Why doesn't this Python keyboard interrupt work? (in PyCharm)

If that comment doesn’t solve your problem, (from @tdelaney) you need to have your shell window focused (meaning you’ve clicked on it when the program is running.) and then you can use Control+C

Make sure the window is selected when you press ctrl+c. I just ran your program in IDLE and it worked perfectly for me.

Here is working normally, since i put a variable “x” in your code and i use tabs instead spaces.

try:

    def help():
        print("Help.")

    def doStuff():
        print("Doing Stuff")

    while True:
        x = int(input())
        if x == 1:
            help()
        elif x == 2:
            doStuff()
        else:
            exit()

except KeyboardInterrupt:
    exit()

I know this is an old question, but I ran into the same problem and think there’s an easier solution:

In PyCharm go to “Run”/”Edit Configurations” and check “Emulate terminal in output console”.
PyCharm now accepts keyboard interrupts (make sure the console is focused).

Tested on:
PyCharm 2019.1 (Community Edition)

You can also use PyCharm’s Python console and use Ctrl + C, if you catch the exception that PyCharm raises when Ctrl + C is pressed. I wrote a short function below called is_keyboard_interrupt that tells you whether the exception is KeyboardInterrupt, including PyCharm’s. If it is not, simply re-raise it. I paste a simplified version of the code below.

When it is run:

• type ‘help’ and press Enter to repeat the loop.
• type anything else and press Enter to check that ValueError is handled properly.
• Press Ctrl + C to check that KeyboardInterrupt is caught, including in PyCharm’s python console.

Note: This doesn’t work with PyCharm’s debugger console (the one invoked by “Debug” rather than “Run”), but there the need for Ctrl + C is less because you can simply press the pause button.

I also put this on my Gist where I may make updates: https://gist.github.com/yulkang/14da861b271576a9eb1fa0f905351b97

def is_keyboard_interrupt(exception):
    # The second condition is necessary for it to work with the stop button
    # in PyCharm Python console.
    return (type(exception) is KeyboardInterrupt
            or type(exception).__name__ == 'KeyboardInterruptException')

try:
    def print_help():
        print("To exit type exit or Ctrl + c can be used at any time")
    print_help()

    while True:
        task = input("What do you want to do? Type "help" for help:- ")
        if task == 'help':
            print_help()
        else:
            print("Invalid input.")

            # to check that ValueError is handled separately
            raise ValueError()

except Exception as ex:
    try:
        # Catch all exceptions and test if it is KeyboardInterrupt, native or
        # PyCharm's.
        if not is_keyboard_interrupt(ex):
            raise ex

        print('KeyboardInterrupt caught as expected.')
        print('Exception type: %s' % type(ex).__name__)
        exit()

    except ValueError:
        print('ValueError!')

PyCharm’s Python Console raises the exception console_thrift.KeyboardInterruptException on Ctrl-C instead of KeyboardInterrupt. The exception console_thrift.KeyboardInterruptException is not a subclass of KeyboardInterrupt, therefore not caught by the line except KeyboardInterrupt.

Adding the following lines would make your script compatible with PyCharm.

try:
    from console_thrift import KeyboardInterruptException as KeyboardInterrupt
except ImportError:
    pass

This would not break compatibility with running the script in a terminal, or other IDE, like IDLE or Spyder, since the module console_thrift is found only within PyCharm.

One possible reason if <Strg+C> does not stop the program:

When a text is marked in the shell, <Strg+C> is interpreted as "copy the marked text to clipboard".

Just unmark the text and press <Strg+C> again.

Try shift + control + C. It worked for me.