize uv-client
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(
         BaseClientBuilder::default().subcommand(vec!["foo".to_owned(), "bar".to_owned()]),
         cache,
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ async fn test_user_agent_has_linehaul() -> Result<()> {
     })?;
 
     // Initialize uv-client
-    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::temp()?.init().await?;
     let mut builder =
         RegistryClientBuilder::new(BaseClientBuilder::default(), cache).markers(&markers);
 
diff --git a/crates/uv-dev/src/compile.rs b/crates/uv-dev/src/compile.rs
index 9134a66a1..a64f44f46 100644
--- a/crates/uv-dev/src/compile.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-dev/src/compile.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ pub(crate) struct CompileArgs {
 }
 
 pub(crate) async fn compile(args: CompileArgs) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let cache = Cache::try_from(args.cache_args)?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::try_from(args.cache_args)?.init().await?;
 
     let interpreter = if let Some(python) = args.python {
         python
diff --git a/crates/uv-dev/src/list_packages.rs b/crates/uv-dev/src/list_packages.rs
index 0641bf617..e217fd800 100644
--- a/crates/uv-dev/src/list_packages.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-dev/src/list_packages.rs
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn list_packages(
     args: ListPackagesArgs,
     environment: EnvironmentOptions,
 ) -> Result<()> {
-    let cache = Cache::try_from(args.cache_args)?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::try_from(args.cache_args)?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(
         BaseClientBuilder::default().timeout(environment.http_timeout),
         cache,
diff --git a/crates/uv-dev/src/validate_zip.rs b/crates/uv-dev/src/validate_zip.rs
index 0989f62fa..98a43dff6 100644
--- a/crates/uv-dev/src/validate_zip.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-dev/src/validate_zip.rs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn validate_zip(
     args: ValidateZipArgs,
     environment: EnvironmentOptions,
 ) -> Result<()> {
-    let cache = Cache::try_from(args.cache_args)?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::try_from(args.cache_args)?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(
         BaseClientBuilder::default().timeout(environment.http_timeout),
         cache,
diff --git a/crates/uv-dev/src/wheel_metadata.rs b/crates/uv-dev/src/wheel_metadata.rs
index 125a279d3..c4a5afe1e 100644
--- a/crates/uv-dev/src/wheel_metadata.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-dev/src/wheel_metadata.rs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn wheel_metadata(
     args: WheelMetadataArgs,
     environment: EnvironmentOptions,
 ) -> Result<()> {
-    let cache = Cache::try_from(args.cache_args)?.init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::try_from(args.cache_args)?.init().await?;
     let client = RegistryClientBuilder::new(
         BaseClientBuilder::default().timeout(environment.http_timeout),
         cache,
diff --git a/crates/uv-distribution/src/distribution_database.rs b/crates/uv-distribution/src/distribution_database.rs
index 805c59b26..d0415730e 100644
--- a/crates/uv-distribution/src/distribution_database.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-distribution/src/distribution_database.rs
@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ impl<'a, Context: BuildContext> DistributionDatabase<'a, Context> {
                     built_wheel.target.file_name().unwrap().to_str().unwrap()
                 ),
             );
-            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?
+            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?
         };
 
         // If the wheel was unzipped previously, respect it. Source distributions are
@@ -578,7 +578,7 @@ impl<'a, Context: BuildContext> DistributionDatabase<'a, Context> {
         #[cfg(windows)]
         let _lock = {
             let lock_entry = wheel_entry.with_file(format!("{}.lock", filename.stem()));
-            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?
+            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?
         };
 
         // Create an entry for the HTTP cache.
@@ -749,7 +749,7 @@ impl<'a, Context: BuildContext> DistributionDatabase<'a, Context> {
         #[cfg(windows)]
         let _lock = {
             let lock_entry = wheel_entry.with_file(format!("{}.lock", filename.stem()));
-            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?
+            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?
         };
 
         // Create an entry for the HTTP cache.
@@ -951,7 +951,7 @@ impl<'a, Context: BuildContext> DistributionDatabase<'a, Context> {
         #[cfg(windows)]
         let _lock = {
             let lock_entry = wheel_entry.with_file(format!("{}.lock", filename.stem()));
-            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?
+            lock_entry.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?
         };
 
         // Determine the last-modified time of the wheel.
diff --git a/crates/uv-distribution/src/error.rs b/crates/uv-distribution/src/error.rs
index 40e7f3b0e..8b6457483 100644
--- a/crates/uv-distribution/src/error.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-distribution/src/error.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ use crate::metadata::MetadataError;
 use uv_client::WrappedReqwestError;
 use uv_distribution_filename::WheelFilenameError;
 use uv_distribution_types::{InstalledDist, InstalledDistError, IsBuildBackendError};
-use uv_fs::Simplified;
+use uv_fs::{LockedFileError, Simplified};
 use uv_git::GitError;
 use uv_normalize::PackageName;
 use uv_pep440::{Version, VersionSpecifiers};
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ pub enum Error {
     CacheRead(#[source] std::io::Error),
     #[error("Failed to write to the distribution cache")]
     CacheWrite(#[source] std::io::Error),
+    #[error("Failed to acquire lock on the distribution cache")]
+    CacheLock(#[source] LockedFileError),
     #[error("Failed to deserialize cache entry")]
     CacheDecode(#[from] rmp_serde::decode::Error),
     #[error("Failed to serialize cache entry")]
diff --git a/crates/uv-distribution/src/source/mod.rs b/crates/uv-distribution/src/source/mod.rs
index a84eac7b8..56c873ec2 100644
--- a/crates/uv-distribution/src/source/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-distribution/src/source/mod.rs
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ impl<'a, T: BuildContext> SourceDistributionBuilder<'a, T> {
         hashes: HashPolicy<'_>,
         client: &ManagedClient<'_>,
     ) -> Result<BuiltWheelMetadata, Error> {
-        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?;
+        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?;
 
         // Fetch the revision for the source distribution.
         let revision = self
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ impl<'a, T: BuildContext> SourceDistributionBuilder<'a, T> {
         hashes: HashPolicy<'_>,
         client: &ManagedClient<'_>,
     ) -> Result<ArchiveMetadata, Error> {
-        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?;
+        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?;
 
         // Fetch the revision for the source distribution.
         let revision = self
@@ -859,7 +859,7 @@ impl<'a, T: BuildContext> SourceDistributionBuilder<'a, T> {
         tags: &Tags,
         hashes: HashPolicy<'_>,
     ) -> Result<BuiltWheelMetadata, Error> {
-        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?;
+        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?;
 
         // Fetch the revision for the source distribution.
         let LocalRevisionPointer {
@@ -964,7 +964,7 @@ impl<'a, T: BuildContext> SourceDistributionBuilder<'a, T> {
         cache_shard: &CacheShard,
         hashes: HashPolicy<'_>,
     ) -> Result<ArchiveMetadata, Error> {
-        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?;
+        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?;
 
         // Fetch the revision for the source distribution.
         let LocalRevisionPointer { revision, .. } = self
@@ -1185,7 +1185,7 @@ impl<'a, T: BuildContext> SourceDistributionBuilder<'a, T> {
         );
 
