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ProgrammingPythonText EditorIDEPython Programminglearn python

What are the best Python IDEs or editors for beginners?

10

Options
Considered

21

User
Recs.

May 19, 2020

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

10 Options Considered

Best Python IDEs or editors for beginners	Price	Platforms	License
-- Visual Studio Code	FREE	Windows, macOS, Linux	MIT
-- Atom	-	Microsoft Windows®, macOS, Linux	MIT
-- Geany	Free	Windows; OSX; *nix	GPL
-- PyCharm Community Edition	-	-	-
-- Thonny	-	Windows, macOS, Linux	MIT

Visual Studio Code

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Top Pro

Integrated debugging

VSC includes debugging tools for Node.js, TypeScript, and JavaScript. See More

Top Con

Embedded Git isn't powerful enough

You can do nothing but to track changes, stage them and commit. No history, visualization, rebasing or cherry-picking – these things are left to git console or external git client. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, macOS, Linux

Cross Platform:Yes

Auto Complete:Yes

Top Pro

Updated frequently

There's a new release of Visual Studio Code every month. If you are one of the insiders then releases are daily. See More

Top Pro

Great performance

For a 'wrapped' web-based application, Visual Studio Code performs very well. See More

Top Pro

Libre/open source

Released under the MIT License. See More

Top Pro

Huge community behind it

The ease of getting assistance and finding tutorials is increasing as the community grows. See More

Top Pro

Fast and powerful

VS-Code has the speed of Sublime and the power of WebStorm. Perhaps this is the best software that Microsoft has ever created. See More

Top Pro

Python support

Excellent Python plugin, originally created by Don Jayamanne, now hired by Microsoft to extend and maintain the extension. See More

Top Pro

Extensions (aka plugins) are written in JavaScript

Extensions are written in either Typescript or JavaScript. See More

Top Pro

Ready to use out of the box

You don't need to configure and add plugins before being productive. However, you can add plugins if needed but for the basics you're well covered. See More

Top Pro

It has gotten really good

All it takes is one stop for all the features many people need. See More

Top Pro

Integrated terminal

There's no need to press alt+tab to go to a terminal: it is directly integrated into the editor. Shift+~ is a handy hotkey to toggle the integrated terminal. See More

Top Pro

Embedded Git control

Visual Studio Code has integrated Git control, guaranteeing speed, data integrity, and support for distributed, non-linear workflows. See More

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Atom

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Top Pro

Beginner friendly

One of the goals of Atom is to be a text editor for both experienced and beginner programmers. You can add keyboard shortcuts, change themes, install plugins, and change core settings by clicking through a GUI, or by manually editing config files the old-fashioned way. It has the added advantage of being built using the same engine that powers Google Chrome, so actions like opening and closing tabs feel familiar, even to new or non-programmers. See More

ChattyXucau's Experience

Atom is a nice half-way point for me between terminal text editing and and a full IDE. See More

Specs

Platforms:Microsoft Windows®, macOS, Linux

Cross Platform:Yes

Auto Complete:Yes (plugin)

Top Pro

Extensive list of packages

Atom has a built-in package manager and an extensive list of packages. Packages are written in CoffeeScript. See More

Top Pro

Excellent autocomplete

Kite allows smart line-of-code completions for Python. See More

Top Pro

Embedded Git control

Atom will highlight folders, files, and lines that have any uncommitted edits made. It also integrates really well with GitHub. See More

Top Pro

Free and open source

Atom is free, open source, and written in C++, LESS, and CoffeeScript. See More

Geany

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Specs

Platforms:Windows; OSX; *nix

Cross Platform:Yes

Auto Complete:Yes

PyCharm Community Edition

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Top Pro

Excellent debugger

PyCharm can leverage run-time information when running your application with the built-in debugger to figure out what types can possibly be passed to which functions, etc. See More

Top Con

Memory-hungry

Can use a lot of memory (several GBs), especially when dealing with large projects. See More

Top Pro

Excellent autocomplete

PyCharm's autocomplete can be dramatically improved with the Kite plugin. See More

Top Pro

Pro features free for students

JetBrains offers a Student Pack, which gives you a student license and access to the pro features of selected products such as PyCharm, IntelliJ IDEA and Php Storm. See More

Gedit

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Specs

Platforms:Windows; OSX; *nix

Supported remote file editing protocols:FTP; HTTP; SSH; WebDAV

Collaborative editing:plug-in

Pycharm EDU

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IDLE

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GNU nano

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