python: run interactive python shell from program

Question

I often have the case that I'll be writing a script, and I'm up to a part of the script where I want to play around with some of the variables interactively. Getting to that part requires running a large part of the script I've already written.

In this case it isn't trivial to run this program from inside the shell. I would have to recreate the conditions of that function somehow.

What I want to do is call a function, like runshell(), which will run the python shell at that point in the program, keeping all variables in scope, allowing me to poke around in it.

How would I go about doing that?

Answer 1

import code  code.interact(local=locals()) 

But using the Python debugger is probably more what you want:

import pdb  pdb.set_trace() 

Answer 2

By far the most convenient method that I have found is:

import IPython IPython.embed() 

You get all your global and local variables and all the creature comforts of IPython: tab completion, auto indenting, etc.

You have to install the IPython module to use it of course:

pip install ipython