spyder

Spyder is a free, open-source development environment for Python aimed specifically at scientists, data analysts, and researchers. It looks and works similarly to MATLAB or RStudio, offering a layout with a code editor, an interactive Python console, and a variable explorer side by side in the same window. The variable explorer lets you inspect and edit data in tables and plots without extra commands, which is useful when working with numerical data or datasets.

The editor in Spyder has features that help while writing code, including automatic error checking, code completion suggestions, and the ability to jump to where a function or variable is defined. An integrated help panel shows documentation for Python functions as you type, and a profiler tool helps identify which parts of your code are slow. There is also a debugger built in, so you can step through code line by line to find problems.

Spyder supports working in cells, which are sections of code that can be run individually, similar to how a notebook works. This is useful for exploratory analysis where you want to run pieces of a script one at a time rather than all at once. Plots produced by your code can appear inline within the environment.

The recommended way to install Spyder is through the Anaconda or Miniforge distributions, which are Python packaging systems popular in the scientific community. Standalone installers are also available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Running Spyder directly via pip is not recommended because its dependencies are complex. A version of Spyder can also be tried in a browser without any installation using a provided Binder link.

The project has been active since 2009 and is supported by contributions from the community and sponsors. Translation of the interface into other languages is handled through a Crowdin project.