[Python] Pylance & Pylint report “could not be resolved” / “no-member” for a valid PyPI...

What configuration changes are needed in VSCode (or in my project layout) to make Pylance and Pylint recognize the installed cowsay package and its members? Is there a best practice for structuring local packages alongside third-party libraries so that both analysis engines pick them up correctly?

I’ve created a Python 3 virtual environment in VSCode (using python -m venv venv at the project root), installed the cowsay library via pip, and selected the interpreter from venv. However, in my source file I see:

Import "cowsay" could not be resolved PylancereportMissingImports
Module 'cowsay' has no 'cow' member PylintE1101:no-member


Code:

import cowsay
import sys

if len(sys.argv) == 2:
cowsay.cow("Hello there, " + sys.argv[1])


This happens even though running the script with:

./venv/bin/python3.13 packages/say.py carl

prints the correct output:

./venv/bin/python3.13 packages/say.py carl
_________________
| Hello there, carl |
=================
\
\
^__^
(oo)\_______
(__)\ )\/\
||----w |
|| ||



Project structure:

project-root/
├── packages/
│ └── say.py
├── venv/ ← virtual environment


Confirming VSCode is using the venv/bin/python interrupter





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