# Install IPython 3 on Windows

=====================================

This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to install IPython 3 on your Windows machine.

## Prerequisites

--------------

Before you begin this tutorial, ensure that:

1. You have Python installed (preferably the latest version).

2. Your system meets the minimum requirements for Anaconda and its dependencies.

3. You are using a supported operating system: Windows 7/8/10 or newer.

## Step 1 - Download and Install MinGW

--------------------------------

To install IPython on Windows, you will need to download and install MinGW first. This is because Python's official installer does not include all the necessary tools for building extensions like NumPy.

### Method A: Using Anaconda

Alternatively, if you don't want to bother with manually downloading and installing individual packages, you can simply follow these steps:

1. Go to 'Anacondas download page'(https://www.continuum.io/downloads).

2. Click on 'Download Now' under the heading that matches your operating system (Windows 64-bit or Windows 32bit depending on whether you have a 64 bit or 32 bit version of windows respectively).

## Step 2 - Install MinGW

-----------------

### For Mac and Linux Users Skip to Step 3

1. Download 'MinGW'(http://www.mingw.org/download/).

2. Follow the instructions in the downloaded file (mingw-get.exe) to install MinGW.

* If prompted, select 'Minimal' as the base package set.

## Step 3 - Add Python's Binaries and Library Path

---------------------------------------------

### For Mac and Linux Users Skip this step

1. Open your command prompt or terminal window as an administrator:

+ Right-click on Start > Command Prompt (or Search for 'cmd' if you're using Windows 8/10)

then select 'Run as Administrator'.

2. Navigate to the MinGW directory that was created during installation.

* For x86 systems: `cd C:\MinGW`

* For x64 systems: `cd C:\Program Files\mingw-w64/x86_64-4.x-x-mingw32`

## Step 4 - Install pip3

----------------

### Mac and Linux Users Skip this step

1. Open your command prompt or terminal window as an administrator:

+ Right-click on Start > Command Prompt (or Search for 'cmd' if you're using Windows 8/10)

then select 'Run as Administrator'.

2. Navigate to the Anaconda3 directory that was created during installation.

* For x86 systems: `cd C:\Anaconda3`

* For x64 systems: `cd C:\Users\\anaconda3`

## Step5 - Install IPython

---------------------

1. Open your command prompt or terminal window and navigate to the Anaconda3 directory that was created during installation.

* For Mac OS X (or Linux): `$ cd ~//bin` * For Windows: `cd C:\Users\\anaconda3\Scripts`

## Step 6 - Install IPython

---------------------

1. To test the installation, you can use pip to install ipython package.

```bash

pip3 install --user --upgrade virtualenvwrapper && source ~./local/bin/activate.sh

```

## Step 7 - Launch IPython Notebook

-----------------------------

1. After successful installation, you can launch ipython notebook by simply typing the following commands in terminal or cmd.

```bash

ipython3 notebook --port=9999 --ip='127.0.0.1'

```

Open a web browser and navigate to 'http://localhost:9999'(http://localhost:9999) (or whatever port you chose).

## Troubleshooting

--------------

If you encounter any issues during the installation process, please refer to the following resources for help:

- IPython's official documentation on troubleshooting:

- For Windows specifically see here: https://github.com/continuumio/anaconda/issues?q=windows+installation#issuecomment-10823488

## Additional Tips

--------------

1. You can also install IPython without using Anaconda by following these instructions instead:

* Download and extract the latest version of 'IPython'(https://pypi.python.org/packages/xi/ip/ipython/) from PyPI.

* Activate your virtual environment (if not already activated).

```bash

pip3 install --user ipython'notebook'

```

2. To easily switch between different versions or Python interpreters, consider using a tool like 'pyenv'(https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv) for managing multiple Python installations on Windows.

That's it! You should now have IPython 3 installed and ready to use on your Windows machine.

Install ipython 3 windows