         // Acquire the advisory lock.
-        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?;
+        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?;
 
         // Fetch the revision for the source distribution.
         let LocalRevisionPointer {
@@ -1309,7 +1309,7 @@ impl<'a, T: BuildContext> SourceDistributionBuilder<'a, T> {
         );
 
         // Acquire the advisory lock.
-        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?;
+        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?;
 
         // Fetch the revision for the source distribution.
         let LocalRevisionPointer { revision, .. } = self
@@ -1614,7 +1614,7 @@ impl<'a, T: BuildContext> SourceDistributionBuilder<'a, T> {
         let metadata_entry = cache_shard.entry(METADATA);
 
         // Acquire the advisory lock.
-        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?;
+        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?;
 
         // We don't track any cache information for Git-based source distributions; they're assumed
         // to be immutable.
@@ -1829,7 +1829,7 @@ impl<'a, T: BuildContext> SourceDistributionBuilder<'a, T> {
         let metadata_entry = cache_shard.entry(METADATA);
 
         // Acquire the advisory lock.
-        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheWrite)?;
+        let _lock = cache_shard.lock().await.map_err(Error::CacheLock)?;
 
         let path = if let Some(subdirectory) = resource.subdirectory {
             Cow::Owned(fetch.path().join(subdirectory))
diff --git a/crates/uv-fs/Cargo.toml b/crates/uv-fs/Cargo.toml
index b8f8a0adf..c53fe2964 100644
--- a/crates/uv-fs/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/uv-fs/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ doctest = false
 workspace = true
 
 [dependencies]
+uv-static = { workspace = true }
+
 dunce = { workspace = true }
 either = { workspace = true }
 encoding_rs_io = { workspace = true }
@@ -26,6 +28,7 @@ same-file = { workspace = true }
 schemars = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 serde = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 tempfile = { workspace = true }
+thiserror = { workspace = true }
 tokio = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 tracing = { workspace = true }
 
diff --git a/crates/uv-fs/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv-fs/src/lib.rs
index dd6748734..1e8d9c15c 100644
--- a/crates/uv-fs/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-fs/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 use std::borrow::Cow;
-use std::fmt::Display;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
-use tracing::{debug, error, info, trace, warn};
+use tracing::warn;
 
+pub use crate::locked_file::*;
 pub use crate::path::*;
 
 pub mod cachedir;
+mod locked_file;
 mod path;
 pub mod which;
 
@@ -666,218 +667,6 @@ fn is_known_already_locked_error(err: &std::fs::TryLockError) -> bool {
     }
 }
 
