Get started

Supported languages

To start developing in Python with PyCharm you need to download and install Python from python.org depending on your platform.

PyCharm supports the following versions of Python:

• Python 2: version 2.7

• Python 3: from the version 3.6 up to the version 3.10

Besides, in the Professional edition, one can develop Django, Flask, and Pyramid applications. Also, it fully supports HTML (including HTML5), CSS, JavaScript, and XML: these languages are bundled in the IDE via plugins and are switched on for you by default. Support for the other languages and frameworks can also be added via plugins (go to Settings | Plugins or PyCharm | Preferences | Plugins for macOS users, to find out more or set them up during the first IDE launch).

Supported platforms

PyCharm is a cross-platform IDE that works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Check the system requirements:

You can install PyCharm using Toolbox or standalone installations. If you need assistance installing PyCharm, see the installation instructions: Install PyCharm

Open an existing project

Begin by opening one of your existing projects stored on your computer. You can select one in the list of the recent projects on the Welcome screen or click Open:

Otherwise, you can create a project for your existing source files. Select the command Open on the File menu, and specify the directory where the sources exist. PyCharm will then create a project from your sources for you. Refer to the section Importing Project from Existing Source Code for details.

Check out an existing project from Version Control

You can also download sources from a VCS storage or repository. Choose Git (GitHub), Mercurial, Subversion, Perforce (supported in Professional edition only), and then enter your credentials to access the storage.

Then, enter a path to the sources and clone the repository to the local host:

Refer to the section Version control for details.

Create a new project

To create a project, do one of the following:

• From the main menu, choose File | New Project

• On the Welcome screen, click New Project

In PyCharm Community, you can create only Python projects, whereas, with PyCharm Professional, you have a variety of options to create a web framework project.

See more details in Create a Python project.

When creating a new project, you need to specify a Python interpreter to execute Python code in your project. You need at least one Python installation to be available on your machine.

For a new project, PyCharm creates an isolated virtual environment: venv, pipenv, or Conda. As you work, you can change it or create new interpreters. You can also quickly preview packages installed for your interpreters and add new packages in the Python Package tool window.

For more details see Configure a Python interpreter.

Creating a Python file

Select the project root in the Project tool window, then select File | New ... from the main menu or press Alt+Insert.

Choose the option Python file from the popup, and then type the new filename.

PyCharm creates a new Python file and opens it for editing.

Code completion

Code completion is a great time-saver, regardless of the type of file you’re working with.

Basic completion works as you type and completes any name instantly.

Smart type-matching completion analyzes the context you’re currently working in and offers more accurate suggestions based on that analysis.

Intention actions

PyCharm keeps an eye on what you are currently doing and makes smart suggestions, called intention actions, to save more of your time. Indicated with a lightbulb, intention actions let you apply automatic changes to code that is correct (in contrast to code inspections that provide quick-fixes for code that may be incorrect). Did you forget to add some parameters and field initializers to the constructor? Not a problem with PyCharm. Click the lightbulb (or press Alt+Enter) and select one of the suggested options:

The full list of available intention actions can be found in File | Settings | Editor | Intentions or PyCharm | Preferences | Editor | Intentions for macOS users.

Keep your code neat

PyCharm monitors your code and tries to keep it accurate and clean. It detects potential errors and problems and suggests quick-fixes for them.

Every time the IDE finds unused code, an endless loop, and many other things that likely require your attention, you’ll see a lightbulb. Click it, or press Alt+Enter, to apply a fix.

The complete list of available inspections can be found under Settings | Editor | Inspections (or PyCharm | Preferences | Editor | Inspections for macOS users). Disable some of them, or enable others, plus adjust the severity of each inspection. You decide whether it should be considered an error or just a warning.

Generate some code

Writing code can be a lot easier and quicker when you use the code generation options available in PyCharm. The Code | Generate menu Alt+Insert will help you with creating symbols from usage, as well as suggest overridin or implementing some functions:

Use live templates (choose Code | Insert Live Template or press Ctrl+J) to produce the entire code constructs. You can explore the available ready-to-use live templates In the Settings/Preferences dialog Ctrl+Alt+S(Settings | Editor | Live templates or PyCharm | Preferences | Editor | Live Templates if you are a macOS user).

If you see that you are lacking something especially important for your development, extend this set of templates with your own. Also, consider quickly surrounding your code with complete constructs (choose Code | Surround With or press Ctrl+Alt+T. For example, with an if statement:

Basic search

With these search facilities, you can find and replace any fragment of code both in the currently opened file Ctrl+F, or in an entire project Ctrl+Shift+F.

Search for usages

To find where a particular symbol is used, PyCharm suggests full-scale search via Find Usages Alt+F7:

Project navigation

You can tell a lot just looking at your File Structure, with its imports or call hierarchies:

Also, you can navigate to:

• Class, file, or symbol by its name.

• Declaration Ctrl+B.

• Base class/base function Ctrl+U.

The icons in the left-hand gutter can also help you with navigation:

Navigate through the timeline

Remembering all your activity in the project, PyCharm can easily navigate you to the Recent Files Ctrl+E or Recently Changed Files Alt+Shift+C.

