Good python IDE for raspberry pi

[ankith26]

I need some recommendations as to which IDE must I use on my raspberry pi. IDLE is enough for simple projects.
I am currently working on a good python project and realised that idle was not enough so I had to use thonny.
Thonny is good but are there any better options as I am not fully satisfied.
I want an IDE with good GUI and good features and it should not lag much on my pi.
If you have any choices for any general IDE(not only for the pi) then do let me know.
Thanks

[aivarannamaa]

Which are the main features you miss in Thonny?

[apurva_v8]

Hello there,

As you're interested in python. Python has 2 parts. If you want to code for robotics. Such as for Motors, display, controllers, etc. I would suggest you "mu" if you wanna do robotics stuff. The advantage of mu is that it's a lightweight IDE. You can install Eclipse on your RPI but that's heavy and I have experienced crashes.2nd part is that if you want to code UI or software part. you can use PyCharm.

If you want to code on raspbian I would suggest you mu, on other x64 systems like windows you can use PyCharm. But Windows doesn't come with some preinstalled libraries like GPIO control and stuff. So you will need to add them. Plus I would prefer an RPI to code as you can experiment a lot with GPIO. If you're into robotics.

Let me know your thoughts. Or reply to this if you need more information.

[ankith26]

Thanks for the replies.
Thonny is good, but I am not a big fan of its GUI.
I am going for something that looks cool and has good functionalities.
I would want a good easy to use debugger and a panel where I can see the file system of the directory and open the required files simultaneously.
And currently I am not into robotics with pi(I use arduino for that)
I would want to code on my pi, therefore I want something that is light or moderately light

[aivarannamaa]

I would want a good easy to use debugger and a panel where I can see the file system of the directory and open the required files simultaneously.

Did you try Thonny's debuggers (Ctrl+F5 and Shift+F5)? Were you using only simple (default) mode, or also regular mode?

In regular mode you can show file browser (View => Files).

Best regards,
Aivar

[ankith26]

Nope, not yet. I generally do not need debugging. Sometimes I just use print statements all over and it solves my problem.

[sibir]

I have been using Thonny for a while and really like it.
I love the multi-platform support as I am switching between Win10, macOS, and RPi all the time.

Now that my projects are getting bigger the feature I miss most are collapsible function definitions to save screen real estate and reduce scrolling.

Keep it up, Aivar!

[ankith26]

Hmm..
Thonny is very good really.
But the only thing I miss is the dark mode.

After using thonny for a while I have noticed that it has all the features I need.

[aivarannamaa]

But the only thing I miss is the dark mode.

Thonny has dark mode (Tools => Options => Fonts & Themes). If you don't see the menu bar, you need to switch from simple mode to regular mode first (see upper-right corner of the window).

[ankith26]

Oh I never realised that.
I’m gonna test it today.
Thonny is nice, I have got used to it now.