Magic commands are a feature of iPython, which is a superset of python. They allow for shell-style commands, and are preceded by a %. They can be programmed to do anything, presumably your set-up has an install command. You can also do shell commands directly using !. For instance, !echo hi. Answer from Deleted User on reddit.com
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IPython
ipython.readthedocs.io › en › stable › interactive › magics.html
Built-in magic commands — IPython 9.13.0 documentation
For example, the IPython kernel ... in Python. However, % might have meaning in other languages. Here is the help auto-generated from the docstrings of all the available Magics functions that IPython ships with. You can create and register your own Magics with IPython. You can find many user defined Magics on PyPI. Feel free to publish your own and use the Framework :: IPython trove classifier. ... Define an alias for a system command...
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Python Data Science Handbook
jakevdp.github.io › PythonDataScienceHandbook › 01.03-magic-commands.html
IPython Magic Commands | Python Data Science Handbook
Another example of a useful magic function is %timeit, which will automatically determine the execution time of the single-line Python statement that follows it. For example, we may want to check the performance of a list comprehension: In [8]: %timeit L = [n ** 2 for n in range(1000)] 1000 loops, best of 3: 325 µs per loop · The benefit of %timeit is that for short commands it will automatically perform multiple runs in order to attain more robust results.
Discussions

What exactly are magic commands?
Magic commands are a feature of iPython, which is a superset of python. They allow for shell-style commands, and are preceded by a %. They can be programmed to do anything, presumably your set-up has an install command. You can also do shell commands directly using !. For instance, !echo hi. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnpython
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January 29, 2024
Run a magic command and use the output in Python?

Have a look here:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/30059132/how-to-store-ipython-magic-output-into-variable/64020076

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🌐 r/learnpython
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March 27, 2021
How to use IPython in VS Code?

When you've installed ipython in the current environment with the command pip install ipython , type ipython to enter interactive mode. Python: Start REPL is to activate a terminal for python, not ipython.

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Discord Magic 8Ball Bot
Hello! I'm a bot! It looks to me like your post might be better suited for r/learnpython , a sub geared towards questions and learning more about python regardless of how advanced your question might be. That said, I am a bot and it is hard to tell. Please follow the subs rules and guidelines when you do post there, it'll help you get better answers faster. Show r/learnpython the code you have tried and describe in detail where you are stuck. If you are getting an error message, include the full block of text it spits out. Quality answers take time to write out, and many times other users will need to ask clarifying questions. Be patient and help them help you. Here is HOW TO FORMAT YOUR CODE For Reddit and be sure to include which version of python and what OS you are using. You can also ask this question in the Python discord , a large, friendly community focused around the Python programming language, open to those who wish to learn the language or improve their skills, as well as those looking to help others. README | FAQ | this bot is written and managed by u/IAmKindOfCreative This bot is currently under development and experiencing changes to improve its usefulness More on reddit.com
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TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › jupyter › ipython_magic_commands.htm
IPython - Magic Commands
They are useful to embed invalid python syntax in their work flow. ... They are similar to command line calls. They start with % character. Rest of the line is its argument passed without parentheses or quotes. Line magics can be used as expression and their return value can be assigned to variable.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › what exactly are magic commands?
r/learnpython on Reddit: What exactly are magic commands?
January 29, 2024 -

Hello all, just had a quick question on what exactly is a magic command?

I am working in a 3P environment where I have no control over libraries/modules installed, but help desk (for a lack of a better term) let me know that I can use the magic command as a "work around"? I.e. %install xlsxwriter?

What is the point of this, and what does it do exactly? My uneducated guess is that it installs a module each time you run the script?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!!