To go through the history of changes, try using Back/Forward navigation (Ctrl+Alt+Left/ Ctrl+Alt+Right) and/or go to last edit location Ctrl+Shift+Backspace.

Search Everywhere

If you have a general idea of what you're looking for, you can always locate the corresponding element using one of the existing navigation features. But what if you want to look for something in every nook and cranny? The answer is to use Search Everywhere!

To try it, click the magnifying glass button in the upper right-hand corner of the window, or invoke it with Double Shift (press Shift twice).

Run

The easiest way to run an application is to right-click in the editor, and then choose Run <name> from the context menu:

If your Python script contains the __main__ clause, then you can click the button in the gutter, and then choose the desired command.

You can see the your script execution in the Run tool window.

When you perform run, debug, or test operations with PyCharm, you always start a process based on one of the existing run/debug configurations, using its parameters.

When you run your application for the very first time, PyCharm automatically creates the temporary Run/Debug configuration. You can modify it to specify or alter the default parameters and save it as a permanent Run/Debug configuration.

See how to tune run/debug configurations in Run/debug configurations.

Debug

Does your application stumble on a runtime error? To find out what’s causing it, you will have to do some debugging. PyCharm supports the debugger on all platforms.

Debugging starts with placing breakpoints at which program execution will be suspended, so you can explore program data. Just click the gutter of the line where you want the breakpoint to appear.

To start debugging your application, press Shift+F9. Then go through the program execution step by step (see the available options in the Run menu or the Debug tool window), evaluate any arbitrary expression, add watches, and manually set values for the variables.

Refer to the section Debugging for details.

Test

It is a good idea to test your applications, and PyCharm helps doing it as simple as possible.

With PyCharm, you can:

• Create tests

• Create special testing run/debug configurations.

• Run and debug tests right from the IDE, using the testing run/debug configurations.

• And, finally, the most important thing - you can explore test results in the test runner tab of the Run tool window:

  

To learn about the numbers, read the Test Runner tab section.

PyCharm supports all the major Python testing frameworks:

• Unittest

• Doctest

• Nosetest

• pytest

For each of these frameworks, PyCharm provides its own run/debug configuration.

Refer to tutorial Step 3. Test your first Python application and to the Run tests section for details.

VCS

If you are keeping your source code under version control, you will be glad to know that PyCharm integrates with many popular version control systems: Git (or GitHub), Mercurial, Perforce (supported in Professional edition only), Subversion. To specify credentials and any settings specific to a particular VCS, go to Settings | Version Control (or PyCharm | Preferences | Version Control if you are a macOS user).

The VCS menu gives you a clue about what commands are available. For example, you can see the changes you’ve made, commit them, create changelists and much more from the Local Changes view: VCS | Show Changes (or just press Alt+9). Also, find some VCS basic commands in the Navigation bar above the editor:

Refer to the section Version control for details.

Local history

In addition to traditional version control, you can use the local history. With Local History, PyCharm automatically tracks changes you make to the source code, the results of refactoring, and so on

Local history is always enabled. To view it for a file or a folder, bring up Local History by selecting VCS | Local History | Show History. Here you can review the changes, revert them, or create a patch.

Appearance

The first thing to fine-tune is the general "look and feel." Go to File | Settings | Appearance and Behavior | Appearance(PyCharm | Preferences | Appearance and Behavior | Appearance for macOS users) to select the IDE theme: the light themes or Darcula if you prefer a darker setting.

Editor

The many pages available under File | Settings | Editor(PyCharm | Preferences | Editor for macOS users) help you adjust every aspect of the editor’s behavior. A lot of options are available here, from general settings (like Drag'n'Drop enabling, scrolling configuration, and so on.), to color configuration for each available language and use case, to tabs and code folding settings, to code completion behavior and even postfix templates.

Refer to the section Configuring PyCharm settings for details.

Code style

Code style can be defined for each language under File | Settings | Editor | Code Style(PyCharm | Preferences | Editor | Code Style for macOS users). You can also create and save your own coding style scheme.

Refer to Configuring code style and Code Quality Assistance Tips and Tricks, or How to Make Your Code Look Pretty? for details.

Keymap

PyCharm uses the keyboard-centric approach, meaning that nearly all actions possible in the IDE are mapped to keyboard shortcuts.

The set of keyboard shortcuts you work with is one of your most intimate habits — your fingers "remember" certain combinations of keys, and changing this habit is easier said than done. PyCharm supplies you with a default keymap (choose Help | Keymap Reference from the main menu) making your coding really productive and convenient. However, you can always change it going to File | Settings | Keymap(PyCharm | Preferences | Keymap for macOS users).

There are also some pre-defined keymaps (like Emacs, Visual Studio, Eclipse, NetBeans and so on), and you can also create your own keymap based on an existing one.

If you feel most productive with vi/Vim, an emulation mode will give you the best of both worlds. Enable the IdeaVim plugin in the IDE and select the vim keymap.

Refer to the section Configure keyboard shortcuts for details.