Access a IPython repl from pdb

How to drop into an IPython repl from the Python debugger

I’m a big fan of using pdb, the Python interactive debugger in conjunction with Pytest as I’m writing code.1 With the --pdb flag, you can have Pytest drop into pdb when a test fails. With pytest.set_trace(), you can selectively enter pdb while running your tests. (I use this where I might’ve just added print statements in the past.)

A colleague uses IPython for most of his interactive development and asked me for help with some of the friction in his workflow. I recommended pdb, but he wanted to stick with the familiar IPython repl for much of his work.2 He figured how to drop into an IPython repl from pdb with from IPython import embed; embed(). You can’t move up and down the call stack until you exit the repl, but you have access to all the local state you have in pdb.2

To simplify this, I recommended leveraging two little-known pdb features: alias and .pdbrc. alias allows you to set alias for statements in pdb; in this case ipy as an alias that drops into IPython:

1
alias ipy from IPython import embed; embed()

pdb also as the ability to load a config file from the user’s home directory or the current working directory. Each line in the file is just a pdb statement. Thus, if you can create ~/.pdbrc and add the alias statement above, the ipy command becomes available in every pdb session for your user.


  1. I highly recommend pip installing pdbpp, which replaces the default pdb with an enhanced debugger with syntax highlighting, tab completion, and more. ↩︎

  2. There’s also an alternative debugger for Python based on IPython: ipdb↩︎ ↩︎

Last updated on Feb 05, 2024 12:37 -0500
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