-/// A file lock that is automatically released when dropped.
-#[derive(Debug)]
-#[must_use]
-pub struct LockedFile(fs_err::File);
-
-impl LockedFile {
-    /// Inner implementation for [`LockedFile::acquire_blocking`] and [`LockedFile::acquire`].
-    fn lock_file_blocking(file: fs_err::File, resource: &str) -> Result<Self, std::io::Error> {
-        trace!(
-            "Checking lock for `{resource}` at `{}`",
-            file.path().user_display()
-        );
-        match file.file().try_lock() {
-            Ok(()) => {
-                debug!("Acquired lock for `{resource}`");
-                Ok(Self(file))
-            }
-            Err(err) => {
-                // Log error code and enum kind to help debugging more exotic failures.
-                if !is_known_already_locked_error(&err) {
-                    debug!("Try lock error: {err:?}");
-                }
-                info!(
-                    "Waiting to acquire lock for `{resource}` at `{}`",
-                    file.path().user_display(),
-                );
-                file.lock()?;
-                debug!("Acquired lock for `{resource}`");
-                Ok(Self(file))
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    /// Inner implementation for [`LockedFile::acquire_no_wait`].
-    fn lock_file_no_wait(file: fs_err::File, resource: &str) -> Option<Self> {
-        trace!(
-            "Checking lock for `{resource}` at `{}`",
-            file.path().user_display()
-        );
-        match file.try_lock() {
-            Ok(()) => {
-                debug!("Acquired lock for `{resource}`");
-                Some(Self(file))
-            }
-            Err(err) => {
-                // Log error code and enum kind to help debugging more exotic failures.
-                if !is_known_already_locked_error(&err) {
-                    debug!("Try lock error: {err:?}");
-                }
-                debug!("Lock is busy for `{resource}`");
-                None
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    /// Inner implementation for [`LockedFile::acquire_shared_blocking`] and
-    /// [`LockedFile::acquire_blocking`].
-    fn lock_file_shared_blocking(
-        file: fs_err::File,
-        resource: &str,
-    ) -> Result<Self, std::io::Error> {
-        trace!(
-            "Checking shared lock for `{resource}` at `{}`",
-            file.path().user_display()
-        );
-        match file.try_lock_shared() {
-            Ok(()) => {
-                debug!("Acquired shared lock for `{resource}`");
-                Ok(Self(file))
-            }
-            Err(err) => {
-                // Log error code and enum kind to help debugging more exotic failures.
-                if !is_known_already_locked_error(&err) {
-                    debug!("Try lock error: {err:?}");
-                }
-                info!(
-                    "Waiting to acquire shared lock for `{resource}` at `{}`",
-                    file.path().user_display(),
-                );
-                file.lock_shared()?;
-                debug!("Acquired shared lock for `{resource}`");
-                Ok(Self(file))
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    /// The same as [`LockedFile::acquire`], but for synchronous contexts.
-    ///
-    /// Do not use from an async context, as this can block the runtime while waiting for another
-    /// process to release the lock.
-    pub fn acquire_blocking(
-        path: impl AsRef<Path>,
-        resource: impl Display,
-    ) -> Result<Self, std::io::Error> {
-        let file = Self::create(path)?;
-        let resource = resource.to_string();
-        Self::lock_file_blocking(file, &resource)
-    }
-
-    /// The same as [`LockedFile::acquire_blocking`], but for synchronous contexts.
-    ///
-    /// Do not use from an async context, as this can block the runtime while waiting for another
-    /// process to release the lock.
-    pub fn acquire_shared_blocking(
-        path: impl AsRef<Path>,
-        resource: impl Display,
-    ) -> Result<Self, std::io::Error> {
-        let file = Self::create(path)?;
-        let resource = resource.to_string();
-        Self::lock_file_shared_blocking(file, &resource)
-    }
-
-    /// Acquire a cross-process lock for a resource using a file at the provided path.
-    #[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
-    pub async fn acquire(
-        path: impl AsRef<Path>,
-        resource: impl Display,
-    ) -> Result<Self, std::io::Error> {
-        let file = Self::create(path)?;
-        let resource = resource.to_string();
-        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || Self::lock_file_blocking(file, &resource)).await?
-    }
-
-    /// Acquire a cross-process read lock for a shared resource using a file at the provided path.
-    #[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
-    pub async fn acquire_shared(
-        path: impl AsRef<Path>,
-        resource: impl Display,
-    ) -> Result<Self, std::io::Error> {
-        let file = Self::create(path)?;
-        let resource = resource.to_string();
-        tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || Self::lock_file_shared_blocking(file, &resource))
-            .await?
-    }
-
-    /// Acquire a cross-process lock for a resource using a file at the provided path
-    ///
-    /// Unlike [`LockedFile::acquire`] this function will not wait for the lock to become available.
-    ///
-    /// If the lock is not immediately available, [`None`] is returned.
-    pub fn acquire_no_wait(path: impl AsRef<Path>, resource: impl Display) -> Option<Self> {
-        let file = Self::create(path).ok()?;
-        let resource = resource.to_string();
-        Self::lock_file_no_wait(file, &resource)
-    }
-
-    #[cfg(unix)]
-    fn create(path: impl AsRef<Path>) -> Result<fs_err::File, std::io::Error> {
-        use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
-
-        // If path already exists, return it.
-        if let Ok(file) = fs_err::OpenOptions::new()
-            .read(true)
-            .write(true)
-            .open(path.as_ref())
-        {
-            return Ok(file);
-        }
-
-        // Otherwise, create a temporary file with 666 permissions. We must set
-        // permissions _after_ creating the file, to override the `umask`.
-        let file = if let Some(parent) = path.as_ref().parent() {
-            NamedTempFile::new_in(parent)?
-        } else {
-            NamedTempFile::new()?
-        };
-        if let Err(err) = file
-            .as_file()
-            .set_permissions(std::fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o666))
-        {
-            warn!("Failed to set permissions on temporary file: {err}");
-        }
-
-        // Try to move the file to path, but if path exists now, just open path
-        match file.persist_noclobber(path.as_ref()) {
-            Ok(file) => Ok(fs_err::File::from_parts(file, path.as_ref())),
-            Err(err) => {
-                if err.error.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::AlreadyExists {
-                    fs_err::OpenOptions::new()
-                        .read(true)
-                        .write(true)
-                        .open(path.as_ref())
-                } else {
-                    Err(err.error)
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    #[cfg(not(unix))]
-    fn create(path: impl AsRef<Path>) -> std::io::Result<fs_err::File> {
-        fs_err::OpenOptions::new()
-            .read(true)
-            .write(true)
-            .create(true)
-            .open(path.as_ref())
-    }
-}
-
-impl Drop for LockedFile {
-    fn drop(&mut self) {
-        if let Err(err) = self.0.unlock() {
-            error!(
-                "Failed to unlock resource at `{}`; program may be stuck: {err}",
-                self.0.path().display()
-            );
-        } else {
-            debug!("Released lock at `{}`", self.0.path().display());
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 /// An asynchronous reader that reports progress as bytes are read.
 #[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
 pub struct ProgressReader<Reader: tokio::io::AsyncRead + Unpin, Callback: Fn(usize) + Unpin> {
diff --git a/crates/uv-fs/src/locked_file.rs b/crates/uv-fs/src/locked_file.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3d9e6ea95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/uv-fs/src/locked_file.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,291 @@
+use std::fmt::Display;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::sync::LazyLock;
+use std::time::Duration;
+use std::{env, io};
+
+use thiserror::Error;
+use tracing::{debug, error, info, trace, warn};
+
+use uv_static::EnvVars;
+
+use crate::{Simplified, is_known_already_locked_error};
+
+/// Parsed value of `UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT`, with a default of 5 min.
+static LOCK_TIMEOUT: LazyLock<Duration> = LazyLock::new(|| {
+    let default_timeout = Duration::from_secs(300);
+    let Some(lock_timeout) = env::var_os(EnvVars::UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT) else {
+        return default_timeout;
+    };
+
+    if let Some(lock_timeout) = lock_timeout
+        .to_str()
+        .and_then(|lock_timeout| lock_timeout.parse::<u64>().ok())
+    {
+        Duration::from_secs(lock_timeout)
+    } else {
+        warn!(
+            "Could not parse value of {} as integer: {:?}",
+            EnvVars::UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT,
+            lock_timeout
+        );
+        default_timeout
+    }
+});
+
+#[derive(Debug, Error)]
+pub enum LockedFileError {
+    #[error(
+        "Timeout ({}s) when waiting for lock on `{}` at `{}`, is another uv process running? You can set `{}` to increase the timeout.",
+        timeout.as_secs(),
+        resource,
+        path.user_display(),
+        EnvVars::UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT
+    )]
+    Timeout {
+        timeout: Duration,
+        resource: String,
+        path: PathBuf,
+    },
+    #[error(
+        "Could not acquire lock for `{}` at `{}`",
+        resource,
+        path.user_display()
+    )]
+    Lock {
+        resource: String,
+        path: PathBuf,
+        #[source]
+        source: io::Error,
+    },
+    #[error(transparent)]
+    Io(#[from] io::Error),
+    #[error(transparent)]
+    #[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
+    JoinError(#[from] tokio::task::JoinError),
+}
+
+impl LockedFileError {
+    pub fn as_io_error(&self) -> Option<&io::Error> {
+        match self {
+            Self::Timeout { .. } => None,
+            #[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
+            Self::JoinError(_) => None,
+            Self::Lock { source, .. } => Some(source),
+            Self::Io(err) => Some(err),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Whether to acquire a shared (read) lock or exclusive (write) lock.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]
+pub enum LockedFileMode {
+    Shared,
+    Exclusive,
+}
+
+impl LockedFileMode {
+    /// Try to lock the file and return an error if the lock is already acquired by another process
+    /// and cannot be acquired immediately.
+    fn try_lock(self, file: &fs_err::File) -> Result<(), std::fs::TryLockError> {
+        match self {
+            Self::Exclusive => file.try_lock()?,
+            Self::Shared => file.try_lock_shared()?,
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Lock the file, blocking until the lock becomes available if necessary.
+    fn lock(self, file: &fs_err::File) -> Result<(), io::Error> {
+        match self {
+            Self::Exclusive => file.lock()?,
+            Self::Shared => file.lock_shared()?,
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+impl Display for LockedFileMode {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        match self {
+            Self::Shared => write!(f, "shared"),
+            Self::Exclusive => write!(f, "exclusive"),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// A file lock that is automatically released when dropped.
+#[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
+#[derive(Debug)]
+#[must_use]
+pub struct LockedFile(fs_err::File);
+
+#[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
+impl LockedFile {
+    /// Inner implementation for [`LockedFile::acquire`].
+    async fn lock_file(
+        file: fs_err::File,
+        mode: LockedFileMode,
+        resource: &str,
+    ) -> Result<Self, LockedFileError> {
+        trace!(
+            "Checking lock for `{resource}` at `{}`",
+            file.path().user_display()
+        );
+        // If there's no contention, return directly.
+        let try_lock_exclusive = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || (mode.try_lock(&file), file));
+        let file = match try_lock_exclusive.await? {
+            (Ok(()), file) => {
+                debug!("Acquired {mode} lock for `{resource}`");
+                return Ok(Self(file));
+            }
+            (Err(err), file) => {
+                // Log error code and enum kind to help debugging more exotic failures.
+                if !is_known_already_locked_error(&err) {
+                    debug!("Try lock {mode} error: {err:?}");
+                }
+                file
+            }
+        };
+
+        // If there's lock contention, wait and break deadlocks with a timeout if necessary.
+        info!(
+            "Waiting to acquire {mode} lock for `{resource}` at `{}`",
+            file.path().user_display(),
+        );
+        let path = file.path().to_path_buf();
+        let lock_exclusive = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || (mode.lock(&file), file));
+        let (result, file) = tokio::time::timeout(*LOCK_TIMEOUT, lock_exclusive)
+            .await
+            .map_err(|_| LockedFileError::Timeout {
+                timeout: *LOCK_TIMEOUT,
+                resource: resource.to_string(),
+                path: path.clone(),
+            })??;
+        // Not an fs_err method, we need to build our own path context
+        result.map_err(|err| LockedFileError::Lock {
+            resource: resource.to_string(),
+            path,
+            source: err,
+        })?;
+
+        debug!("Acquired {mode} lock for `{resource}`");
+        Ok(Self(file))
+    }
+
+    /// Inner implementation for [`LockedFile::acquire_no_wait`].
+    fn lock_file_no_wait(file: fs_err::File, mode: LockedFileMode, resource: &str) -> Option<Self> {
+        trace!(
+            "Checking lock for `{resource}` at `{}`",
+            file.path().user_display()
+        );
+        match mode.try_lock(&file) {
+            Ok(()) => {
+                debug!("Acquired {mode} lock for `{resource}`");
+                Some(Self(file))
+            }
+            Err(err) => {
+                // Log error code and enum kind to help debugging more exotic failures.
+                if !is_known_already_locked_error(&err) {
+                    debug!("Try lock error: {err:?}");
+                }
+                debug!("Lock is busy for `{resource}`");
+                None
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Acquire a cross-process lock for a resource using a file at the provided path.
+    pub async fn acquire(
+        path: impl AsRef<Path>,
+        mode: LockedFileMode,
+        resource: impl Display,
+    ) -> Result<Self, LockedFileError> {
+        let file = Self::create(path)?;
+        let resource = resource.to_string();
+        Self::lock_file(file, mode, &resource).await
+    }
+
+    /// Acquire a cross-process lock for a resource using a file at the provided path
+    ///
+    /// Unlike [`LockedFile::acquire`] this function will not wait for the lock to become available.
+    ///
+    /// If the lock is not immediately available, [`None`] is returned.
+    pub fn acquire_no_wait(
+        path: impl AsRef<Path>,
+        mode: LockedFileMode,
+        resource: impl Display,
+    ) -> Option<Self> {
+        let file = Self::create(path).ok()?;
+        let resource = resource.to_string();
+        Self::lock_file_no_wait(file, mode, &resource)
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    fn create(path: impl AsRef<Path>) -> Result<fs_err::File, std::io::Error> {
+        use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
+        use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
+
+        // If path already exists, return it.
+        if let Ok(file) = fs_err::OpenOptions::new()
+            .read(true)
+            .write(true)
+            .open(path.as_ref())
+        {
+            return Ok(file);
+        }
+
+        // Otherwise, create a temporary file with 666 permissions. We must set
+        // permissions _after_ creating the file, to override the `umask`.
+        let file = if let Some(parent) = path.as_ref().parent() {
+            NamedTempFile::new_in(parent)?
+        } else {
+            NamedTempFile::new()?
+        };
+        if let Err(err) = file
+            .as_file()
+            .set_permissions(std::fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o666))
+        {
+            warn!("Failed to set permissions on temporary file: {err}");
+        }
+
+        // Try to move the file to path, but if path exists now, just open path
+        match file.persist_noclobber(path.as_ref()) {
+            Ok(file) => Ok(fs_err::File::from_parts(file, path.as_ref())),
+            Err(err) => {
+                if err.error.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::AlreadyExists {
+                    fs_err::OpenOptions::new()
+                        .read(true)
+                        .write(true)
+                        .open(path.as_ref())
+                } else {
+                    Err(err.error)
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(not(unix))]
+    fn create(path: impl AsRef<Path>) -> std::io::Result<fs_err::File> {
+        fs_err::OpenOptions::new()
+            .read(true)
+            .write(true)
+            .create(true)
+            .open(path.as_ref())
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
+impl Drop for LockedFile {
+    /// Unlock the file.
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if let Err(err) = self.0.unlock() {
+            error!(
+                "Failed to unlock resource at `{}`; program may be stuck: {err}",
+                self.0.path().display()
+            );
+        } else {
+            debug!("Released lock at `{}`", self.0.path().display());
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/uv-git/src/resolver.rs b/crates/uv-git/src/resolver.rs
index 70593ed73..72ba9b70d 100644
--- a/crates/uv-git/src/resolver.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-git/src/resolver.rs
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ use reqwest_middleware::ClientWithMiddleware;
 use tracing::debug;
 
