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Is there a GUI for IPython that allows me to open/run/edit Python files? My way of working in IDLE is to have two windows open: the shell and a .py file. I edit the .py file, run it, and interact with the results in the shell.

Is it possible to use IPython like this? Or is there an alternative way of working?

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See stackoverflow.com/questions/81584/what-ide-to-use-for-python and similar SO discussions. –  gimel Aug 9 '10 at 8:58
None of the acronyms used on that page matches what I'm looking for... –  compie Aug 11 '10 at 20:25
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11 Answers

up vote 39 down vote accepted

When I'm working with python, I usually have two terminal windows open - one with IPython, and the other with a fairly customized Vim.

Two good resources:

Though it sounds like what you want is IPython's magic function %ed/%edit:

An example of what you can do:

In [72]: %ed
IPython will make a temporary file named: c:\docume~1\wjwe312\locals~1\temp\ipython_edit_ar8veu.py

In the file I put:

x = "Hello World"
print 3

After saving and quitting the file:

Editing... done. Executing edited code...
Out[72]: "x = 'Hello world'\nprint 3\n"

In [73]: x
Out[73]: 'Hello world'

You can define functions or anything else - just remember that the contents of the file will be executed when you close it.

Another similar workflow is to cd to the directory containing your Python script that you're editing with your favorite editor. Then you can %run the script from within IPython and you'll have access to everything defined in the file. For instance, if you have the following in the file test.py in your /home/myself directory:

    class Tester(object):
        def __init__(self):
            print "hi"

    def knightme(name):
        print "Hello, Sir ", name

Then you can do the following:

In [42]: cd /home/myself

In [43]: %run test.py # <Tab> autocomplete also works

In [44]: knightme('John')
Hello, Sir  John

In [45]: t = Tester()

Either a mix or one of those workflows should give you something very similar to the way you're used to working in IDLE.

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If you just want to edit a file from ipython without executing it, do %edit -x <file>. –  snapshoe Oct 15 '10 at 4:45
ma3204, that is incredibly useful! I'm probably barely competent with IPython - I just use it like an advanced "regular" shell. It's got a lot of features I just don't know about. –  Wayne Werner Oct 19 '10 at 23:21
But is there a way to use IPython within IDLE? Because the standard interpreter sucks, and the Windows Command Prompt sucks. I want the IPython interpreter in a console that actually works well with it. –  endolith Apr 15 '11 at 23:11
@endolith, You can always install cygwin ;) - Actually I used Console2 for a while and it worked pretty well. –  Wayne Werner Apr 18 '11 at 15:47
@endolith, IdleX supports running IPython within IDLE. –  Roger Mar 26 '12 at 7:20
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Spyder, previously known as SPyderlib / Spyder2

Pretty lightweight, fast and support almost all features you will ever need to work with a python project. It can edit and run .py files in an embedded IPython instance and then interact with them, set breakpoints, etc.

enter image description here full-size

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Take a look at DreamPie. Might be what you are looking for.

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Try Spyder, I have spent all day trying to find an IDE which has the functionality of ipython and Spyder just kicks it out of the park..

Autocomplete is top notch right from install, no config files and all that crap, and it has an Ipython terminal in the corner for you to instantly run your code.

big thumbs up

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Personally, I like PyScripter. Unfortunately, it only works on Windows, but also runs perfectly in Wine.

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The latest version of IdleX supports IPython within IDLE, as well as the %edit magic. You can run your files from the IDLE editor within the IPython shell many ways, either by F5 (run everything), F9 (run a selection), or Ctrl+Enter (run a subcode).

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If you like the work-flow under Matlab, then you probably should try the following two:

1, Try the combination of Spyder and Vim.

  • Edit python files in Vim (Spyder can reload the file automatically)

  • Run the code in Spyder (in the same interpreter, which is important for me):

  • Use F9 to run the current file

  • Ctrl+F9 to run the selected block

2, Use Vim + conque-shell. (on google code)

  • Open your preferred Python interpreter in Vim,

    e.g., just :ConqueTermSplit python.

  • then visual select some Python code

  • press F9 to paste and run it in the Python interpreter buffer.

Note: a few more:

  • :ConqueTermVSplit python,
  • :ConqueTerm python
  • :ConqueTermVSplit rlwrap python

    If your interpretor misses readline, you can use rlwrap.

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You might like PySlices...

It's kind of a shell/editor hybrid that lets you save your session as special (barely) modified python files called .pyslice files.

It's now part of wxPython, so just install that (v2.8.11 or later) and run "python -m wx.py.PySlices" on the command line to launch it.

That said, I still end up using an external editor for scripts (geany).

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sudo apt-get install ipython

Once you are done with installing ipython.

Start ipython from terminal (just hit ipython in the ternminal)

To run ravi.py file all you need to do is

%run ravi.py
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I want to suggest excellent plugin for vim that makes two-way integration between Vim and IPython: vim-ipython.

From project page on http://github.com/ivanov/vim-ipython:

Using this plugin, you can send lines or whole files for IPython to execute, and also get back object introspection and word completions in Vim, like what you get with: object? and object. in IPython.

This plugin has one big limitation: it doesn't support python 3 (it's planned).

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Personally, I use what @Wayne suggested, a combination of vim and ipython...

However, if you'd prefer a different approach, take a look at spyder.

As of the latest version (1.1) ipython should be fully integrated. If you download an earlier version, things will work fine with ipython as an external shell, but you won't get a few of spyder's nifty features (like viewing all of the currently defined variables in the workspace window).

Spyder is definitely a bit heavyweight, but it's an interesting project.

Another (very, very, new) similar project to take a look at is iep. It will (sort-of) work with ipython as shell, and I'd be willing to be bet that nicer ipython integration will be along before too long. At any rate, iep is essentially a more lightweight alternative to spyder.

Both of these are oriented towards scientific computing, and so have nice integration with things like matplotlib (and thus can automatically run gui main loops in a seperate thread). They're not quite like "normal" IDE's but they may fill the niche you're looking for quite nicely.

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