Unlock PyCharm: 5 Powerful Tips to Supercharge Your Python Debugging

6. God‑like Debugging Tips

When working on a web‑scraping project, repeatedly adjusting regular expressions often requires re‑running the script and sending new requests, which is inefficient. PyCharm can keep the current namespace alive, allowing you to edit code and test regexes without restarting the program.

Set a breakpoint, then click the Show Python Prompt button to open the Python Shell, which shares the same namespace as the running script.

After the breakpoint, you can also open the console directly via Show Python Prompt without a breakpoint. To avoid clicking each time, enable the default opening option in Edit Configurations.

Check the box in the configuration dialog to store all variable values and automatically open the console after each run.

Alternatively, you can use Evaluate Expression (right‑click at a breakpoint) to execute arbitrary expressions in the same namespace.

7. Running Scripts with Parameters

In PyCharm, you can pass command‑line arguments just like you would in a terminal. For example, the command python main.py init --local can be entered in the Script parameters field of the Run/Debug configuration.

You can also switch the interpreter conveniently from the same dialog.

8. Filtering Test Files When Searching

Searching in large codebases (e.g., OpenStack) often returns many test files, cluttering results. By setting the File mask to !test*, PyCharm excludes files whose names start with "test".

9. Disabling the Annoying Intention Bulb

The intention bulb appears for syntax errors (red) or style suggestions (yellow). To turn it off, open Edit Configurations, locate the Show intention bulb option, and uncheck it.

10. Turning Off Distracting Wavy Lines

PyCharm underlines variables that are not recognized as English words. To hide these non‑syntax warnings, click the avatar‑like button at the bottom‑right, select Syntax level, and the wavy lines disappear.