--- title: Folder in Python? – Real Python | daily.dev description: This post explores the __pycache__ folder in Python, explaining how it appears in complex projects and how it speeds up module importing by caching bytecode.... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/folder-in-python-real-python-rkqadogqo twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Folder in Python? – Real Python | daily.dev og:description: This post explores the __pycache__ folder in Python, explaining how it appears in complex projects and how it speeds up module importing by caching bytecode.... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/folder-in-python-real-python-rkqadogqo og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/rKqaDOGQO.png og:image:alt: Folder in Python? – Real Python og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Folder in Python? – Real Python **[Real Python](https://daily.dev/sources/rpython)** · 24 min read · 29 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary This post explores the __pycache__ folder in Python, explaining how it appears in complex projects and how it speeds up module importing by caching bytecode. It also discusses the benefits of storing the cache in a centralized folder instead of locally. Finally, it shows how to read and execute the bytecode from a .pyc file. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Don’t just attend KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon, Merge Forward your experience\!](https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-just-attend-kubecon-cloudnativecon-merge-forward-your-experience--l0rpp73x8) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Announcing H2 2026 KCDs](https://daily.dev/posts/announcing-h2-2026-kcds-m96goajm1) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Two months of Open Community Groups](https://daily.dev/posts/two-months-of-open-community-groups-asf52zhbs) · CNCF · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Unveils Schedule for KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Europe 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-unveils-schedule-for-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe-2026-ikhcoa5cb) · CNCF · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Debuts KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Japan 2026 Schedule](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-debuts-kubecon-cloudnativecon-japan-2026-schedule-xp5pyudub) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#python](https://daily.dev/tags/python) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/folder-in-python-real-python-rkqadogqo) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Folder in Python? – Real Python","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/folder-in-python-real-python-rkqadogqo","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/folder-in-python-real-python-rkqadogqo"},"datePublished":"2024-05-13T14:04:10.551Z","dateModified":"2024-05-13T14:04:10.205Z","description":"This post explores the __pycache__ folder in Python, explaining how it appears in complex projects and how it speeds up module importing by caching bytecode....","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/259450c7196243230aa86d365765a49b?_a=AQAEuiZ","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/259450c7196243230aa86d365765a49b?_a=AQAEuiZ","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Real Python","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Real Python","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/rpython","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/rpython"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/folder-in-python-real-python-rkqadogqo","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":29},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"python","timeRequired":"PT24M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Real Python","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/rpython"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Folder in Python? – Real Python"}]} ```