Jupyter Magic Commands

Jupyter Notebook provides magic commands, which are special commands designed to enhance interactivity, streamline execution, and optimize workflows. These commands allow users to perform file operations, timing, debugging, and system interactions without leaving the notebook environment.

Magic commands come in two types:

• Line magics (%): Operate on a single line of code.
• Cell magics (%%): Apply to the entire cell

Working of Jupyter Magic Commands

Magic commands simplify tasks by integrating system calls, performance measurement, and external scripting. They are prefixed with % for line magic or %% for cell magic.

For example, the %timeit command measures the execution time of a Python statement:

%timeit sum(range(1000))

The %%writefile command writes code to a new file:

%%writefile sample.py
print("Hello, Jupyter Magic!")

Common Jupyter Magic Commands

Execution & Timing

• %timeit: Runs a statement multiple times to get average execution time.
• %time: Measures the execution time of a single run of a statement or expression.
• %%time: Measures the execution time of a single run of an entire cell.

File & System Operations

• %pwd: Displays the current working directory.
• %ls: Lists all the files and directories in the current working directory.
• %%writefile filename.py: Saves the code in a cell to a file.

Environment & Debugging

• %matplotlib inline: Displays plots within the notebook.
• %debug: Activates the interactive debugger when an exception occurs.
• %who: Lists only the names of active variables in the current namespace.
• %whos: Lists the name, type, and value of active variables in the current namespace.

Running External Code

• %run script.py: Executes a Python script.

Use Cases

Jupyter magic commands are widely used to:

• Improve efficiency by quickly checking execution times.
• Manage the notebook environment and workspace.
• Integrate system operations without switching interfaces.
• Enhance debugging and profiling for better performance.