Automatic Session Restore versus Manual Config Backup: Choosing a Reliable Spyder Workspace Recovery Method

Answer the Question First

The most dependable way to guarantee that both the UI layout and the variable values survive a shutdown is to use automatic session restore for the editor and working‑directory state, back up the ~/.spyder-py3 configuration directory for UI preferences, and explicitly serialize the kernel workspace (e.g., with dill or pickle) before the IDE exits. Relying only on the Variable Explorer’s list of names is misleading, because the names are regenerated from the kernel’s symbol table after a restart but the actual values are lost unless they were saved externally.

Why the Three‑Step Combination Works

• Automatic session restore re‑opens the same files, restores the split layout, and resets the current working directory, so the visual state matches the pre‑shutdown session.
• Configuration directory backup preserves all IDE settings (font, theme, plug‑in state, recent projects) that are not covered by session restore. Restoring this folder after a fresh install brings the UI back to the exact look and feel you had.
• External workspace serialization captures the live Python objects in the kernel. When the kernel is restarted after a restore, loading the serialized file restores the variables to their previous values.

Is Checking Variable Names Enough?

No. The Variable Explorer rebuilds the list of names from the kernel’s namespace after a restart. If you only see the names, you cannot be sure that the values were restored; a print(x) that raises a NameError or prints None indicates that the value was not recovered. Therefore, a quick sanity check is to attempt to access a few representative variables and verify their values.

Recommended Recovery Workflow

1. Before shutting down Spyder:
   • Run a short script that serializes the current workspace:

     import dill
     with open("~/workspace_snapshot.pkl", "wb") as f:
         dill.dump_session(f)
     

   • Confirm the file exists and is non‑empty.
   • Copy the ~/.spyder-py3 folder to a safe location.
2. After restarting Spyder:
   • Let the IDE restore the session automatically.
   • If you performed a fresh install, copy the backed‑up ~/.spyder-py3 back into place.
   • In the IPython console, load the snapshot:

     import dill
     with open("~/workspace_snapshot.pkl", "rb") as f:
         dill.load_session(f)
     

   • Verify a handful of variables:

     print(x)  # should show the value you had before shutdown
     

3. Optional sanity check: Compare the list of open files and the working directory against a known pre‑shutdown snapshot (e.g., using a simple diff of ls output).

What to Ask Next

To fine‑tune this recommendation, could you tell me which Spyder version you are using? Different releases may store the configuration directory in slightly different paths and may support or exclude certain serialization libraries.

Practical Verification

After following the steps above, you should see the exact file layout and variable values you had before shutdown. If any variable fails to load, check that the serialization library (e.g., dill) is installed and that the snapshot file is not corrupted.