afurlan's blog

Some time ago I changed my default shell to use IPython instead of Bash. The IPython is a really great shell and IMHO has great advantages but for those who, like me, are completely addicted to the clear command, the IPython's clear is a huge disadvantage.

In IPython, the clear command clear varios data like input, output and directory histories but it doesn't clear the screen! You can take a look at the documentation of default function for the clear command below and see how it works:

afurlan@merlin:~$ from IPython.Extensions.clearcmd import clear_f
afurlan@merlin:~$ print clear_f.__doc__
 Clear various data (e.g. stored history data)

    %clear out - clear output history
    %clear in  - clear input history
    %clear shadow_compress - Compresses shadow history (to speed up ipython)
    %clear shadow_nuke - permanently erase all entries in shadow history
    %clear dhist - clear dir history

afurlan@merlin:~$

So I created a new function to extend the first one adding the option to clear the screen when no args were passed. If you'd like to do the same, add the following lines in your ~/.ipython/ipy_user_conf.py:

def new_clear_f(*args, **kwargs):
    ''' Extend the default clear function adding the option to
    clear the screen when no args were passed.'''
    if not args[1]:
            ip.system('clear')
    else:
            from IPython.Extensions.clearcmd import clear_f
            clear_f(*args, **kwargs)
            ip.expose_magic('clear', new_clear_f)
ip.expose_magic('clear', new_clear_f)

And now it all seems clear again. :)

As always: if you found some english bug, warn me and I'll be glad to fix it. :)