 use uv_cache_key::{RepositoryUrl, cache_digest};
-use uv_fs::LockedFile;
+use uv_fs::{LockedFile, LockedFileError, LockedFileMode};
 use uv_git_types::{GitHubRepository, GitOid, GitReference, GitUrl};
 use uv_static::EnvVars;
 use uv_version::version;
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ pub enum GitResolverError {
     #[error(transparent)]
     Io(#[from] std::io::Error),
     #[error(transparent)]
+    LockedFile(#[from] LockedFileError),
+    #[error(transparent)]
     Join(#[from] tokio::task::JoinError),
     #[error("Git operation failed")]
     Git(#[source] anyhow::Error),
@@ -169,6 +171,7 @@ impl GitResolver {
         let repository_url = RepositoryUrl::new(url.repository());
         let _lock = LockedFile::acquire(
             lock_dir.join(cache_digest(&repository_url)),
+            LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
             &repository_url,
         )
         .await?;
diff --git a/crates/uv-python/src/environment.rs b/crates/uv-python/src/environment.rs
index 88e306bc0..59c22bd7b 100644
--- a/crates/uv-python/src/environment.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-python/src/environment.rs
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ use owo_colors::OwoColorize;
 use tracing::debug;
 
 use uv_cache::Cache;
-use uv_fs::{LockedFile, Simplified};
+use uv_fs::{LockedFile, LockedFileError, Simplified};
 use uv_pep440::Version;
 use uv_preview::Preview;
 
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ impl PythonEnvironment {
     }
 
     /// Grab a file lock for the environment to prevent concurrent writes across processes.
-    pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, std::io::Error> {
+    pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, LockedFileError> {
         self.0.interpreter.lock().await
     }
 
diff --git a/crates/uv-python/src/interpreter.rs b/crates/uv-python/src/interpreter.rs
index 6bde8ddad..3586def80 100644
--- a/crates/uv-python/src/interpreter.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-python/src/interpreter.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@ use tracing::{debug, trace, warn};
 use uv_cache::{Cache, CacheBucket, CachedByTimestamp, Freshness};
 use uv_cache_info::Timestamp;
 use uv_cache_key::cache_digest;
-use uv_fs::{LockedFile, PythonExt, Simplified, write_atomic_sync};
+use uv_fs::{
+    LockedFile, LockedFileError, LockedFileMode, PythonExt, Simplified, write_atomic_sync,
+};
 use uv_install_wheel::Layout;
 use uv_pep440::Version;
 use uv_pep508::{MarkerEnvironment, StringVersion};
@@ -666,17 +668,28 @@ impl Interpreter {
     }
 
