diff --git a/crates/uv-cli/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv-cli/src/lib.rs
index 6e48f3aa3b263..634058bf95d5f 100644
--- a/crates/uv-cli/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-cli/src/lib.rs
@@ -8367,6 +8367,14 @@ pub struct MetadataArgs {
     #[arg(long)]
     pub sync: bool,
 
+    /// Sync dependencies to the active virtual environment.
+    ///
+    /// Instead of creating or updating the virtual environment for the project or script, the
+    /// active virtual environment will be preferred, if the `VIRTUAL_ENV` environment variable is
+    /// set.
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub active: bool,
+
     /// The Python interpreter to use during resolution.
     ///
     /// A Python interpreter is required for building source distributions to determine package
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/commands/workspace/metadata.rs b/crates/uv/src/commands/workspace/metadata.rs
index 863afa5ec3c7d..eae2741b4b133 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/commands/workspace/metadata.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/commands/workspace/metadata.rs
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn metadata(
     dry_run: DryRun,
     refresh: Refresh,
     sync: bool,
+    active: bool,
     python: Option<String>,
     install_mirrors: PythonInstallMirrors,
     malware_settings: MalwareCheckSettings,
@@ -93,7 +94,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn metadata(
                 &install_mirrors,
                 false,
                 config_discovery,
-                Some(false),
+                Some(active),
                 cache,
                 printer,
             )
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn metadata(
                     python_downloads,
                     &install_mirrors,
                     false,
-                    Some(false),
+                    Some(active),
                     cache,
                     printer,
                 )
@@ -184,7 +185,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn metadata(
                         python_downloads,
                         false,
                         config_discovery,
-                        Some(false),
+                        Some(active),
                         cache,
                         DryRun::Disabled,
                         LinkErrorReporting::User,
@@ -201,7 +202,7 @@ pub(crate) async fn metadata(
                         &install_mirrors,
                         false,
                         config_discovery,
-                        Some(false),
+                        Some(active),
                         cache,
                         DryRun::Disabled,
                         printer,
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/lib.rs b/crates/uv/src/lib.rs
index cb0c7f13900aa..fe5e40593033a 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/lib.rs
@@ -2066,6 +2066,7 @@ pub async fn run(cli: Cli, global_initialization: GlobalInitialization) -> Resul
                     args.dry_run,
                     args.refresh,
                     args.sync,
+                    args.active,
                     args.python,
                     args.install_mirrors,
                     args.malware_settings,
diff --git a/crates/uv/src/settings.rs b/crates/uv/src/settings.rs
index 89db418faa5b6..7870400c71475 100644
--- a/crates/uv/src/settings.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/src/settings.rs
@@ -2101,6 +2101,7 @@ pub(crate) struct MetadataSettings {
     pub(crate) frozen: Option<FrozenSource>,
     pub(crate) dry_run: DryRun,
     pub(crate) sync: bool,
+    pub(crate) active: bool,
     pub(crate) python: Option<String>,
     pub(crate) install_mirrors: PythonInstallMirrors,
     pub(crate) refresh: Refresh,
@@ -2124,6 +2125,7 @@ impl MetadataSettings {
             build,
             refresh,
             sync,
+            active,
             python,
         } = *args;
 
@@ -2147,6 +2149,7 @@ impl MetadataSettings {
             frozen: resolve_frozen(frozen),
             dry_run: DryRun::from_args(dry_run),
             sync,
+            active,
             python: python.and_then(Maybe::into_option),
             refresh: Refresh::from(refresh),
             settings: ResolverSettings::combine(
diff --git a/crates/uv/tests/workspace/workspace_metadata.rs b/crates/uv/tests/workspace/workspace_metadata.rs
index 1f93df11cd669..91bb7bd092fdb 100644
--- a/crates/uv/tests/workspace/workspace_metadata.rs
+++ b/crates/uv/tests/workspace/workspace_metadata.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ use async_zip::{Compression, ZipEntryBuilder};
 use futures::executor::block_on;
 use url::Url;
 
+use uv_static::EnvVars;
 use uv_test::{copy_dir_ignore, uv_snapshot};
 
 fn write_wheel(
@@ -525,6 +526,52 @@ fn workspace_metadata_sync_centralized_environment() -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn workspace_metadata_sync_active_environment() -> Result<()> {
+    let context = uv_test::test_context_with_versions!(&["3.12", "3.11"]);
+
+    context.temp_dir.child("pyproject.toml").write_str(
+        r#"
+        [project]
+        name = "project"
+        version = "0.1.0"
+        requires-python = ">=3.12"
+        dependencies = []
+        "#,
+    )?;
+
+    context
+        .venv()
+        .arg("--python")
+        .arg("3.11")
+        .assert()
+        .success();
+    let active = context.temp_dir.child("active");
+    context
+        .venv()
+        .arg(active.path())
+        .arg("--python")
+        .arg("3.12")
+        .assert()
+        .success();
+
+    let assert = context
+        .workspace_metadata()
+        .arg("--sync")
+        .arg("--active")
+        .env(EnvVars::VIRTUAL_ENV, active.path())
+        .assert()
+        .success();
+    let metadata: serde_json::Value = serde_json::from_slice(&assert.get_output().stdout)?;
+
+    assert_eq!(
+        metadata["environment"]["root"].as_str().map(Path::new),
+        Some(active.path())
+    );
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn workspace_metadata_module_owners_from_locked_wheels() -> Result<()> {
     let context = uv_test::test_context!("3.12");