Python virtual environments: Inside .venv (Anatomy)

Python virtual environments ( python -m venv ) are not magic: they are a specific directory layout plus pyvenv.cfg that controls where Python imports and where pip installs. When installs land in the “wrong” place or imports behave inconsistently, the evidence is inside .venv/ . This guide maps each folder and file (Scripts/bin, site-packages , .dist-info , pyvenv.cfg ) to the behavior it drives, so you can debug environment issues by inspection. Virtual environment structure on Linux/macOS A ty