Get Started with IPython

Learn the basics of interactive Python computing

Starting IPython

Once installed, start IPython by typing:

$ ipython
IPython 8.18.1 -- An enhanced Interactive Python
Type 'copyright', 'credits' or 'license' for more information
IPython -- Productive Interactive Computing

In [1]:

You're now in the IPython shell! Type Python code and press Enter to execute it.

Basic Python Code

IPython works like standard Python, but with enhanced features:

In [1]: x = 10

In [2]: y = 20

In [3]: x + y
Out[3]: 30

In [4]: name = "IPython"

In [5]: f"Hello, {name}"
Out[5]: 'Hello, IPython!'

Tab Completion

Press Tab to complete code. This works for:

  • Object attributes: import numpy; numpy.[TAB]
  • Function parameters: open([TAB]
  • Filenames: open('/path/to/[TAB]
Try typing something and pressing Tab - IPython will suggest completions!

Explore Objects with ? and ??

View help and source code instantly:

function_name?

Show documentation and signature

function_name??

Show source code

In [1]: import numpy

In [2]: numpy.array?
Type:      type
String form: <class 'numpy.ndarray'>
Docstring:
ndarray(shape, dtype=float, buffer=None, offset=0,
        strides=None, order=None)

Magic Commands

IPython special commands starting with % or %%:

%timeit sum(range(100))

Time code execution to find bottlenecks

%run my_script.py

Execute a Python script in IPython

%ls

Run shell commands

Shell Integration

Execute shell commands directly with !:

In [1]: !ls

In [2]: files = !find . -name "*.py"

In [3]: len(files)
Out[3]: 42

Capture command output directly into Python variables!

Next Steps