Hi, first, sorry I didn't answer faster.
Your report starts by telling that ipython breaks when trying something, but you don't tell me how it breaks. Then you show me the commands you used to uninstall a few packages using dpkg, then pip. Finally, you show an apt-get command to install package, but then that is followed by a python error... Here is what happens here (I'm on unstable though) : jpuydt@nox:~$ python Python 2.7.13+ (default, Jul 19 2017, 18:15:03) [GCC 6.4.0 20170704] on linux2 Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. >>> from backports.shutil_get_terminal_size import get_terminal_size >>> jpuydt@nox:~$ ipython Python 2.7.13+ (default, Jul 19 2017, 18:15:03) Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. IPython 5.1.0 -- An enhanced Interactive Python. ? -> Introduction and overview of IPython's features. %quickref -> Quick reference. help -> Python's own help system. object? -> Details about 'object', use 'object??' for extra details. In [1]: from backports.shutil_get_terminal_size import get_terminal_size In [2]: so the package seems to work as intended. Since the package is in use in ipython+sagemath since long, I am surprised to have only a single report. There must be something special to your system to explain the issue. The only trace you mention in your mail seems to imply the breakage is because the package is *not* installed -- while it should, since it's a depends. Let me try a wild guess : the problem isn't in my package, but in another one, which fails to declare the dependency and hence gets broken -- in which case we can close that bug report and open another one against the real culprit. Can you check and tell me if I hit the nail? Thanks, Snark on #debian-python