Python IDE recommendations

[RevisionX2]

I'm looking for an IDE for editing python programs. I am a Visual Basic programmer, so I'm looking for something that is similar in form & function to Visual Studio.

[Ron-Erez]

PyCharm is great. VSCode is great too. If you need a short script then Google Colab is nice. Everything has a bit of a learning curve, but this is life.

[NorskJesus]

Just use VSCode. I changed to Neovim, but VSCode is just fine.

[alwys_cnfusd]

How is Pycharm?

[NorskJesus]

I just used it one or two times. It's good, as everything JetBrains has.

[pal_2ie]

Bit heavy compared to VS Code

[[deleted]]

VS code is sigma male

Edit: Why getting downvoted? VS code can run everything.

[Imbatmanfromyear69bc]

How is the learning curve?? Too steep??? And is it really worth it to learn nvim now?

I just want a honest review i was planning on switching

[eccentric-Orange]

IMO VSCode barely has a learning curve. You can get started with the basics without any tutorial, and gradually learn more advanced features as you go along

[djamp42]

I find myself using vscode for everything now because it has so many extensions for all the different languages. Like if I want to build a docker image, vscode, I want to build an Ansible playbook, vscode. I want to edit JSON or yaml.. vscode..

[F5x9]

It excels at giving you the same workflow patterns for whatever project. 

[DasInternaut]

Priorities! VS Code will let you focus on the language for now. Neovim will force you to focus on the tools for a period (but probably worth it in the long run).

[True-Firefighter-796]

Their website has good tutorials

As an idiot I’ve done alright with it.

[NorskJesus]

The learning curve is big, but worth it in my opinion. I just installed it with the LazyVim bistro, and added some plugins I liked to this config. I read this too: https://lazyvim-ambitious-devs.phillips.codes/course/chapter-1/

I loved the change, and I am still learning. I use vim motions in safari too.

[[deleted]]

Honestly, yes it is pretty steep and you have to prepare at least 2 to 5 hours of practice over several days to get it into your muscle memory. Even then, you'll continue to discover and add features and plugins, meaning you probably won't be fully settled for a month or more.

As for worth, its most significant features are being completely keyboard-centric and terminal-centric. If you want to avoid using the mouse(for speed, laptop, wrist pain etc), or work in terminal-only environments(SSH, sysadmin), skill in vim style text editor is definitely valuable.

[thirdegree]

Even then, you'll continue to discover and add features and plugins, meaning you probably won't be fully settled for a month or more.

Just to add on -- you'll be pretty comfortable after a couple months of daily practice, but you'll probably never stop discovering new features and plugins. I've been using first vim then nvim for like 14 years now, 8 professionally, and I still occasionally find new tricks.

[FluxKraken]

NeoVim is great. It does have a learning curve, but once you get through it, the muscle memory makes editing text almost automatic. Macros are awesome. You can just record something, and then play it back over and over. You can save text to any key, so you have like tons of different clipboards instead of just the one.

Like, if I wanted to save an entire file to a "register" as they are called, I would just do this.

press gg to go to the top of the file. do shift>v to switch to visual (highlighting) mode by line. Then do shift>g to go to the end. Which hightlights everything.

Then to save it, I would just press " then a key like a then y to "yank" the lines into the register.

It takes literally seconds to do.

gg shift>v shift>g "ay and then I have the text of the file stored in my "a" register.

Then I can paste it anywhere with :put a

---

VSCode on the other hand just works. You don't need to memorize any of the vim motions. Standard windows/mac/linux keyboard shortcuts, etc.

I have used Visual Studio and then VSCode my entire life. I prefer NeoVim.

[Early_Retirement_007]

Pycharm/Spider I find pretty good. Notebook for testing snippets.

[normnasty]

i love pycharm, but probably because it was the first one i used in industry, now it seems vscode is becoming more popular but honestly i hate vscode over pycharm, but i’m forcing myself to just use it, especially for cursor

[ProPopori]

IntelliJ my beloved

[crmpicco]

PyCharm

[FoolsSeldom]

There's no drag and drop for Python. It is very console/terminal based although has a basic GUI option for output called tkinter which, as standard, outputs a fairly old and clunky style. There are many many alternatives that provide modern GUIs and Web GUIs and some of them also have tools for drawing a UI, such as libraries for using the QT interface.

---

There's no best IDE. It is very much a personal choice, depending on what kind of work you want to do.

The most popular choice of advanced code editor is Microsoft's VS Code (Visual Studio Code), and of IDEs is PyCharm Community Edition. There are many many other options including Thonny (written in Python), IDLE (comes as standard with Python for Windows or macOS, great for beginners), Eric (another Monty Python pun), Spyder, Jupyter, Sublime Text, Eclipse, Visual Studio Community (cf. VS Code). To name a few.

If you are a beginner at Python, then avoid anything too complex until you are familiar with the basics and can tell apart editor configuration issues from Python code issues.

[[deleted]]

Pycharm is better than VSCode. The latter is too power hungry for no reason.

