Ipython console in Spyder stuck on "connecting to kernel"

29
votes

I am new to python and coming from Matlab and I have installed the latest version of Python(x,y) (2.7.9.0) on my Win 8 64 bit PC.

The problem that I have is that, each time I start Spyder, the default IPython console gets stuck on "connecting to kernel". I can see that a new kernel is launched each time because a new .json file appears in the directory ".ipython\profile_default\security". I can access this kernel by opening a new IPython console by clicking on "connect to an existing kernel" and then browsing to find it, then it works fine (except that the variables I create do not appear in the variable explorer). I can also quit the kernel from this new IPython console but this does not solve my problem because when I launch a new IPython console by clicking on "open an IPython console" or restarting Spyder, it still hangs on "connecting to kernel" and creates a new .json file.

The closest issue that I could find on a forum is this one, the only difference being that I do not have the "import sitecustomize" error in the internal console. I have tried uninstalling Python(x,y) and python but to no avail. Any hint would be really appreciated.

12
pythonipythonspyder
I have the same problem on OSX 10.9, installation from anaconda, Spyder 2.3.2 Python 2.7.9 64bits, Qt 4.8.6, PyQt4 (API v2) 4.10.4 on Darwin - jolvi
I solved this on one installation (OS X) by ignoring the initial Ipython window and opening a new one from the menu. - Carl Witthoft
I'll also add that things are a bit odd, as I get different behavior from anaconda than I do from algorete even tho' the latter claims to be built purely on the former. - Carl Witthoft
I have solved by uninstalling and reinstalling python(x,y) AND deleting related folders (.ipython and .spyder2) in the user folder, but I still do not understand what happened ... - YassineA
(Spyder dev here) Sorry that you've had this problem. We are trying to improve how we start IPython consoles for our next major release (i.e. 2.4). Right now it depends in some convoluted internal procedure that we hope to simplify as much as we can :-) - Carlos Cordoba

12 Answers

10
votes

I run "Reset Spyder Settings" from the Windows Menu in the Anaconda section.

9
votes

In my case I had to update the package ipykernel as well (on Python 3.6.3 | Anaconda 64-bit | Windows 10). Now my Spyder can spawn conoles in reasonable time.

Using pip I succeeded by:

pip install -U pyzmq

pip install -U ipykernel

2
votes

Another possible solution to this problem is to update your pyzmq library to version 14.6.0 or higher, which should fix this problem in Windows 8.

If you are using Anaconda, you just need to do

conda update pyzmq

to do that.

1
votes

Removing /anaconda/lib/python2.7/site-packages from PYTHONPATH manager in Spyder solved this for me.

1
votes

Try typing these 3 lines from the anaconda command prompt:

conda create -n spyder python=2.7 spyder

activate spyder

spyder

1
votes

I had the same issue in Anaconda. I updated the spyder-kernels module and it seems to work fine now.

1
votes

Also had the same problem. Firstly, I solved this problem by spyder --reset. But when I turned into my working project tree, this problem happened again. So I reinstalled anaconda and upgraded spyder, but unfortunately, this problem remained unsolved.

Then I thought, why spyder --reset could work? Then I began a new empty project, and this problem didn't happen. So I realized that maybe there is something wrong with my working project.

After some searching, I found that a file named decorator.py may be the problem. Whatever project I moved this file in, the problem happened again. Then I changed the name of this file as Decorator.py, the problem was solved. So my advice is switching your working project to a new project, then watch whether this problem could happen again.

But afterwards, I still do not know why python file can't be named decorator.py. If somebody knows, please tell me.

0
votes

Had the same issue. I closed the console window, then opened a new one (CTRL+T) and that fixed it. Problem didn't come back after a restart.

0
votes

A very special thing happened to me, but it raised the same error ("connecting to kernel" freeze on Spyder): a '.' has accidentally slipped into my "pytable.py" file from pandas. Probably I opened it after an error and changed it / saved it accidentally.

So, if you are using anaconda, check if by mistake a file in ...\Continuum\Anaconda\Lib\site-packages was changed ( sort file by date and see if a file was modified today for instance)

After fixing the changed file, everything is back to normal.

0
votes

Disabling anti-virus helped me resolve this issue instantly. Once the console was displayed, I enabled my anti-virus again.

0
votes

Had the same problem. At first it couldn't find the kernel. Closing Consol and reopening did not work. However, what did work was closing Spyder and then reopening. Note: I am running from python(x,y), not Anaconda.

0
votes

I was stuck with this error for a long time, I tried all the solutions above and the only one that resolved was to reset Spyder:

spyder --reset