bpython/bpython

bpython: A fancy curses interface to the Python interactive interpreter

bpython is a lightweight Python interpreter that adds several features common to IDEs. These features include syntax highlighting, expected parameter list, auto-indentation, and autocompletion. (See below for example usage).

bpython does not aim to be a complete IDE - the focus is on implementing a few ideas in a practical, useful, and lightweight manner.

bpython is a great replacement to any occasion where you would normally use the vanilla Python interpreter - testing out solutions to people's problems on IRC, quickly testing a method of doing something without creating a temporary file, etc..

You can find more about bpython - including full documentation - at our homepage.

Installation & Basic Usage

If you have pip installed, you can simply run:

$ pip install bpython

Start bpython by typing bpython in your terminal. You can exit bpython by using the exit() command or by pressing control-D like regular interactive Python.

Features & Examples

• Readline-like autocomplete, with suggestions displayed as you type.
• In-line syntax highlighting. This uses Pygments for lexing the code as you type, and colours appropriately.
• Expected parameter list. As in a lot of modern IDEs, bpython will attempt to display a list of parameters for any function you call. The inspect module is tried first, which works with any Python function, and then pydoc if that fails.
• Rewind. This isn't called "Undo" because it would be misleading, but "Rewind" is probably as bad. The idea is that the code entered is kept in memory and when the Rewind function is called, the last line is popped and the entire session is re-evaluated. Use <control-R> to rewind.
• Edit the current line or your entire session in an editor. F7 opens the current session in a text editor, and if modifications are made, the session is rerun with these changes.
• Pastebin code/write to file. Use the <F8> key to upload the screen's contents to pastebin, with a URL returned.
• Reload imported Python modules. Use <F6> to clear sys.modules and rerun your session to test changes to code in a module you're working on.

Configuration

See the sample-config file for a list of available options. You should save your config file as ~/.config/bpython/config (i.e. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/bpython/config) or specify at the command line:

bpython --config /path/to/bpython/config

Dependencies

• Pygments
• requests
• curtsies >= 0.1.18
• greenlet
• six >= 1.5
• Sphinx != 1.1.2 (optional, for the documentation)
• mock (optional, for the testsuite)
• babel (optional, for internationalization)
• watchdog (optional, for monitoring imported modules for changes)
• jedi (optional, for experimental multiline completion)

Python 2 before 2.7.7

If you are using Python 2 before 2.7.7, the following dependency is also required:

• requests[security]

cffi

If you have problems installing cffi, which is needed by OpenSSL, please take a look at cffi docs.

bpython-urwid

bpython-urwid requires the following additional packages:

• urwid

Known Bugs

For known bugs please see bpython's known issues and FAQ page.

Contact & Contributing

I hope you find it useful and please feel free to submit any bugs/patches suggestions to Robert or place them on the GitHub issues tracker.

For any other ways of communicating with bpython users and devs you can find us at the community page on the project homepage, or in the community.

Hope to see you there!

CLI Windows Support

Dependencies

Curses Use the appropriate version compiled by Christoph Gohlke.

pyreadline Use the version in the cheeseshop.

Recommended

Obtain the less program from GnuUtils. This makes the pager work as intended. It can be obtained from cygwin or GnuWin32 or msys

Current version is tested with

• Curses 2.2
• pyreadline 1.7

Curses Notes

The curses used has a bug where the colours are displayed incorrectly:

• red is swapped with blue
• cyan is swapped with yellow

To correct this I have provided a windows.theme file.

This curses implementation has 16 colors (dark and light versions of the colours)

Alternatives

ptpython

IPython

Feel free to get in touch if you know of any other alternatives that people may be interested to try.