IPython magic command to reload modules on demand

pip install ipython-reload

In [1]: %load_ext ipython_reload

In [2]: from foo import some_function

In [3]: some_function()
Out[3]: 42

In [4]: # open foo.py in an editor and change some_function to return 43

In [5]: %reload some_function

In [6]: some_function()
Out[6]: 43

The %reload magic can reload modules not directly imported, imported modules in the local namespace, and imported variables.

Reloading imported variables may produce unexpected results if the name is generic, such as in the case of __version__. Python does not track the source of where a variable was defined, so this code loops all imported modules, and looks for a matching name, that is the same type as the variable you want to reload. If you have imported a variable using from foo import bar as baz this functionality will not work.