Is there a way to have IPython fully render reStructuredText (for Sphinx) docstrings when you type the following: <pre class="prettyprint"><code>help foo </code></pre> or: <pre class="prettyprint"><code>foo? </code></pre> I find it super distracting to try to read help docs in IPython when it shows the raw markup. reST is great for Sphinx documentation, but really clutters up simple help lookups. I can't be alone on this one...? Google has been no help on this one.

View reStructuredText (Sphinx) docstrings in iPython?

Is there a way to have IPython fully render reStructuredText (for Sphinx) docstrings when you type the following:

help foo

or:

foo?

I find it super distracting to try to read help docs in IPython when it shows the raw markup. reST is great for Sphinx documentation, but really clutters up simple help lookups. I can't be alone on this one...?

Google has been no help on this one.

I don't think it is possible in IPython, but have a look at Spyder: You can open an IPython console from within the IDE. Docstrings are rendered as HTML.