     /// Grab a file lock for the environment to prevent concurrent writes across processes.
-    pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, io::Error> {
+    pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, LockedFileError> {
         if let Some(target) = self.target() {
             // If we're installing into a `--target`, use a target-specific lockfile.
-            LockedFile::acquire(target.root().join(".lock"), target.root().user_display()).await
+            LockedFile::acquire(
+                target.root().join(".lock"),
+                LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+                target.root().user_display(),
+            )
+            .await
         } else if let Some(prefix) = self.prefix() {
             // Likewise, if we're installing into a `--prefix`, use a prefix-specific lockfile.
-            LockedFile::acquire(prefix.root().join(".lock"), prefix.root().user_display()).await
+            LockedFile::acquire(
+                prefix.root().join(".lock"),
+                LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+                prefix.root().user_display(),
+            )
+            .await
         } else if self.is_virtualenv() {
             // If the environment a virtualenv, use a virtualenv-specific lockfile.
             LockedFile::acquire(
                 self.sys_prefix.join(".lock"),
+                LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
                 self.sys_prefix.user_display(),
             )
             .await
@@ -684,6 +697,7 @@ impl Interpreter {
             // Otherwise, use a global lockfile.
             LockedFile::acquire(
                 env::temp_dir().join(format!("uv-{}.lock", cache_digest(&self.sys_executable))),
+                LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
                 self.sys_prefix.user_display(),
             )
             .await
@@ -1272,8 +1286,8 @@ mod tests {
 
     use crate::Interpreter;
 
-    #[test]
-    fn test_cache_invalidation() {
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_cache_invalidation() {
         let mock_dir = tempdir().unwrap();
         let mocked_interpreter = mock_dir.path().join("python");
         let json = indoc! {r##"
@@ -1334,7 +1348,7 @@ mod tests {
         }
     "##};
 
-        let cache = Cache::temp().unwrap().init().unwrap();
+        let cache = Cache::temp().unwrap().init().await.unwrap();
 
         fs::write(
             &mocked_interpreter,
diff --git a/crates/uv-python/src/managed.rs b/crates/uv-python/src/managed.rs
index 558a5a1e2..d1fea9d30 100644
--- a/crates/uv-python/src/managed.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-python/src/managed.rs
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ use uv_preview::{Preview, PreviewFeatures};
 #[cfg(windows)]
 use windows::Win32::Storage::FileSystem::FILE_ATTRIBUTE_REPARSE_POINT;
 
-use uv_fs::{LockedFile, Simplified, replace_symlink, symlink_or_copy_file};
+use uv_fs::{
+    LockedFile, LockedFileError, LockedFileMode, Simplified, replace_symlink, symlink_or_copy_file,
+};
 use uv_platform::{Error as PlatformError, Os};
 use uv_platform::{LibcDetectionError, Platform};
 use uv_state::{StateBucket, StateStore};
@@ -38,6 +40,8 @@ pub enum Error {
     #[error(transparent)]
     Io(#[from] io::Error),
     #[error(transparent)]
+    LockedFile(#[from] LockedFileError),
+    #[error(transparent)]
     Download(#[from] DownloadError),
     #[error(transparent)]
     PlatformError(#[from] PlatformError),
@@ -123,7 +127,12 @@ impl ManagedPythonInstallations {
     /// Grab a file lock for the managed Python distribution directory to prevent concurrent access
     /// across processes.
     pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, Error> {
-        Ok(LockedFile::acquire(self.root.join(".lock"), self.root.user_display()).await?)
+        Ok(LockedFile::acquire(
+            self.root.join(".lock"),
+            LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+            self.root.user_display(),
+        )
+        .await?)
     }
 
     /// Prefer, in order:
diff --git a/crates/uv-static/src/env_vars.rs b/crates/uv-static/src/env_vars.rs
index ffec9956c..128e2c655 100644
--- a/crates/uv-static/src/env_vars.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-static/src/env_vars.rs
@@ -1271,4 +1271,10 @@ impl EnvVars {
     /// of build failures.
     #[attr_added_in("0.9.15")]
     pub const UV_HIDE_BUILD_OUTPUT: &'static str = "UV_HIDE_BUILD_OUTPUT";
+
+    /// The time in seconds uv waits for a file lock to become available.
+    ///
+    /// Defaults to 300s (5 min).
+    #[attr_added_in("0.9.4")]
+    pub const UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT: &'static str = "UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT";
 }
diff --git a/crates/uv-tool/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv-tool/src/lib.rs
index 684ce0024..0b044f6cc 100644
--- a/crates/uv-tool/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-tool/src/lib.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use tracing::{debug, warn};
 
 use uv_cache::Cache;
 use uv_dirs::user_executable_directory;
-use uv_fs::{LockedFile, Simplified};
+use uv_fs::{LockedFile, LockedFileError, LockedFileMode, Simplified};
 use uv_install_wheel::read_record_file;
 use uv_installer::SitePackages;
 use uv_normalize::{InvalidNameError, PackageName};
@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ impl ToolEnvironment {
 pub enum Error {
     #[error(transparent)]
     Io(#[from] io::Error),
+    #[error(transparent)]
+    LockedFile(#[from] LockedFileError),
     #[error("Failed to update `uv-receipt.toml` at {0}")]
     ReceiptWrite(PathBuf, #[source] Box<toml_edit::ser::Error>),
     #[error("Failed to read `uv-receipt.toml` at {0}")]
@@ -89,6 +91,27 @@ pub enum Error {
     ToolEnvironmentNotFound(PackageName, PathBuf),
 }
 
+impl Error {
+    pub fn as_io_error(&self) -> Option<&io::Error> {
+        match self {
+            Self::Io(err) => Some(err),
+            Self::LockedFile(err) => err.as_io_error(),
+            Self::VirtualEnvError(uv_virtualenv::Error::Io(err)) => Some(err),
+            Self::ReceiptWrite(_, _)
+            | Self::ReceiptRead(_, _)
+            | Self::VirtualEnvError(_)
+            | Self::EntrypointRead(_)
+            | Self::NoExecutableDirectory
+            | Self::ToolName(_)
+            | Self::EnvironmentError(_)
+            | Self::MissingToolReceipt(_, _)
+            | Self::EnvironmentRead(_, _)
+            | Self::MissingToolPackage(_)
+            | Self::ToolEnvironmentNotFound(_, _) => None,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// A collection of uv-managed tools installed on the current system.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct InstalledTools {
@@ -179,7 +202,12 @@ impl InstalledTools {
 
     /// Grab a file lock for the tools directory to prevent concurrent access across processes.
     pub async fn lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, Error> {
-        Ok(LockedFile::acquire(self.root.join(".lock"), self.root.user_display()).await?)
+        Ok(LockedFile::acquire(
+            self.root.join(".lock"),
+            LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
+            self.root.user_display(),
+        )
+        .await?)
     }
 
