Like most Python developers, I typically keep a console window open with the Python interpreter running to test commands, dir()
stuff, help() stuff
, etc.
Like any console, after a while the visible backlog of past commands and prints gets to be cluttered, and sometimes confusing when re-running the same command several times. I'm wondering if, and how, to clear the Python interpreter console.
I've heard about doing a system call and either calling cls
on Windows or clear
on Linux, but I was hoping there was something I could command the interpreter itself to do.
Note: I'm running on Windows, so Ctrl+L
doesn't work.
If you don't need to do it through code, just press CTRL+L
just use this..
print '\n'*1000
Just enter
import os
os.system('cls') # Windows
os.system('clear') # Linux, Unix, Mac OS X
I might be late to the part but here is a very easy way to do it
Type:
def cls():
os.system("cls")
So what ever you want to clear the screen just type in your code
cls()
Best way possible! (Credit : https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_3770292585&feature=iv&src_vid=bguKhMnvmb8&v=LtGEp9c6Z-U)
>>> ' '*80*25
UPDATE: 80x25 is unlikely to be the size of console windows, so to get the real console dimensions, use functions from pager module. Python doesn't provide anything similar from core distribution.
>>> from pager import getheight
>>> '\n' * getheight()
This is a pretty easy trick using a package named OS (if you want clear as a function):
Keyboard Shortcut
cmd/ctrl + k
Python Code Editor
#from the package OS, import: system, and name.
from os import system, name
#create a function called clear(). You can name this anything you want.
def clear():
#the method is different depending on what computer you are using.
if name == "nt":
#if windows, linux
_ = system("cls")
else:
#mac, etc.
_ = system("clear")
# we use " _ = system("clear") " as the function system returns a number in this case, 0.
I use iTerm and the native terminal app for Mac OS.
I just press ? + k
Use idle. It has many handy features. Ctrl+F6, for example, resets the console. Closing and opening the console are good ways to clear it.
Here's the definitive solution that merges all other answers. Features:
You can use it as you like:
>>> clear()
>>> -clear
>>> clear # <- but this will only work on a shell
You can import it as a module:
>>> from clear import clear
>>> -clear
You can call it as a script:
$ python clear.py
It is truly multiplatform; if it can't recognize your system
(ce
, nt
, dos
or posix
) it will fall back to printing blank lines.
You can download the [full] file here: https://gist.github.com/3130325
Or if you are just looking for the code:
class clear:
def __call__(self):
import os
if os.name==('ce','nt','dos'): os.system('cls')
elif os.name=='posix': os.system('clear')
else: print('\n'*120)
def __neg__(self): self()
def __repr__(self):
self();return ''
clear=clear()
If it is on mac, then a simple cmd + k
should do the trick.
The easiest way is to use os module
>>> import os
>>> clear = lambda: os.system('clear')
>>> clear()
Here's a cross platform (Windows / Linux / Mac / Probably others that you can add in the if check) version snippet I made combining information found in this question:
import os
clear = lambda: os.system('cls' if os.name=='nt' else 'clear')
clear()
Same idea but with a spoon of syntactic sugar:
import subprocess
clear = lambda: subprocess.call('cls||clear', shell=True)
clear()
I'm new to python (really really new) and in one of the books I'm reading to get acquainted with the language they teach how to create this little function to clear the console of the visible backlog and past commands and prints:
Open shell / Create new document / Create function as follows:
def clear():
print('\n' * 50)
Save it inside the lib folder in you python directory (mine is C:\Python33\Lib) Next time you nedd to clear your console just call the function with:
clear()
that's it. PS: you can name you function anyway you want. Iv' seen people using "wiper" "wipe" and variations.
I'm using MINGW/BASH on Windows XP, SP3.
(stick this in .pythonstartup)
# My ctrl-l already kind of worked, but this might help someone else
# leaves prompt at bottom of the window though...
import readline
readline.parse_and_bind('\C-l: clear-screen')
# This works in BASH because I have it in .inputrc as well, but for some
# reason it gets dropped when I go into Python
readline.parse_and_bind('\C-y: kill-whole-line')
I couldn't stand typing 'exit()' anymore and was delighted with martineau's/Triptych's tricks:
I slightly doctored it though (stuck it in .pythonstartup)
class exxxit():
"""Shortcut for exit() function, use 'x' now"""
quit_now = exit # original object
def __repr__(self):
self.quit_now() # call original
x = exxxit()
Py2.7.1>help(x)
Help on instance of exxxit in module __main__:
class exxxit
| Shortcut for exit() function, use 'x' now
|
| Methods defined here:
|
| __repr__(self)
|
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------
| Data and other attributes defined here:
|
| quit_now = Use exit() or Ctrl-Z plus Return to exit
This should be cross platform, and also uses the preferred subprocess.call
instead of os.system
as per the os.system
docs. Should work in Python >= 2.4.
import subprocess
import os
if os.name == 'nt':
def clearscreen():
subprocess.call("cls", shell=True)
return
else:
def clearscreen():
subprocess.call("clear", shell=True)
return
Arch Linux (tested in xfce4-terminal
with Python 3):
# Clear or wipe console (terminal):
# Use: clear() or wipe()
import os
def clear():
os.system('clear')
def wipe():
os.system("clear && printf '\e[3J'")
... added to ~/.pythonrc
clear()
clears screenwipe()
wipes entire terminal bufferMagic strings are mentioned above - I believe they come from the terminfo database:
http://www.google.com/?q=x#q=terminfo
http://www.google.com/?q=x#q=tput+command+in+unix
$ tput clear| od -t x1z 0000000 1b 5b 48 1b 5b 32 4a >.[H.[2J< 0000007
The OS command clear
in Linux and cls
in Windows outputs a "magic string" which you can just print. To get the string, execute the command with popen and save it in a variable for later use:
from os import popen
with popen('clear') as f:
clear = f.read()
print clear
On my machine the string is '\x1b[H\x1b[2J'
.
