# REPL copy/paste resulting in UndefVarError 'julia' not defined
**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/t/repl-copy-paste-resulting-in-undefvarerror-julia-not-defined/104418
**Category:** General Usage
**Tags:** repl
**Created:** [September 30, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/repl-copy-paste-resulting-in-undefvarerror-julia-not-defined/104418 "2023-09-30T01:52:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@rud-lucien](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/rud-lucien)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/repl-copy-paste-resulting-in-undefvarerror-julia-not-defined/104418/1 "2023-09-30T01:52:27Z")
Copying and pasting julia code from documentation or help mode resulting in UndefVarError ‘julia’ not defined.
Specifically I copied this line of code from help mode for the filter function:
```julia
julia> map(filter(iseven), [1:3, 2:4, 3:5])
```
I then pasted it into my REPL as follows:
```julia
julia> julia> map(filter(iseven), [1:3, 2:4, 3:5])
ERROR: UndefVarError: `julia` not defined
Stacktrace:
[1] top-level scope @ REPL[5]:1
julia>
```
I copied this line of code from the official julia documentation from this [https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/stdlib/REPL/](https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/stdlib/REPL/) and got the same behavior
```julia
julia> julia> string(1 + 2)
ERROR: UndefVarError: `julia` not defined
Stacktrace:
[1] top-level scope @ REPL[7]:1
```
I seem to remember doing things like this in the past and the REPL would automatically remove `julia> ` from the text and paste the rest allowing the pasted code to run as expected. Did I imagine this? If not, has anyone else experience similar behavior with this version of julia or is this just an an issue with my install?
Would appreciate any tips on how to best navigate this behavior.
my version info is as follows:
```julia
julia> versioninfo()
Julia Version 1.9.3
Commit bed2cd540a (2023-08-24 14:43 UTC)
Build Info:
Official https://julialang.org/ release
Platform Info:
OS: Windows (x86_64-w64-mingw32)
CPU: 6 × Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-9400F CPU @ 2.90GHz
WORD_SIZE: 64
LIBM: libopenlibm
LLVM: libLLVM-14.0.6 (ORCJIT, skylake)
Threads: 1 on 6 virtual cores
julia>
```
---
### Author:  [@Benny](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Benny)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2023, 4:28am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/repl-copy-paste-resulting-in-undefvarerror-julia-not-defined/104418/2 "2023-09-30T04:28:28Z")
From the docs on the REPL’s `julia>` mode:
> In Julia mode, the REPL supports something called _prompt pasting_ . This activates when pasting text that starts with `julia>` into the REPL. In that case, only expressions starting with `julia>` are parsed, others are removed. This makes it possible to paste a chunk of code that has been copied from a REPL session without having to scrub away prompts and outputs. This feature is enabled by default but can be disabled or enabled at will with `REPL.enable_promptpaste(::Bool)` . If it is enabled, you can try it out by pasting the code block above this paragraph straight into the REPL. This feature does not work on the standard Windows command prompt due to its limitation at detecting when a paste occurs.
> [@rud-lucien](#):
>
> `OS: Windows (x86_64-w64-mingw32)`
Seems relevant, were you working on a different OS before?
---
### Author:  [@rud-lucien](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/rud-lucien)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/repl-copy-paste-resulting-in-undefvarerror-julia-not-defined/104418/3 "2023-09-30T13:18:10Z")
Thanks for the suggestion @Benny. That didn’t seem to do the trick though, see below.
```julia
julia> import REPL
julia> REPL.enable_promptpaste(true)
true
julia> julia> string(1 + 2)
ERROR: UndefVarError: `julia` not defined
Stacktrace:
[1] top-level scope @ REPL[3]:1
julia>
```
I also wiped my startup file to see if something in there was causing the problem but still got the same behavior. My start-up file is as follows:
```julia
try
@eval using Revise
catch e
@warn "Error initializing Revise" exception=(e, catch_backtrace())
end
try
@eval using RelevanceStacktrace
catch e
@warn "Error initializing RelevanceStacktrace" exception=(e, catch_backtrace())
end
atreplinit() do repl
@eval begin
import JuliaSyntax
JuliaSyntax.enable_in_core!(true)
end
end
try
@eval using JuliaFormatter
catch e
@warn "Error initializing JuliaFormatter" exception=(e, catch_backtrace())
end
atreplinit() do repl
try
@eval begin
import OhMyREPL
OhMyREPL.enable_autocomplete_brackets(true)
end
catch e
@warn @warn "Error enabling autocomplete brackets" exception=(e, catch_backtrace())
end
end
using TerminalPager
TerminalPager.set_preference!("always_use_alternate_screen_buffer_in_repl_mode", true)
TerminalPager.set_preference!("active_search_decoration", "45")
if Base.isinteractive() &&
(local REPL = get(Base.loaded_modules, Base.PkgId(Base.UUID("3fa0cd96-eef1-5676-8a61-b3b8758bbffb"), "REPL"), nothing); REPL !== nothing)
# Exit Julia with :q, restart with :r
pushfirst!(REPL.repl_ast_transforms, function(ast::Union{Expr,Nothing})
function toplevel_quotenode(ast, s)
return (Meta.isexpr(ast, :toplevel, 2) && ast.args[2] === QuoteNode(s)) ||
(Meta.isexpr(ast, :toplevel) && any(x -> toplevel_quotenode(x, s), ast.args))
end
if toplevel_quotenode(ast, :q)
exit()
elseif toplevel_quotenode(ast, :r)
argv = Base.julia_cmd().exec
opts = Base.JLOptions()
if opts.project != C_NULL
push!(argv, "--project=$(unsafe_string(opts.project))")
end
if opts.nthreads != 0
push!(argv, "--threads=$(opts.nthreads)")
end
run(Cmd(argv))
exit()
end
return ast
end)
# Automatically load tooling on demand:
# - BenchmarkTools.jl when encountering @btime or @benchmark
# - Cthulhu.jl when encountering @descend(_code_(typed|warntype))
# - Debugger.jl when encountering @enter or @run
# - Profile.jl when encountering @profile
# - ProfileView.jl when encountering @profview
local tooling_dict = Dict{Symbol,Vector{Symbol}}(
:BenchmarkTools => Symbol.(["@btime", "@benchmark"]),
:Cthulhu => Symbol.(["@descend", "@descend_code_typed", "@descend_code_warntype"]),
:Debugger => Symbol.(["@enter", "@run"]),
:Profile => Symbol.(["@profile"]),
:ProfileView => Symbol.(["@profview"]),
)
pushfirst!(REPL.repl_ast_transforms, function(ast::Union{Expr,Nothing})
function contains_macro(ast, m)
return ast isa Expr && (
(Meta.isexpr(ast, :macrocall) && ast.args[1] === m) ||
any(x -> contains_macro(x, m), ast.args)
)
end
for (mod, macros) in tooling_dict
if any(contains_macro(ast, s) for s in macros) && !isdefined(Main, mod)
@info "Loading $mod ..."
try
Core.eval(Main, :(using $mod))
catch err
@info "Failed to automatically load $mod" exception=err
end
end
end
return ast
end)
end
```
Also my machine hasn’t changed in recent years. I have always used Windows and I’ve been on this particular PC for a few years. I typically run julia in gitbash or just julia REPL itself.