     /// Add a receipt for a tool.
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/login.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/login.rs
index 3e708c7b0..2eaa026e9 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/login.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/login.rs
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn login(
         return Ok(ExitStatus::Success);
     }
 
-    let backend = AuthBackend::from_settings(preview)?;
+    let backend = AuthBackend::from_settings(preview).await?;
 
     // If the URL includes a known index URL suffix, strip it
     // TODO(zanieb): Use a shared abstraction across `login` and `logout`?
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/logout.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/logout.rs
index da1ed9336..abca4b4a9 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/logout.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/logout.rs
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn logout(
         return pyx_logout(&pyx_store, network_settings, printer, preview).await;
     }
 
-    let backend = AuthBackend::from_settings(preview)?;
+    let backend = AuthBackend::from_settings(preview).await?;
 
     // TODO(zanieb): Use a shared abstraction across `login` and `logout`?
     let url = service.url().clone();
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/token.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/token.rs
index 6af15ea57..9bf206c19 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/token.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/auth/token.rs
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn token(
         return Ok(ExitStatus::Success);
     }
 
-    let backend = AuthBackend::from_settings(preview)?;
+    let backend = AuthBackend::from_settings(preview).await?;
     let url = service.url();
 
     // Extract credentials from URL if present
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/cache_clean.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/cache_clean.rs
index c645c4a90..583b1fe69 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/cache_clean.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/cache_clean.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use crate::commands::{ExitStatus, human_readable_bytes};
 use crate::printer::Printer;
 
 /// Clear the cache, removing all entries or those linked to specific packages.
-pub(crate) fn cache_clean(
+pub(crate) async fn cache_clean(
     packages: &[PackageName],
     force: bool,
     cache: Cache,
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ pub(crate) fn cache_clean(
                 printer.stderr(),
                 "Cache is currently in-use, waiting for other uv processes to finish (use `--force` to override)"
             )?;
-            cache.with_exclusive_lock()?
+            cache.with_exclusive_lock().await?
         }
     };
 
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/cache_prune.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/cache_prune.rs
index af7b445d5..58f7d8f4f 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/cache_prune.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/cache_prune.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ use crate::commands::{ExitStatus, human_readable_bytes};
 use crate::printer::Printer;
 
 /// Prune all unreachable objects from the cache.
-pub(crate) fn cache_prune(
+pub(crate) async fn cache_prune(
     ci: bool,
     force: bool,
     cache: Cache,
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ pub(crate) fn cache_prune(
                 printer.stderr(),
                 "Cache is currently in-use, waiting for other uv processes to finish (use `--force` to override)"
             )?;
-            cache.with_exclusive_lock()?
+            cache.with_exclusive_lock().await?
         }
     };
 
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/project/add.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/project/add.rs
index 96e3f4a82..772e37d71 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/project/add.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/project/add.rs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ use uv_distribution_types::{
     Index, IndexName, IndexUrl, IndexUrls, NameRequirementSpecification, Requirement,
     RequirementSource, UnresolvedRequirement, VersionId,
 };
-use uv_fs::{LockedFile, Simplified};
+use uv_fs::{LockedFile, LockedFileError, Simplified};
 use uv_git::GIT_STORE;
 use uv_normalize::{DEV_DEPENDENCIES, DefaultExtras, DefaultGroups, ExtraName, PackageName};
 use uv_pep508::{MarkerTree, VersionOrUrl};
@@ -1308,7 +1308,7 @@ impl<'lock> From<&'lock AddTarget> for LockTarget<'lock> {
 impl AddTarget {
     /// Acquire a file lock mapped to the underlying interpreter to prevent concurrent
     /// modifications.
-    pub(super) async fn acquire_lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, io::Error> {
+    pub(super) async fn acquire_lock(&self) -> Result<LockedFile, LockedFileError> {
         match self {
             Self::Script(_, interpreter) => interpreter.lock().await,
             Self::Project(_, python_target) => python_target.interpreter().lock().await,
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/project/mod.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/project/mod.rs
index 2571fe412..8b18e247c 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/project/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/project/mod.rs
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ use uv_distribution_types::{
     ExtraBuildRequirement, ExtraBuildRequires, Index, Requirement, RequiresPython, Resolution,
     UnresolvedRequirement, UnresolvedRequirementSpecification,
 };
-use uv_fs::{CWD, LockedFile, Simplified};
+use uv_fs::{CWD, LockedFile, LockedFileError, LockedFileMode, Simplified};
 use uv_git::ResolvedRepositoryReference;
 use uv_installer::{InstallationStrategy, SatisfiesResult, SitePackages};
 use uv_normalize::{DEV_DEPENDENCIES, DefaultGroups, ExtraName, GroupName, PackageName};
@@ -753,11 +753,12 @@ impl ScriptInterpreter {
     }
 
     /// Grab a file lock for the script to prevent concurrent writes across processes.
-    pub(crate) async fn lock(script: Pep723ItemRef<'_>) -> Result<LockedFile, std::io::Error> {
+    pub(crate) async fn lock(script: Pep723ItemRef<'_>) -> Result<LockedFile, LockedFileError> {
         match script {
             Pep723ItemRef::Script(script) => {
                 LockedFile::acquire(
                     std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("uv-{}.lock", cache_digest(&script.path))),
+                    LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
                     script.path.simplified_display(),
                 )
                 .await
@@ -765,6 +766,7 @@ impl ScriptInterpreter {
             Pep723ItemRef::Remote(.., url) => {
                 LockedFile::acquire(
                     std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("uv-{}.lock", cache_digest(url))),
+                    LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
                     url.to_string(),
                 )
                 .await
@@ -772,6 +774,7 @@ impl ScriptInterpreter {
             Pep723ItemRef::Stdin(metadata) => {
                 LockedFile::acquire(
                     std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("uv-{}.lock", cache_digest(&metadata.raw))),
+                    LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
                     "stdin".to_string(),
                 )
                 .await
@@ -1046,12 +1049,13 @@ impl ProjectInterpreter {
     }
 
