Getting ipython working on a Mac is simple, there are numerous install packages and distributions readily available. The purpose of this short list is to suggest a vetted method which contains all requisite functionality with minimal bugs. Two particularly annoying bugs you can avoid are

• system crash due to >>>> import ROOT,
• graphics windows which refuse to close.

This works on Mac OS 10.11 El Capitan. Download and install Homebrew. Then, type into Terminal:

• brew remove –force $(brew list)
• brew tap homebrew/science
• brew tap homebrew/python
• brew install root6 –enable-python –all
• brew install python
• brew install numpy
• brew install scipy
• brew link numpy
• brew install matplotlib
• pip install ipython[all]
• brew install qt pyqt
• brew install py2cairo

Last step, edit ~/.matplotlib/matplotlibrc to include a line:

• backend: Qt4Agg