How can I use IPython's search history function in PTVS?

Question

I recently made the transition from IPython command windows + N++ to Python Tools for Visual Studio, mainly for rich code completion (it can search non-standard libraries such as NumPy!), but also because it looks good!

The only thing I'm missing from simple white over black IPython is the history search function. I could start typing imp then press the up arrow, and it would browse only through the commands begining with imp.

Is there a way to activate this function in PTVS? There is a thing called "smart history" in PTVS, but it turns out it simply allows the user to browse the (unfiltered) history when the cursor is at the last position. Since IPython's history feature comes from a package, shouldn't there be a way to activate it by running a startup script or something similar?

Answer 1

We currently don't have a feature like this. There's several related features in the issue tracker that I'd encourage you to vote or comment upon. It's also something the team has had random discussions about recently so getting feedback would be great. All the features are a little different so you might like what one says more than the other.

• "Just My Code" + Search in REPL history
• Improve "smart history" in the REPL
• Add history picker feature in REPL

The reason it can't currently be activated with a startup script is that the history is currently implemented by the REPL window component running in VS. It's keeping all of the history in memory in VS and there's no extensibility point for the evaluator to provide history. We do also accept contributions if you want to hack on a REPL window in C# :)