How to clear the interpreter console?

python windows console
Soviut picture Soviut · Feb 5, 2009 · Viewed 615.6k times · Source

Like most Python developers, I typically keep a console window open with the Python interpreter running to test commands, dir() stuff, help() stuff, etc.

Like any console, after a while the visible backlog of past commands and prints gets to be cluttered, and sometimes confusing when re-running the same command several times. I'm wondering if, and how, to clear the Python interpreter console.

I've heard about doing a system call and either calling cls on Windows or clear on Linux, but I was hoping there was something I could command the interpreter itself to do.

Note: I'm running on Windows, so Ctrl+L doesn't work.

Answer

Ryan Duffield picture Ryan Duffield · Feb 5, 2009

As you mentioned, you can do a system call:

For Windows

>>> import os
>>> clear = lambda: os.system('cls')
>>> clear()

For Linux the lambda becomes

>>> clear = lambda: os.system('clear')

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