ace_tools_open Cheat Sheet

1What it is & installthe shim

import ace_tools # ModuleNotFoundError outside ChatGPTnot on pypi
The real ace_tools is OpenAI-internal and unpublished. ChatGPT sometimes emits import ace_tools; it only works inside its own sandbox.
pip install ace_tools_open★
The community re-implementation on PyPI (package ace-tools-open). Small, single-purpose, low maintenance — treat it as a compatibility shim.
import ace_tools_open as tools
Import the community package under the same short alias used in generated snippets.
# for real projects, prefer a maintained display method (cards 3-7)tip
Reach for ace_tools_open only to run ChatGPT-generated code unchanged. New code should use IPython.display, itables, Rich, etc.

2display_dataframe_to_userthe one function

import pandas as pd, ace_tools_open as tools tools.display_dataframe_to_user("My results", df)★
The API people look for: show a titled DataFrame to the user. In a notebook it renders the table; the open version essentially wraps pandas/IPython display.
# signature: display_dataframe_to_user(name: str, dataframe: pd.DataFrame)
Two positional args: a display name/title and the DataFrame. That's the whole surface — there isn't a large API to learn.
# equivalent, no dependency: from IPython.display import display print("My results"); display(df)★
The drop-in replacement — no extra package. This is what card 3 expands on.

3pandas + IPython.displayzero deps

from IPython.display import display display(df) # rich HTML table display(df.head(20))★
In Jupyter, the last expression auto-renders; display() shows a DataFrame from anywhere (loops, functions) — the true replacement for display_dataframe_to_user.
pd.set_option("display.max_rows", 100) pd.set_option("display.max_columns", None)★
Control how much shows before truncation with … — the #1 "why is my table cut off?" fix.
from IPython.display import Markdown display(Markdown(df.to_markdown(index=False)))
Render as a Markdown table — handy for reports/agent outputs (needs tabulate).

4Interactive tablessort/search/paginate

pip install itables from itables import show show(df) # searchable, sortable, paginated★
itables renders a DataFrame as an interactive DataTables widget (client-side search/sort/page) — the friendliest way to hand a big table to a user.
import itables itables.init_notebook_mode(all_interactive=True)
Make every DataFrame interactive automatically for the session.
df # in VS Code / JupyterLab: built-in data viewers also exist
Editors increasingly ship their own DataFrame explorers — often enough that you need no library at all.

5Styling & static tablesmake it readable

df.style.background_gradient(cmap="Blues") .format("{:.2f}").highlight_max(color="lightgreen")★
pandas Styler: heatmaps, number formatting, bar cells, highlights — all rendered inline as HTML in notebooks.
pip install great_tables from great_tables import GT GT(df).tab_header(title="My results")
great_tables makes publication-quality static tables (titles, spanners, footnotes) — for polished reports rather than exploration.
display(df.style.hide(axis="index"))
Small touches (hide the index, set captions) go a long way for user-facing tables.

6Terminal displayno notebook

print(df.to_string()) # full table, no truncation★
Plainest option — to_string() prints every row/column (unlike a bare print(df), which truncates).
print(df.to_markdown(index=False)) # needs tabulate★
A clean Markdown/grid table for CLIs, logs, and chat/agent responses.
pip install rich from rich import print as rprint rprint(df) # or build a rich.table.Table
Rich renders colored, bordered tables in the terminal — the nicest CLI presentation.

7Export & sharehand it off

df.to_html("table.html", index=False)★
Standalone HTML table to share or embed. df.to_html() (no path) returns the string for a web page/email.
df.to_csv("out.csv", index=False) · df.to_excel("out.xlsx")★
For a user who wants the data itself, a file usually beats an on-screen table. (Excel needs XlsxWriter/openpyxl.)
df.to_json(orient="records") · df.to_clipboard()
JSON for programs; to_clipboard() to paste straight into a sheet.

8Which to usedecide fast

# running ChatGPT code that imports ace_tools -> pip install ace_tools_open★
The only real reason to use it: make generated snippets run unmodified.
# notebook, quick look -> display(df) / df # notebook, big table -> itables.show(df) # notebook, styled report-> df.style / great_tables★
Match the tool to the audience & size of the table.
# terminal/CLI -> to_markdown() or Rich · give data -> to_csv/to_html
Outside notebooks, print Markdown/Rich; when they want the data, export a file.

ace_tools_open cheat sheet