How to clear the screen of Interactive IPython console from Python code

Question

I have just migrated from Jupyter to Spyder. On the left of the screen there is a console that shows the output. When I rerun the code it keeps adding new lines. I want to start with a new screen. How?

PS1: When I go to the IPyhton console and write cls or clear, it works. But I want to do that from Python code. The latter doesn't recognize that command, but IPython console does!

PS2: I've tried

import os 
os.system('cls')  # on windows

It didn't work. It shows a CMD window for a moment and vanishes. But the console window in Spyder still shows the old errors, besides the new ones.

PS3: I can run the code after restarting the kernel. That's an obvious solution but I want something quick. — Alex Deft, Apr 20 '19 at 08:42
Possible duplicate of [Clearing the screen in IPython](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6892191/clearing-the-screen-in-ipython) — Tiger-222, Apr 20 '19 at 08:48
I've checked question. Didn't work. For what's worth, I'm running Spyder via Anaconda, and I have Windows. — Alex Deft, Apr 20 '19 at 08:52
use `!cls` and change the interpreter to `ipython` instead of the standard python interpreter `python` — , Apr 20 '19 at 09:17
@IamNotaMathematician Although I don't know how to do that, but you have correctly explained what's happening. Thanks, I will look up how to change the interpreter in Spyder — Alex Deft, Apr 20 '19 at 10:09

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 08 '21 at 19:05

Windows Spyder 4, Python 3.7:

!cls
cls
cls()
Ctrl + L
clear
clear()
print(chr(27) + "[2J")
print("\x1b[2J")
clear-screen

Windows Terminal, Python 3.9:

!cls
cls
Ctrl + L
cls()
print(chr(27) + "[2J")
print("\x1b[2J")

Linux Terminal, Python 3.8:

Ctrl + L
clear

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 22 '19 at 08:02

(Spyder maintainer here) There are two ways to get what you want:

You can go to the menu Run > Configuration per file and select the option called Execute in a dedicated console. That option will clean your console after every execution.

Add the following code to your file:

from IPython import get_ipython
get_ipython.run_line_magic('clear', '')

How to clear the screen of Interactive IPython console from Python code

2 Answers2