diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9dad33e..2f6eecb 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -43,3 +43,12 @@ token.txt
 src/test-model.py
 src/pyosmeta/_version_generated.py
 .pdm-build/*
+
+# local files
+all-submissions.csv
+issue-stats.ipynb
+plot.py
+presubmissions.csv
+reviews_all.csv
+reviews_presubmissions.csv
+src/pyosmeta/cli/test.ipynb
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 082ee89..f162671 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -67,10 +67,14 @@ contributor search and filter functionality that you can see here.](https://www.
 To begin:
 
 1. Create a local environment and activate it.
-2. Install the required dependencies via the `requirement.txt` file by running the following command;
-   `pip install -r requirements.txt`
-3. Install the pyosmeta package in development/editable mode:
-   `pip install -e . `
+If you are using conda:
+
+```bash
+mamba create -n pyos-meta python=3.10
+mamba activate pyos-meta
+````
+2. Install the package in editable model and associated development dependencies:
+   `pip install -e ".[dev]"`
 
 ### Setup token to authenticate with the GitHub API
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index c4b45d5..f90b1fe 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 [build-system]
-requires = ["pdm-backend"]
-build-backend = "pdm.backend"
+requires = ["hatchling"]
+build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "pyosmeta"
-dynamic = ["version"]
+version = "0.1"
 description = "Tools that update the pyOpenSci contributor and review metadata that is posted on our website"
 authors = [{ name = "Leah Wasser", email = "leah@pyopensci.org" }]
 maintainers = [
@@ -37,13 +37,21 @@ dependencies = [
     "requests",
     "python-dotenv",
     "pydantic>=2.0",
+    "requests",
+    "python-dotenv"
 ]
 
+
 # This is the metadata that pip reads to understand what versions your package supports
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = { text = "MIT" }
 
+
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+dev = [
+  "pre-commit"
+]
 # Examples listed include a pattern for specifying where the package tracks
 # issues, where the source is hosted, where to say thanks to the package
 # maintainers, and where to support the project financially. The key is
@@ -80,20 +88,3 @@ py_version = 27
 # but why did it ignore it?
 [tool.flake8]
 extend-ignore = ["E203", "W503"]
-
-
-[tool.pdm.build]
-excludes = ["./**/.git"]
-# This config is important for telling pdm that the package should live in
-# a src directory
-package-dir = "src"
-
-# Versioning is a backend feature - instructions are in pdm-backend docs
-# https://pdm-backend.fming.dev/metadata/
-
-[tool.pdm.version]
-# Note that you need to create the tag after all commits are created - otherwise
-# pdm adds dev info after the tag number which won't publish to pypi
-source = "scm"
-write_to = "pyosmeta/_version_generated.py"
-write_template = "__version__ = 'v{}'"
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index be433a7..0000000
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-ruamel.yaml
-pre-commit
-requests
-python-dotenv
-
-# Build requirements
-pdm
diff --git a/src/pyosmeta/file_io.py b/src/pyosmeta/file_io.py
index 8521477..d747ab5 100644
--- a/src/pyosmeta/file_io.py
+++ b/src/pyosmeta/file_io.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import urllib.request
 
 import ruamel.yaml
+from ruamel.yaml import YAML
 from typing import Dict, List, Union
 
 
@@ -73,7 +74,8 @@ def open_yml_file(file_path: str) -> dict:
     # the contrib class
     try:
         with urllib.request.urlopen(file_path) as f:
-            return ruamel.yaml.safe_load(f)
+            yaml = YAML(typ="safe", pure=True)
+            return yaml.load(f)
     except urllib.error.URLError as url_error:
         print("Oops - can find the url", file_path, url_error)