Quick tip: Python pretty print snippet for Visual Studio Code

— 246 words

Specialized tools are helpful, but it's the pretty print module that I go for when I need to debug a value in Python. I use a Visual Code (VS Code) snippet to load it quickly.

Here is the snippet I've used more than any other over the past few years:

"Pretty print": {
    "scope": "python",
    "prefix": "pp",
    "body": [
        "import pprint  # isort: skip",
        "pp = pprint.PrettyPrinter(indent=2)",
        "print('-' * 60)",
        "pp.pprint($0)",
        "print('-' * 60)"
    ],
    "description": "Create pretty printer, and print statements"
}

This snippet inserts a pprint import and a statement surrounded by lines. The snippet tab stops within the print call, allowing you to immediately type the value you want to debug.

Note: In my case, the "scope" value is redundant as the snippet is stored within a Python snippets file, but keeping it there is fine.

SystemExit variant

I also have a variant identical to the original one, except for an additional raise SystemExit at the end.

"Pretty print and exit": {
    "scope": "python",
    "prefix": "ppe",
    "body": [
        "import pprint  # isort: skip",
        "pp = pprint.PrettyPrinter(indent=2)",
        "print('-' * 60)",
        "pp.pprint($0)",
        "print('-' * 60)",
        "raise SystemExit"
    ],
    "description": "Create pretty printer, print statements, and a SystemExit"
}

Note: Raising exceptions is a quick way to stop your program where you want it to stop; it is ideal for debugging and ensuring that your prints end up at the bottom of your output.

See also