I found the simplest way is just to close the window and run a module/script to reopen the shell.
here something handy that is a little more cross-platform
import os
def cls():
os.system('cls' if os.name=='nt' else 'clear')
# now, to clear the screen
cls()
I'm not sure if Windows' "shell" supports this, but on Linux:
print "\033[2J"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code#CSI_codes
In my opinion calling cls
with os
is a bad idea generally. Imagine if I manage to change the cls or clear command on your system, and you run your script as admin or root.
Although this is an older question, I thought I'd contribute something summing up what I think were the best of the other answers and add a wrinkle of my own by suggesting that you put these command(s) into a file and set your PYTHONSTARTUP environment variable to point to it. Since I'm on Windows at the moment, it's slightly biased that way, but could easily be slanted some other direction.
Here's some articles I found that describe how to set environment variables on Windows:
When to use sys.path.append and when modifying %PYTHONPATH% is enough
How To Manage Environment Variables in Windows XP
Configuring System and User Environment Variables
How to Use Global System Environment Variables in Windows
BTW, don't put quotes around the path to the file even if it has spaces in it.
Anyway, here's my take on the code to put in (or add to your existing) Python startup script:
# ==== pythonstartup.py ====
# add something to clear the screen
class cls(object):
def __repr__(self):
import os
os.system('cls' if os.name == 'nt' else 'clear')
return ''
cls = cls()
# ==== end pythonstartup.py ====
BTW, you can also use @Triptych's __repr__
trick to change exit()
into just exit
(and ditto for its alias quit
):
class exit(object):
exit = exit # original object
def __repr__(self):
self.exit() # call original
return ''
quit = exit = exit()
Lastly, here's something else that changes the primary interpreter prompt from >>>
to cwd+>>>
:
class Prompt:
def __str__(self):
import os
return '%s >>> ' % os.getcwd()
import sys
sys.ps1 = Prompt()
del sys
del Prompt
Quickest and easiest way without a doubt is Ctrl+L.
This is the same for OS X on the terminal.
Here are two nice ways of doing that:
1.
import os
# Clear Windows command prompt.
if (os.name in ('ce', 'nt', 'dos')):
os.system('cls')
# Clear the Linux terminal.
elif ('posix' in os.name):
os.system('clear')
2.
import os
def clear():
if os.name == 'posix':
os.system('clear')
elif os.name in ('ce', 'nt', 'dos'):
os.system('cls')
clear()
for the mac user inside the python console type
import os
os.system('clear')
for windows
os.system('cls')
The perfect cls:
cls = lambda: print("\033c\033[3J", end='')
cls()
Or directly:
print("\033c\033[3J", end='')
How about this for a clear
- os.system('cls')
That is about as short as could be!
You have number of ways doing it on Windows:
Press CTRL + L
import os
cls = lambda: os.system('cls')
cls()
cls = lambda: print('\n'*100)
cls()
Wiper is cool, good thing about it is I don't have to type '()' around it. Here is slight variation to it
# wiper.py
import os
class Cls(object):
def __repr__(self):
os.system('cls')
return ''
The usage is quite simple:
>>> cls = Cls()
>>> cls # this will clear console.
EDIT: I've just read "windows", this is for linux users, sorry.
In bash:
#!/bin/bash
while [ "0" == "0" ]; do
clear
$@
while [ "$input" == "" ]; do
read -p "Do you want to quit? (y/n): " -n 1 -e input
if [ "$input" == "y" ]; then
exit 1
elif [ "$input" == "n" ]; then
echo "Ok, keep working ;)"
fi
done
input=""
done
Save it as "whatyouwant.sh", chmod +x it then run:
./whatyouwant.sh python
or something other than python (idle, whatever). This will ask you if you actually want to exit, if not it rerun python (or the command you gave as parameter).
This will clear all, the screen and all the variables/object/anything you created/imported in python.
In python just type exit() when you want to exit.
This is the simplest thing you can do and it doesn't require any additional libraries. It will clear the screen and return >>>
to the top left corner.
print("\033[H\033[J")
my way of doing this is to write a function like so:
import os
import subprocess
def clear():
if os.name in ('nt','dos'):
subprocess.call("cls")
elif os.name in ('linux','osx','posix'):
subprocess.call("clear")
else:
print("\n") * 120
then call clear()
to clear the screen.
this works on windows, osx, linux, bsd... all OSes.
A simple one liner will be:
# for windows name is nt
clear = lambda : os.system('cls' if os.name=='nt' else 'clear')
clear()
Well, here's a quick hack:
>>> clear = "\n" * 100
>>> print clear
>>> ...do some other stuff...
>>> print clear
Or to save some typing, put this file in your python search path:
# wiper.py
class Wipe(object):
def __repr__(self):
return '\n'*1000
wipe = Wipe()
Then you can do this from the interpreter all you like :)
>>> from wiper import wipe
>>> wipe
>>> wipe
>>> wipe
OK, so this is a much less technical answer, but I'm using the Python plugin for Notepad++ and it turns out you can just clear the console manually by right-clicking on it and clicking "clear". Hope this helps someone out there!
I am using Spyder (Python 2.7) and to clean the interpreter console I use either
%clear
that forces the command line to go to the top and I will not see the previous old commands.
or I click "option" on the Console environment and select "Restart kernel" that removes everything.
Source: Stackoverflow.com