virtualenv IPython in Spyder not working

Question

I have installed Spyder on Linux (Mint 17 to be exact) and created a scientific virtualenv (sci) with ipython, numpy, etc. The idea is to vary my virtual env for python 2 / python 3 and being a bit more flexible than installing the whole of Anaconda / python(x,y). I am having problems getting ipython to work in Spyder now.

I went to

Tools->Preferences->Console->Advanced settings

Use the following Python interpreter

 /home/mike/envs/sci/bin/ipython

but this did not start ipython. It responds with

...
Execute the given command[TerminalIPythonApp] CRITICAL | Bad config     encountered during initialization:
[TerminalIPythonApp] CRITICAL | Unrecognized flag: '-u'
...

It also does not show "Open an IPython console" under Consoles.

any ideas what I am missing?

cheers, Mike

Answer 1

the process is described in the following link :

https://github.com/spyder-ide/spyder/wiki/Working-with-packages-and-environments-in-Spyder

It is recommended to install a modular approach with spyder-kernels:

1. activate the environment where you want to work (ex : source env/bin/activate)
2. install the kernel in the environment by typing : pip install spyder-kernels==0.*
3. get the interpreter path to be used by typing : python -c "import sys; print(sys.executable)"
4. copy this path
5. enter the path in Spyder in the menu

Preferences > Python Interpreter > Use the following interpreter

that should work, happy coding!

Answer 2

After you correctly enter the path to the Python interpreter in your virtualenv (i.e. /home/mike/envs/sci/bin/python, not /home/mike/envs/sci/bin/ipython), you just need to go to the menu

Consoles > Open an IPython console

and, as long as you have IPython and PyQt/PySide installed in your virtualenv, an IPython console will be opened for you using the IPython version of your virtualenv.