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Psu
courses.ems.psu.edu › geog489 › node › 2205
3.6.3 Magic commands | GEOG 489: Advanced Python Programming for GIS
This happens behind the scenes, so you will always only see the magic command in your notebook. Magic commands start with a single % symbol if they are line-oriented meaning they should be applied to the remaining content of the line, and with %% if they are cell-oriented meaning they should be applied to the rest of the cell.
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Problem Solving with Python
problemsolvingwithpython.com › 02-Jupyter-Notebooks › 02.06-Magic-Commands
Magic Commands - Problem Solving with Python
Jupyter notebook code cells can contain special commands which are not valid Python code but affect the behavior of the notebook. These special commands are called magic commands. ... Entering the %matplotlib inline command at the top of a Jupyter notebook renders Matplotlib plots in cells ...
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › useful-ipython-magic-commands
Useful IPython magic commands - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - There are a lot of magic functions but in this article, we discuss the most commonly used magic functions. The Jupyter Notebook is the original web application for creating and sharing computational documents that contain live code, equations, visualizations, and narrative text. It offers a simple, streamlined, document-centric experience. Jupyter has support for over 40 different programming languages and Python is one of them. Magic commands generally known as magic functions are special commands in IPython that provide special functionalities to users like modifying the behavior of a code cell explicitly, simplifying common tasks like timing code execution, profiling, etc.
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Stata
stata.com › python › pystata19 › notebook › Magic Commands0.html
Magic commands — pystata documentation
The magic commands, or magics, are handy commands built into the IPython kernel that make it easy to perform particular tasks, for example, interacting Python’s capabilities with the operating system, another programming language, or a kernel.
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Coderz Column
coderzcolumn.com › tutorials › python › list-of-useful-magic-commands-in-jupyter-notebook-lab
Useful Magic Commands in Jupyter Notebook / Lab by Sunny Solanki
6: >>> %alias_magic currdir pwd 7: >>> %currdir 8: >>> def addition(a,b): ... return a+b ... 9: >>> %autocall · The %doctest_mode line command informs the IPython kernel to behave as much as a normal python shell which will influence how it asks for values and prints output.
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Medium
medium.com › @marc.bolle › learn-these-15-magic-commands-in-jupyter-notebook-to-save-time-a864ca9b15c7
Learn These 15 Magic Commands in Jupyter Notebook to Save Time | by Marc Bolle | Medium
May 19, 2023 - As an example, I created the following Python script which onlain contains a print() function: ... %load is pretty similar to %run. This command will load the contents of an external script into a cell in your current Jupyter Notebook.
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KDnuggets
kdnuggets.com › jupyter-notebook-magic-methods-cheat-sheet
Jupyter Notebook Magic Methods Cheat Sheet - KDnuggets
February 15, 2024 - The cheat sheet encompasses a wide array of magic commands, including the following: %lsmagic: Shows a list of all available magic commands. %history -n: Displays the last n commands with their line numbers. %%time: Measures the execution time of a code block. %quickref: Provides a quick reference of common magic commands and their descriptions. %env: Displays a list of all environment variables. %load and %run: Load and execute external Python scripts, respectively.
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Nexacu
nexacu.com › home › insights-blog › python magic commands
Python Magic Commands in Jupyter | Nexacu
Magic commands are an enhancement of the interactive IPython kernel (used by Jupyter) and make performing common tasks easier than using Python code alone.
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Kaggle
kaggle.com › code › matinmahmoudi › complete-guide-to-magic-commands-a-to-z
Complete Guide to IPython Magic Commands A to Z
Checking your browser before accessing www.kaggle.com · Click here if you are not automatically redirected after 5 seconds
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Medium
medium.com › techtofreedom › 9-ipython-magic-commands-that-make-your-programming-easier-67d35d74c0e6
9 IPython Magic Commands That Make Your Programming Easier | by Yang Zhou | TechToFreedom | Medium
January 15, 2023 - Of course, we can merely use IPython as a normal Python prompt without harnessing any special tricks. However, it would be a big leverage if you can spend a while learning some IPython magical tricks and apply them in your daily coding practice. This article will summarize 9 easy-to-use IPython magic commands with intuitive examples.
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IPython
ipython.readthedocs.io › en › 9.2.0 › interactive › magics.html
Built-in magic commands — IPython 9.2.0 documentation
For example, the IPython kernel ... in Python. However, % might have meaning in other languages. Here is the help auto-generated from the docstrings of all the available Magics functions that IPython ships with. You can create and register your own Magics with IPython. You can find many user defined Magics on PyPI. Feel free to publish your own and use the Framework :: IPython trove classifier. ... Define an alias for a system command...
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Readthedocs
scipy-ipython.readthedocs.io › en › latest › interactive › magics.html
Built-in magic commands — IPython 7.3.0.dev documentation
Calling this magic from clients that do not implement standard input, such as the ipython notebook interface, will reset the namespace without confirmation. ... Run the named file inside IPython as a program. ... Parameters after the filename are passed as command-line arguments to the program (put in sys.argv). Then, control returns to IPython’s prompt. This is similar to running at a system prompt python file args, but with the advantage of giving you IPython’s tracebacks, and of loading all variables into your interactive namespace for further use (unless -p is used, see below).
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Medium
medium.com › analytics-vidhya › magic-commands-in-ipython-f4c63c9aea98
Magic commands in IPython.. Help yourself with some Jupyter magic. | by Bogdan Samoletskyi | Analytics Vidhya | Medium
May 4, 2021 - So, when you see this symbol, you know that is the magic command. But! there’s an exception — by default you no need to put this symbol before the automatic command unless you don’t have a variable with the same name already. However, you can insist to use this prefix with automagic commands using the command %automagic 0.
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LabEx
labex.io › tutorials › python-what-are-magic-commands-in-python-ipython-397709
What are magic commands in Python IPython | LabEx
They provide a way to execute system commands, manage the IPython environment, and perform various tasks that are not easily achievable with standard Python syntax. ... Productivity Enhancement: They allow you to perform common tasks more ...
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IPython
ipython.org › ipython-doc › 3 › parallel › magics.html
Parallel Magic Commands — IPython 3.2.1 documentation
You can use %pxresult to display the outputs of the latest command, just as is done when %px is blocking: In [39]: dv.block = False In [40]: %px print 'hi' Async parallel execution on engine(s): all In [41]: %pxresult [stdout:0] hi [stdout:1] hi [stdout:2] hi [stdout:3] hi · %pxresult simply calls AsyncResult.display_outputs() on the most recent request. It accepts the same output-grouping arguments as %%px, so you can use it to view a result in different ways. The %autopx magic switches to a mode where everything you type is executed on the engines until you do %autopx again.
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About Data Blog
aboutdatablog.com › post › top-8-magic-commands-in-jupyter-notebook
Top 8 magic commands in jupyter notebook - About Data Blog
November 13, 2020 - You still see this magic command a lot in other people's code as not everyone is aware of the update. ... You can load an external file to a cell by using the load command. ... This is a very useful command if you already have a python file with certain functions defined and you need to use them in the current notebook.