site-packages is the target directory of manually built Python packages. When you build and install Python packages from source (using distutils, probably by executing python setup.py install), you will find the installed modules in site-packages by default.

There are standard locations:

• Unix (pure)¹: prefix/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages
• Unix (non-pure): exec-prefix/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages
• Windows: prefix\Lib\site-packages

¹ Pure means that the module uses only Python code. Non-pure can contain C/C++ code as well.

site-packages is by default part of the Python search path, so modules installed there can be imported easily afterwards.

Useful reading

• Installing Python Modules (for Python 2)
• Installing Python Modules (for Python 3)

There are two types of site-packages directories, global and per user.

1. Global site-packages ("dist-packages") directories are listed in sys.path when you run:

    python -m site
   

   For a more concise list run getsitepackages from the site module in Python code:

    python -c 'import site; print(site.getsitepackages())'
   

   Caution: In virtual environments getsitepackages is not available with older versions of virtualenv, sys.path from above will list the virtualenv's site-packages directory correctly, though. In Python 3, you may use the sysconfig module instead:

    python3 -c 'import sysconfig; print(sysconfig.get_paths()["purelib"])'
   

2. The per user site-packages directory (PEP 370) is where Python installs your local packages:

    python -m site --user-site
   

   If this points to a non-existing directory check the exit status of Python and see python -m site --help for explanations.

   Hint: Running pip list --user or pip freeze --user gives you a list of all installed per user site-packages.

Practical Tips

• <package>.__path__ lets you identify the location(s) of a specific package: (details)

    $ python -c "import setuptools as _; print(_.__path__)"
    ['/usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/setuptools']
  

• <module>.__file__ lets you identify the location of a specific module: (difference)

    $ python3 -c "import os as _; print(_.__file__)"
    /usr/lib/python3.6/os.py
  

• Run pip show <package> to show Debian-style package information:

    $ pip show pytest
    Name: pytest
    Version: 3.8.2
    Summary: pytest: simple powerful testing with Python
    Home-page: https://docs.pytest.org/en/latest/
    Author: Holger Krekel, Bruno Oliveira, Ronny Pfannschmidt, Floris Bruynooghe, Brianna Laugher, Florian Bruhin and others
    Author-email: None
    License: MIT license
    Location: /home/peter/.local/lib/python3.4/site-packages
    Requires: more-itertools, atomicwrites, setuptools, attrs, pathlib2, six, py, pluggy
  

That's just how file paths work on Windows. Windows paths are case-insensitive.

You know what has worked for me really well on windows.

My Computer > Properties > Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables >

Just add the path as C:\Python27 (or wherever you installed python)

OR

Then under system variables I create a new Variable called PythonPath. In this variable I have C:\Python27\Lib;C:\Python27\DLLs;C:\Python27\Lib\lib-tk;C:\other-folders-on-the-path

This is the best way that has worked for me which I hadn't found in any of the docs offered.

EDIT: For those who are not able to get it, Please add

C:\Python27;

along with it. Else it will never work.

What Marty said:

Does this answer your question? It's "PATH_TO_BLENDER_INSTALL\3.X\python\lib\site-packages" replacing X with 0, 1, or 2 as appropriate. If you installed Blender in the default location it's "c:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 3.X\3.X\python\lib\site-packages"

And if you want to be sure you can print sys.exec_prefix in the blender python console,look for lib/site-packages inside that folder.

import sys
print(sys.exec_prefix)