8000 TypeError: type 'List' is not subscriptable when running python3 -m IPython on Python 3.11 · Issue #14903 · ipython/ipython · GitHub
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TypeError: type 'List' is not subscriptable when running python3 -m IPython on Python 3.11 #14903

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BorisQuanLi opened this issue May 23, 2025 · 4 comments
Open

TypeError: type 'List' is not subscriptable when running python3 -m IPython on Python 3.11 #14903

BorisQuanLi opened this issue May 23, 2025 · 4 comments

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@BorisQuanLi
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Problem

When running python3 -m IPython after following the development setup instructions, I get the following error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  ...
TypeError: type 'List' is not subscriptable
  • Python version: 3.11.3
  • OS: macOS

Steps to reproduce

  1. Clone the repo
  2. Follow the development install instructions
  3. Run python3 -m IPython

Additional info

This blocks running IPython from source. Please advise if there's a workaround or if the docs need updating.

Output of python -c "import IPython; print(IPython.sys_info())":

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<frozen runpy>", line 189, in _run_module_as_main
  ...
  File "/path/to/ipython/IPython/core/interactiveshell.py", line 338, in InteractiveShell
    ast_transformers: List[ast.NodeTransformer] = List(
                      ~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
TypeError: type 'List' is not subscriptable
@BorisQuanLi
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Hi all,

To help future contributors avoid this installation pitfall, I plan to submit a PR improving the documentation. Specifically, I’ll update the installation instructions to recommend:

Before running python3 -m IPython or, when installing from source, pip install -e ., users should create and activate a Python virtual environment.

I’ll reference this issue in the PR.

Thanks!

@krassowski
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I think the issue here is that you had an old version of traitlets installed.

@BorisQuanLi
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@krassowski Thank you for the insight! That makes sense—having an outdated version of traitlets in the global environment could definitely cause issues.

Would you agree that this highlights the importance of activating a fresh virtual environment before installing IPython from source? It seems to help ensure all dependencies are up to date and avoid conflicts with system packages.

I’ll incorporate this recommendation into my upcoming documentation PR.

Thanks again!

@krassowski
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Yes, I think that it would be good to include the recommendation to use a virtual env for development.

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