diff --git a/.envrc b/.envrc
index 5c687e397..b0f9f12f0 100644
--- a/.envrc
+++ b/.envrc
@@ -1,6 +1,17 @@
 layout_uv() {
-	uv venv .devenv/state/venv
-	source_env .devenv/state/venv/bin/activate
+    if [[ -d ".venv" ]]; then
+        VIRTUAL_ENV="$(pwd)/.devenv/state/venv"
+    fi
+
+    if [[ -z $VIRTUAL_ENV || ! -d $VIRTUAL_ENV ]]; then
+        log_status "No virtual environment exists. Executing \`uv venv\` to create one."
+        uv venv
+        VIRTUAL_ENV="$(pwd)/.devenv/state/venv"
+    fi
+
+    PATH_add "$VIRTUAL_ENV/bin"
+    export UV_ACTIVE=1  # or VENV_ACTIVE=1
+    export VIRTUAL_ENV
 }
 
 source_url "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cachix/devenv/d1f7b48e35e6dee421cfd0f51481d17f77586997/direnvrc" "sha256-YBzqskFZxmNb3kYVoKD9ZixoPXJh1C9ZvTLGFRkauZ0="