     /// Grab a file lock for the environment to prevent concurrent writes across processes.
-    pub(crate) async fn lock(workspace: &Workspace) -> Result<LockedFile, std::io::Error> {
+    pub(crate) async fn lock(workspace: &Workspace) -> Result<LockedFile, LockedFileError> {
         LockedFile::acquire(
             std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
                 "uv-{}.lock",
                 cache_digest(workspace.install_path())
             )),
+            LockedFileMode::Exclusive,
             workspace.install_path().simplified_display(),
         )
         .await
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/install.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/install.rs
index 1285c3d01..5cba0a4b4 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/install.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/install.rs
@@ -341,7 +341,10 @@ pub(crate) async fn install(
                             package_name.cyan()
                         );
                     }
-                    Err(uv_tool::Error::Io(err)) if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {}
+                    Err(err)
+                        if err
+                            .as_io_error()
+                            .is_some_and(|err| err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound) => {}
                     Err(err) => {
                         return Err(err.into());
                     }
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/list.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/list.rs
index e6e66a4a7..41c99dc3c 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/list.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/list.rs
@@ -27,7 +27,11 @@ pub(crate) async fn list(
     let installed_tools = InstalledTools::from_settings()?;
     let _lock = match installed_tools.lock().await {
         Ok(lock) => lock,
-        Err(uv_tool::Error::Io(err)) if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {
+        Err(err)
+            if err
+                .as_io_error()
+                .is_some_and(|err| err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound) =>
+        {
             writeln!(printer.stderr(), "No tools installed")?;
             return Ok(ExitStatus::Success);
         }
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/run.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/run.rs
index 13349bd09..fc1de8135 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/run.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/run.rs
@@ -448,7 +448,11 @@ async fn show_help(
     let installed_tools = InstalledTools::from_settings()?;
     let _lock = match installed_tools.lock().await {
         Ok(lock) => lock,
-        Err(uv_tool::Error::Io(err)) if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {
+        Err(err)
+            if err
+                .as_io_error()
+                .is_some_and(|err| err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound) =>
+        {
             writeln!(printer.stdout(), "{help}")?;
             return Ok(());
         }
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/uninstall.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/uninstall.rs
index e29e66c86..c81a6b93c 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/uninstall.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/tool/uninstall.rs
@@ -17,7 +17,11 @@ pub(crate) async fn uninstall(name: Vec<PackageName>, printer: Printer) -> Resul
     let installed_tools = InstalledTools::from_settings()?.init()?;
     let _lock = match installed_tools.lock().await {
         Ok(lock) => lock,
-        Err(uv_tool::Error::Io(err)) if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {
+        Err(err)
+            if err
+                .as_io_error()
+                .is_some_and(|err| err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound) =>
+        {
             if !name.is_empty() {
                 for name in name {
                     writeln!(printer.stderr(), "`{name}` is not installed")?;
@@ -110,8 +114,10 @@ async fn do_uninstall(
                         )?;
                         continue;
                     }
-                    Err(uv_tool::Error::VirtualEnvError(uv_virtualenv::Error::Io(err)))
-                        if err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound =>
+                    Err(err)
+                        if err
+                            .as_io_error()
+                            .is_some_and(|err| err.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound) =>
                     {
                         bail!("`{name}` is not installed");
                     }
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv/src/lib.rs
index 966d41b30..ff3f59b03 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/lib.rs
@@ -557,7 +557,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -666,7 +666,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -829,7 +829,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             }
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -898,7 +898,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             let mut sources = Vec::with_capacity(args.package.len() + args.requirements.len());
             for package in args.package {
@@ -934,7 +934,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::pip_freeze(
                 args.exclude_editable,
@@ -959,7 +959,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::pip_list(
                 args.editable,
@@ -992,7 +992,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::pip_show(
                 args.package,
@@ -1014,7 +1014,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             let args = PipTreeSettings::resolve(args, filesystem, environment);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::pip_tree(
                 args.show_version_specifiers,
@@ -1048,7 +1048,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::pip_check(
                 args.settings.python.as_deref(),
@@ -1070,13 +1070,13 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
         })
         | Commands::Clean(args) => {
             show_settings!(args);
-            commands::cache_clean(&args.package, args.force, cache, printer)
+            commands::cache_clean(&args.package, args.force, cache, printer).await
         }
         Commands::Cache(CacheNamespace {
             command: CacheCommand::Prune(args),
         }) => {
             show_settings!(args);
-            commands::cache_prune(args.ci, args.force, cache, printer)
+            commands::cache_prune(args.ci, args.force, cache, printer).await
         }
         Commands::Cache(CacheNamespace {
             command: CacheCommand::Dir,
@@ -1090,7 +1090,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.upgrade.clone())),
             );
@@ -1151,7 +1151,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -1302,7 +1302,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.resolver.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -1387,7 +1387,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.resolver.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -1480,7 +1480,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::tool_list(
                 args.show_paths,
@@ -1501,7 +1501,10 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(Refresh::All(Timestamp::now()));
+            let cache = cache
+                .init()
+                .await?
+                .with_refresh(Refresh::All(Timestamp::now()));
 
             Box::pin(commands::tool_upgrade(
                 args.names,
@@ -1554,7 +1557,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::python_list(
                 args.request,
@@ -1654,7 +1657,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             let args = settings::PythonFindSettings::resolve(args, filesystem, environment);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             if let Some(Pep723Item::Script(script)) = script {
                 commands::python_find_script(
@@ -1695,7 +1698,7 @@ async fn run(mut cli: Cli) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
             let args = settings::PythonPinSettings::resolve(args, filesystem, environment);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::python_pin(
                 &project_dir,
@@ -1888,7 +1891,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             }
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             commands::init(
                 project_dir,
@@ -1923,7 +1926,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.resolver.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -1987,7 +1990,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.resolver.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -2037,7 +2040,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .clone()
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -2149,7 +2152,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             }
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.resolver.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -2212,7 +2215,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.resolver.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -2256,7 +2259,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?.with_refresh(
+            let cache = cache.init().await?.with_refresh(
                 args.refresh
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.reinstall.clone()))
                     .combine(Refresh::from(args.settings.resolver.upgrade.clone())),
@@ -2296,7 +2299,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             // Unwrap the script.
             let script = script.map(|script| match script {
@@ -2341,7 +2344,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             // Unwrap the script.
             let script = script.map(|script| match script {
@@ -2389,7 +2392,7 @@ async fn run_project(
             show_settings!(args);
 
             // Initialize the cache.
-            let cache = cache.init()?;
+            let cache = cache.init().await?;
 
             Box::pin(commands::format(
                 project_dir,
diff --git a/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_clean.rs b/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_clean.rs
index d948d2bff..f8a7ce114 100644
--- a/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_clean.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_clean.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ use anyhow::Result;
 use assert_cmd::prelude::*;
 use assert_fs::prelude::*;
 
+use uv_cache::Cache;
+use uv_static::EnvVars;
+
 use crate::common::{TestContext, uv_snapshot};
 
 /// `cache clean` should remove all packages.
@@ -26,7 +29,7 @@ fn clean_all() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Clearing cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     DEBUG Released lock at `[CACHE_DIR]/.lock`
     Removed [N] files ([SIZE])
@@ -35,8 +38,8 @@ fn clean_all() -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
-#[test]
-fn clean_force() -> Result<()> {
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn clean_force() -> Result<()> {
     let context = TestContext::new("3.12").with_filtered_counts();
 
     let requirements_txt = context.temp_dir.child("requirements.txt");
@@ -57,7 +60,7 @@ fn clean_force() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Clearing cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     DEBUG Released lock at `[CACHE_DIR]/.lock`
     Removed [N] files ([SIZE])
@@ -71,7 +74,9 @@ fn clean_force() -> Result<()> {
         .success();
 
