Running profile startup files in an embedded IPython instance

Question

I want to use an embedded IPython shell with a user_ns dictionary and a my profile configuration (ipython_config.py and the startup files). The purpose is to run a Django shell with models imported on startup. django-extensions implements a command called shell_plus that does this:

https://github.com/django-extensions/django-extensions/blob/master/django_extensions/management/commands/shell_plus.py

from IPython import embed
embed(user_ns=imported_objects)

The problem is that this does not load my startup files. embed() calls load_default_config() which I figure loads ipython_config.py.

How do I make the embedded IPython instance run my profile startup files?

Answer 1

I used the following workaround to run my own IPython startup script but still take advantage of shell_plus:

1. Create a file called shell_plus_startup.py in the same directory as manage.py. For example:

   # File: shell_plus_startup.py
   # Extra python code to run after shell_plus starts an embedded IPython shell.
   # Run this file from IPython using '%run shell_plus_startup.py'
   
   # Common imports
   from datetime import date
   
   # Common variables
   tod = date.today()
   

2. Launch shell plus (which launches an embedded IPython shell).

   python manage.py shell_plus

3. Manually run the startup script.

   In [1]: %run shell_plus_startup.py
   

4. Then you can use variables you've defined, modules you've imported, etc.

   In [2]: tod
   Out[2]: datetime.date(2012, 7, 14)
   

Also see this answer: scripting ipython through django's shell_plus