IceCream

2.2.0 · active · verified Fri Apr 10

Never use print() to debug again: inspect variables, expressions, and program execution with a single, simple function call. IceCream is a Python library that makes debugging effortless and more readable. It's currently at version 2.2.0 and has an active release cadence with frequent minor updates.

Warnings

breaking Support for Python 3.8 was officially removed in IceCream v2.1.9. Prior to this, support for all Python versions before 3.8 (including Python 2) was dropped in v2.1.4.
Fix: Ensure your project uses Python 3.9 or newer to maintain compatibility with recent IceCream versions.
gotcha Calling `ic.configureOutput()` without any arguments will raise a `TypeError` as of v2.1.3. This method expects at least one configuration parameter.
Fix: Always pass a keyword argument to `configureOutput()`, e.g., `ic.configureOutput(includeContext=True)` or `ic.configureOutput(prefix='DBG| ')`.
gotcha For improved debugging in IDEs like VS Code, configure IceCream to output absolute file paths, making them clickable links. By default, `contextAbsPath` is `False`.
Fix: Use `ic.configureOutput(includeContext=True, contextAbsPath=True)` to enable absolute path output.
gotcha When dealing with complex objects like SymPy objects, earlier versions (before v2.1.6) could encounter `TypeError` during pretty-printing if dictionary keys were unorderable. This was fixed by implementing a fallback.
Fix: Upgrade to IceCream v2.1.6 or newer to benefit from improved pretty-printing that gracefully handles unorderable keys. If upgrading is not possible, custom `argToStringFunction` may be needed.
gotcha To avoid leaving debugging output in production, IceCream provides `ic.disable()` to globally silence all `ic()` calls without removing them from your code. This is a common and recommended practice.
Fix: Call `ic.disable()` at the entry point of your application or conditionally based on an environment variable (`if os.environ.get('DEBUG') == 'false': ic.disable()`). Remember to `ic.enable()` if you want output again.

Install

pip install icecream Install latest version

Imports

ic
```
from icecream import ic
```

Quickstart

Import `ic` and use it to wrap variables or expressions for detailed output, including variable names, values, and context. Call `ic()` without arguments to log filename, line number, and function name. `ic.disable()` and `ic.enable()` can control output globally.

from icecream import ic

def calculate_sum(a, b):
    result = a + b
    ic(a, b, result) # Inspect multiple variables
    return result

my_num1 = 5
my_num2 = 10
ic(my_num1, my_num2) # Inspect individual variables
final_sum = calculate_sum(my_num1, my_num2)
ic(f"The final sum is: {final_sum}") # Inspect expressions and strings

class MyClass:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name
        ic(self.name)

obj = MyClass("IceCreamExample")

ic.disable() # Disable all ic() output
ic("This line will not be printed.")
ic.enable() # Re-enable ic() output
ic("This line will be printed again.")

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