Curated source guide

CPython source explorer

Explore Python CPython interpreter source code. Learn how Python works under the hood, from bytecode execution to garbage collection and runtime internals.

Guide chapters

1. Chapter 1 — Understanding CPython Before Code
2. Chapter 2 — Source Code Structure
3. Chapter 3 — The Object Model
4. Chapter 4 — Built-in Types
5. Chapter 5 — The Evaluation Loop
6. Chapter 6 — Import System and Modules

Key directories

• Doc/c-api/ — Python C API reference
• Doc/extending/ — Extending Python with C
• Doc/ — GIL and core term definitions
• Python/ — Main evaluation loop — the heart of CPython
• Include/ — PyObject struct — foundation of all Python objects
• Modules/ — Cyclic garbage collector