Python console

Tools | Python Console

Python console enables executing Python commands and scripts line by line, similar to your experience with Python Shell.

Working with Python console

The console appears as a tool window every time you choose the corresponding command on the Tools menu. You can assign a shortcut to open Python console: press Ctrl+Alt+S, navigate to Keymap, specify a shortcut for Main menu | Tools | Python or Debug Console.

The main reason for using the Python console within PyCharm is to benefit from the main IDE features, such as code completion, code analysis, and quick fixes.

You can use up and down arrow keys to browse through the history of executed commands, and repeat the desired ones. To preview the variable values calculated in the course of the execution, click and check the Special Variables list.

The console is available for all types of Python interpreters and virtual environments, both local and remote.

Preview a variable as an array

When your variables are numpy arrays or dataframes, you can preview them as an array in a separate window. To try it, do one of the following:

Click the link View as Array/ View as DataFrame:
From the context menu of a variable, choose View as Array/ View as DataFrame:

The variable will be opened in the Data tab of the SciView window.

View an array or dataframe in a separate window

Run source code from the editor in console

Open file in the editor, and select a fragment of code to be executed.
From the context menu of the selection, choose Execute selection in console, or press Alt+Shift+E:
With no selection, the command changes to Execute line in console. Choose this command from the context menu, or press Alt+Shift+E. The line at caret loads into the Python console, and runs.
Watch the code selection execution:

By default, the Python console executes Python commands using the Python interpreter defined for the project. However, you can assign an alternative Python interpreter.

Configure Python console settings

In the Settings/Preferences dialog Ctrl+Alt+S, select Build, Execution, Deployment | Console | Python Console.
Select any available interpreter from the Python interpreter list. Note that you cannot introduce a new interpreter here. If you want to come up with the new interpreter, you need to create it first.
In needed, click the Configure Interpreters link to inspect the list of the installed packages and add new ones.
Mind the code in the Starting script area. It contains the script that will be executed after you open the Python console. Use it to pre-code some required Python commands.

When working on several Python scripts, you might want to execute each in a separate Python console.

Run several Python consoles

Click to add a new Python console.
By default, each console has the name Python Console with an index. To make a console reflect the script you're running, right-click the console tab, select Rename Console, and enter any meaningful name.

Toolbar

Item	Tooltip and shortcut	Description
	Rerun console `Ctrl+F5`	Click this button to terminate the current process and launch the new one.
	Stop `Ctrl+F2`	Click this button to stop the current process. Clicking the button once invokes soft kill allowing the application to catch the `SIGINT` event and perform graceful termination (on Windows, the `Ctrl+C` event is emulated). After the button is clicked once, it is replaced with indicating that subsequent click will lead to force termination of the application, for example on Unix `SIGKILL` is sent.
	Execute Current Statement `Enter`.	Click this button to execute the command at caret, entered in the input pane of the console.
	Attach Debugger	Attaches the debugger process to the console.
	Settings	You can specify the following settings of the Python console: Simplified Variables View: Select this option to include the following names into the Special Variables group: all variables with the dunder names. all instances of `function`, `classobj` and `module`. all the IPython internal variables, if debug console with IPython has been started. Variables Loading Policy. You can choose one of the following policies: Synchronously: If this check command is selected, the message shown is `Collecting data`, and after that the debugger shows the variables' values. Asynchronously: If this check command is selected, the variables in the debugger are loaded separately (asynchronously). In this case, if loading a variable takes a long time, the debugger shows `...Loading Value` message, and only after that it shows its value or the `Loading timed out` message, if the variable is too slow. Mind the warning message that suggest switching to the on demand mode. On demand: If this check command is selected, the debugger shows `Show Value` message. Click it to enable loading. Note that any changes in the loading policies become effective after you rerun the debugging process.
	New Console	Click this button to start a new console session.
	Use Soft Wraps	Click this button to toggle the soft wrap mode of the output.
	Scroll to the end	Click this button to navigate to the bottom of the stack trace and have the cursor jump to the corresponding location in the source code.
	Print	Click this button to send the console text to the default printer.
	Show variables	Click this button to show in a separate pane the variables declared in the console. Right-click a variable in this pane reveals a context menu.
	Browse History `Ctrl+Alt+E`	Open a dialog that shows all the statements that you have run for the corresponding data source. See also, Using the History dialog.

Context menu commands

Command	Shortcut	Description
Compare with Clipboard		Show selection in the console and contents of the Clipboard in the Differences viewer.
Pause Output		Pause the Python script execution output
Create Gist		Choose this command to create a Git Gist.
Clear All		Choose this item from the context menu to delete all messages from the upper part of the console.

Last modified: 08 March 2021