What Does the python -v Command Do

Question

I recently reinstalled my macOS and I wanted to check the version of Python. I typed python -v into the terminal and I am not sure what this did? I am new to th

Answer 1

This will show you the way your modules are loading for debugging reasons. (in this case it is just the base modules)

Documentation: https://docs.python.org/2/using/cmdline.html#cmdoption-v

Answer 2

You didn't do anything wrong. From the man page for Python (accessed by man python):

   -v     Print  a  message each time a module is initialized, showing the
          place (filename or built-in module) from  which  it  is  loaded.
          When  given twice, print a message for each file that is checked
          for when searching for a module.  Also provides  information  on
          module cleanup at exit.

   -V ,  --version
          Prints  the  Python  version number of the executable and exits.
          When given twice, print more information about the build.

Think of the lowercase -v as "verbose"—it's useful for debugging modules. The modules you listed are all from the standard library.