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  <section id="faq">
<h1>FAQ<a class="headerlink" href="#faq" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h1>
<p>If your question isn’t answered below, check <a class="reference external" href="https://ipython.org/ipython-doc/">the docs</a>, then ask on the <a class="reference external" href="https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/ipython-dev">mailing list</a>.</p>
<nav class="contents local" id="contents">
<ul class="simple">
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#can-ipython-run-under-ironpython-pypy-jython-other-python-interpreters" id="id1">Can IPython run under IronPython/PyPy/Jython/other Python interpreters?</a></p></li>
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#ipython-crashes-under-os-x-when-using-the-arrow-keys" id="id2">IPython crashes under OS X when using the arrow keys</a></p></li>
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#does-ipython-play-well-with-windows" id="id3">Does IPython play well with Windows?</a></p></li>
<li><p><a class="reference internal" href="#what-is-the-best-way-to-install-ipython" id="id4">What is the best way to install IPython?</a></p></li>
</ul>
</nav>
<section id="can-ipython-run-under-ironpython-pypy-jython-other-python-interpreters">
<h2>Can IPython run under IronPython/PyPy/Jython/other Python interpreters?<a class="headerlink" href="#can-ipython-run-under-ironpython-pypy-jython-other-python-interpreters" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>The terminal-based shell should run on any interpreter which complies with
the necessary version of Python. IPython 0.11 requires Python 2.6
or above, and as of June 2011, IronPython and PyPy both support this.</p>
<p>The most likely problems would come from Readline and from using the undocumented
sys._getframe() function. On Windows we ship our own <a class="reference external" href="pyreadline.html">pyreadline</a>,
which might also work under IronPython. PyPy ships its own readline module,
which should now work.</p>
<p>If IPython does not work under a supported interpreter, please
<a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/ipython/ipython/issues">file a bug</a>.</p>
</section>
<section id="ipython-crashes-under-os-x-when-using-the-arrow-keys">
<h2>IPython crashes under OS X when using the arrow keys<a class="headerlink" href="#ipython-crashes-under-os-x-when-using-the-arrow-keys" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>Under some circumstances, using the arrow keys to navigate your input history can cause a complete crash of the Python interpreter.</p>
<p><strong>Answer:</strong> This is due to a bug in the readline library from the official builds. There are a few solutions you can take:</p>
<blockquote>
<div><ol class="arabic">
<li><p>Use a different Python version from Apple’s default (MacPython or Fink have been reported to work)</p></li>
<li><p>You can disable in your ipythonrc file the following lines by commenting them out:</p>
<div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">readline_parse_and_bind</span> <span class="s2">&quot;\e[A&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="n">history</span><span class="o">-</span><span class="n">search</span><span class="o">-</span><span class="n">backward</span>
<span class="n">readline_parse_and_bind</span> <span class="s2">&quot;\e[B&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="n">history</span><span class="o">-</span><span class="n">search</span><span class="o">-</span><span class="n">forward</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
</li>
</ol>
</div></blockquote>
<p>You will lose searching in your history with the arrow keys, but at least Python won’t crash.</p>
</section>
<section id="does-ipython-play-well-with-windows">
<h2>Does IPython play well with Windows?<a class="headerlink" href="#does-ipython-play-well-with-windows" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>Yes, it most definitely does! There are some things that should be noted: <a class="reference external" href="https://ipython.org/ipython-doc/stable/install/install.html#windows">see
the installation documentation</a>.</p>
</section>
<section id="what-is-the-best-way-to-install-ipython">
<h2>What is the best way to install IPython?<a class="headerlink" href="#what-is-the-best-way-to-install-ipython" title="Link to this heading">¶</a></h2>
<p>See <a class="reference external" href="https://ipython.org/ipython-doc/stable/install/install.html#installing-ipython-itself">the installation documentation</a> for full details.</p>
<p>The standard Python installation mechanisms (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">setup.py</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pip</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">easy_install</span></code>) all work for installing IPython to use in a terminal. Windows users are best off installing <a class="reference external" href="https://pypi.python.org/pypi/distribute">distribute</a>, then running the .exe installer, to create start menu shortcuts.</p>
<p>To use the notebook or the Qt console, it’s easiest to install through a package manager, or download a Python distribution such as <a class="reference external" href="https://store.continuum.io/cshop/anaconda">Anaconda</a> or <a class="reference external" href="https://www.enthought.com/downloads/">Enthought Canopy</a>. Otherwise, you will need to install pyzmq, along with tornado for the notebook, and PyQt4/PySide and pygments for the Qt console.</p>
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