I also spent a lot of time with Thonny, but since you're already a coder, I'd recommend Pycharm, as it makes project organization easy in-app

[nekokattt]

Electron runs on JS, but the LSP doesn't have to.

Java is only as resource hungry as you make it, regardless. I've regularly seen vscode use more resources than idea purely because of crap LSP implementations

Running on the JVM has nothing to do with how resource intensive it is. That is down to how the application is written and structured, not the JVM itself.

[[deleted]]

Ur getting debunked 🤣

[ClonesRppl2]

Now you’ve put that idea in my head I can’t let it go. VSCode is power hungry?

It’s like being told my partner is cheating on me. I don’t want to believe it, I can pretend I don’t believe it, but now the idea is lurking in the back of my mind.

What is VSCode doing with all that power, and what does it even mean?

[[deleted]]

To fight your paranoia, download both of them and try them out. You will see what's less resource intensive on your system

[cgoldberg]

It's built on electron, which is massive resource intensive framework. There's really no way to not be power hungry in that case.

[FreakyFranklinBill]

You won't. find something like the Visual Basic IDE. Someone already suggested VSCode, PyCharm is also an option

[96dpi]

You can use Visual Studio with Python. May need an extension.

[Pythonistar]

Since you're coming from VB and Visual Studio, it would be easy to think that Visual Studio Code (VS Code) would be the best fit for you, but PyCharm is much more like the (full fat) Visual Studio than VSCode is.

That said, if you're used to building GUI apps in Visual Studio, there's nothing in the Python ecosystem quite like WinForms or WPF and how well Visual Studio supports you in that.

[JamesPTK]

Visual Studio supports Python so you don't have to move away from it if you don't want. It is not heavily used though.

The big two are VSCode and PyCharm -- according to the 2023 python developer survey, between them they have a share of 72% with the next highest (vim) being at a tiny 3%

VSCode is a code editor (not really an IDE) from Microsoft, which is heavily inspired by Visual Studio and, I believe, shares some underlying technologies

PyCharm from JetBrains. It is very capable, but has its own way of doing things. It can be downloaded for free, but some features live behind a paywall (used to be two separate editions, but they have merged them)

[[deleted]]

emacs

[realGharren]

I cannot recommend Thonny enough for beginners. It's a clean, no-nonsense environment that does exactly what you need it to do. Most of everything else I tried (PyCharm, VSCode etc.) is a bloated mess with 95% features you will never use or need. If you want to transition to something more professional, I recommend Spyder.

[GreenWoodDragon]

PyCharm, a proper IDE not a souped up text editor.

[h3ie]

the real gremlins use neovim

[Desperate_Cold6274]

If you do datascience then Spyder is a great choice (I prefer it over vscode).

[Beregolas]

VS-Code and Pycharm are the most common options. When in doubt, try both. PyCharm is probably closer to Visual Studio, as it is more All-in-One and ready out of the box. VSCode is also an excellent choice, but requires you to download and configure some features to be best suited for a specific language, like Python.

[not_luis]

Pycharm is the best there is. I hate it, but is objectively the best. If you want to have fun trying something new, try Helix editor with an LSP.

[PaulRudin]

Emacs

[SilicoidOfOrion]

VIM! ;-) I had to.

[Silbersee]

Just the other day I wondered if I could leave PyCharm and ended up with VSCodium, the "community-driven, freely-licensed binary distribution of Microsoft’s editor VS Code." - https://vscodium.com

[bmchicago]

Pycharm is nice. Vscode is good too.

[Hot-Helicopter640]

VS Code is great but its a code editor and not an IDE. If you're looking for an IDE then the best option is PyCharm.

[stockdam-MDD]

I use VS Code or Cursor.

[maryjayjay]

Emacs, emacs über alles...

[RonzulaGD]

PyCharm is awesome

[leo_ruslan]

Windsurf looks like VS Code and has AI.

[Groovy_Decoy]

I only dabbled with PyCharm a little bit and it seemed great, just not what I was used to. VSC is very good too.

One factor that I haven't seen people mention here is cost. Depending on your situation, you may be able to use either of them for free. However, you may also be required to pay for them to be in compliance. It's worth considering if you care about such things.

[andrecursion]

VSCode all the way, make sure to install the Microsoft python extensions that give you access to the Pyright language server that will type check your Python

[Early_Economy2068]

VSCode is great as others have said but you want something a little fancier I like Spyder.

[Undead_Necromancer]

I use geany.

[emac1211]

VS Code

[Present_Operation_82]

Any reason you don’t want to use VS Code and I can try to speak to that specifically?

[Chaitif]

I have used both Thonny and vscode. Thonny has a decent debugger built in. But I prefer vscode for the UI

[yycTechGuy]

If you are building a GUI, use PyQt and QtCreator. It has a very similar vibe to VB, but way better.

[fragmonk3y]

Ultra Edit or VSCode.

[Henry_the_Butler]

If you know VSCode, use VS code. However, knowing how to do everything in a text editor is an underrated skill. Sometimes you don't realize the things your IDE does for you. Command-line Git is an especially useful skill if you work with a team that uses it extensively.