     // When locked, `--force` should proceed without blocking
-    let _cache = uv_cache::Cache::from_path(context.cache_dir.path()).with_exclusive_lock();
+    let _cache = uv_cache::Cache::from_path(context.cache_dir.path())
+        .with_exclusive_lock()
+        .await;
     uv_snapshot!(context.filters(), context.clean().arg("--verbose").arg("--force"), @r"
     success: true
     exit_code: 0
@@ -135,7 +140,7 @@ fn clean_package_pypi() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     DEBUG Removing dangling cache entry: [CACHE_DIR]/archive-v0/[ENTRY]
     Removed [N] files ([SIZE])
     DEBUG Released lock at `[CACHE_DIR]/.lock`
@@ -155,7 +160,7 @@ fn clean_package_pypi() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Pruning cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     No unused entries found
     DEBUG Released lock at `[CACHE_DIR]/.lock`
@@ -214,7 +219,7 @@ fn clean_package_index() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     DEBUG Removing dangling cache entry: [CACHE_DIR]/archive-v0/[ENTRY]
     Removed [N] files ([SIZE])
     DEBUG Released lock at `[CACHE_DIR]/.lock`
@@ -228,3 +233,23 @@ fn clean_package_index() -> Result<()> {
 
     Ok(())
 }
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn cache_timeout() {
+    let context = TestContext::new("3.12");
+
+    // Simulate another uv process running and locking the cache, e.g., with a source build.
+    let _cache = Cache::from_path(context.cache_dir.path())
+        .with_exclusive_lock()
+        .await;
+
+    uv_snapshot!(context.filters(), context.clean().env(EnvVars::UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT, "1"), @r"
+    success: false
+    exit_code: 2
+    ----- stdout -----
+
+    ----- stderr -----
+    Cache is currently in-use, waiting for other uv processes to finish (use `--force` to override)
+    error: Timeout ([TIME]) when waiting for lock on `[CACHE_DIR]/` at `[CACHE_DIR]/.lock`, is another uv process running? You can set `UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT` to increase the timeout.
+    ");
+}
diff --git a/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs b/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs
index 3650559a8..5a2000393 100644
--- a/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/tests/it/cache_prune.rs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ fn prune_no_op() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Pruning cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     No unused entries found
     DEBUG Released lock at `[CACHE_DIR]/.lock`
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ fn prune_stale_directory() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Pruning cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     DEBUG Removing dangling cache bucket: [CACHE_DIR]/simple-v4
     Removed 1 directory
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ fn prune_cached_env() {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Pruning cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     DEBUG Removing dangling cache environment: [CACHE_DIR]/environments-v2/[ENTRY]
     DEBUG Removing dangling cache archive: [CACHE_DIR]/archive-v0/[ENTRY]
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ fn prune_stale_symlink() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Pruning cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     DEBUG Removing dangling cache archive: [CACHE_DIR]/archive-v0/[ENTRY]
     Removed 44 files ([SIZE])
@@ -196,8 +196,8 @@ fn prune_stale_symlink() -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
-#[test]
-fn prune_force() -> Result<()> {
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn prune_force() -> Result<()> {
     let context = TestContext::new("3.12").with_filtered_counts();
 
     let requirements_txt = context.temp_dir.child("requirements.txt");
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ fn prune_force() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Pruning cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     No unused entries found
     DEBUG Released lock at `[CACHE_DIR]/.lock`
@@ -229,7 +229,9 @@ fn prune_force() -> Result<()> {
     simple.create_dir_all()?;
 
     // When locked, `--force` should proceed without blocking
-    let _cache = uv_cache::Cache::from_path(context.cache_dir.path()).with_exclusive_lock();
+    let _cache = uv_cache::Cache::from_path(context.cache_dir.path())
+        .with_exclusive_lock()
+        .await;
     uv_snapshot!(context.filters(), context.prune().arg("--verbose").arg("--force"), @r"
     success: true
     exit_code: 0
@@ -406,7 +408,7 @@ fn prune_stale_revision() -> Result<()> {
 
     ----- stderr -----
     DEBUG uv [VERSION] ([COMMIT] DATE)
-    DEBUG Acquired lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
+    DEBUG Acquired exclusive lock for `[CACHE_DIR]/`
     Pruning cache at: [CACHE_DIR]/
     DEBUG Removing dangling source revision: [CACHE_DIR]/sdists-v9/[ENTRY]
     DEBUG Removing dangling cache archive: [CACHE_DIR]/archive-v0/[ENTRY]
diff --git a/crates/uv/tests/it/common/mod.rs b/crates/uv/tests/it/common/mod.rs
index a020b486d..869c92305 100644
--- a/crates/uv/tests/it/common/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/tests/it/common/mod.rs
@@ -1784,7 +1784,9 @@ pub fn python_installations_for_versions(
     python_versions: &[&str],
     download_list: &ManagedPythonDownloadList,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<PathBuf>> {
-    let cache = Cache::from_path(temp_dir.child("cache").to_path_buf()).init()?;
+    let cache = Cache::from_path(temp_dir.child("cache").to_path_buf())
+        .init_no_wait()?
+        .expect("No cache contention when setting up Python in tests");
     let selected_pythons = python_versions
         .iter()
         .map(|python_version| {
diff --git a/docs/concepts/cache.md b/docs/concepts/cache.md
index 189465ac4..7230752e1 100644
--- a/docs/concepts/cache.md
+++ b/docs/concepts/cache.md
@@ -127,8 +127,7 @@ cache is designed to be thread-safe and append-only, and thus robust to multiple
 and writers. uv applies a file-based lock to the target virtual environment when installing, to
 avoid concurrent modifications across processes.
 
-Note that it's _not_ safe to modify the uv cache (e.g., `uv cache clean`) while other uv commands
-are running, and _never_ safe to modify the cache directly (e.g., by removing a file or directory).
+Note that it's _never_ safe to modify the cache directly (e.g., by removing a file or directory).
 
 ## Clearing the cache
 
@@ -141,6 +140,12 @@ uv provides a few different mechanisms for removing entries from the cache:
   entries created in previous uv versions that are no longer necessary and can be safely removed.
   `uv cache prune` is safe to run periodically, to keep the cache directory clean.
 
+uv blocks cache-modifying operations while other uv commands are running. By default, those
+`uv cache` commands have a 5 min timeout waiting for other uv processes to terminate to avoid
+deadlocks. This timeout can be changed with
+[`UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT`](../reference/environment.md#uv_lock_timeout). In cases where it is known that no
+other uv processes are reading or writing from the cache, `--force` can be used to ignore the lock.
+
 ## Caching in continuous integration
 
 It's common to cache package installation artifacts in continuous integration environments (like
diff --git a/docs/reference/environment.md b/docs/reference/environment.md
index b0cd16e6e..742d26210 100644
--- a/docs/reference/environment.md
+++ b/docs/reference/environment.md
@@ -273,6 +273,13 @@ a link mode.
 Equivalent to the `--locked` command-line argument. If set, uv will assert that the
 `uv.lock` remains unchanged.
 
+### `UV_LOCK_TIMEOUT`
+<small class="added-in">added in `0.9.4`</small>
+
+The time in seconds uv waits for a file lock to become available.
+
+Defaults to 300s (5 min).
+
 ### `UV_LOG_CONTEXT`
 <small class="added-in">added in `0.6.4`</small>