# Explanation

Design rationale and background knowledge. Read these to understand *why* pipx works the way it does.

- [How pipx Works](how-pipx-works.md) — virtual environment architecture and the shared pip library.
- [Comparisons](comparisons.md) — how pipx relates to pip, poetry, pipenv, pyenv, brew, npx, and more.
- [Making Packages Compatible](making-packages-compatible.md) — adding entry points and man pages for pipx support.
