# Scripts window
The Scripts window is IDA's home for running and managing scripts. It is a dockable window organized into four vertical tabs — **Snippets** (stored in the IDB), **Recent scripts** (external files), **Examples** and **Search** — each backed by its own tree of scripts and a shared editor pane.
## Overview
The window is split into three areas:
* the **vertical tab strip** on the left, selecting the active source (Snippets, Recent scripts, Examples, Search);
* the **source tree**, listing the scripts of the active tab — with a **Last run** column showing when each entry was last executed (hover for the absolute timestamp);
* the **editor pane**, showing the selected script, together with a language indicator and run controls.
The dock title reflects the active tab (for example `Scripts - Snippets`), and the active tab is remembered across desktop save/restore.
## Invocation
* Open it from the **View** menu, or press Alt+F9 ([Recent scripts](/9.4/ida-actions/recentscripts.md)) to open it directly on the **Recent scripts** tab.
* The window is dockable; it can be tabbed or floated like any other IDA widget.
## Tabs
### Snippets
Snippets are short scripts stored inside the IDB, so they travel with the database. They are editable in place, and the tab remembers the last-selected snippet and a per-IDB tab size.
When no database is loaded, the tab works in **scratch** mode, backed by an implicit default snippet, so snippets can still be edited and run.
#### Managing snippets
The snippet toolbar / context menu provides:
* [Clone](/9.4/ida-actions/snippetsclonecurrent.md) — duplicate the selected snippet;
* [Import from file...](/9.4/ida-actions/snippetsimportcurrent.md) / [Export to file...](/9.4/ida-actions/snippetsexportcurrent.md) — move snippets to and from disk;
* [Run current...](/9.4/ida-actions/snippetsruncurrent.md) — execute the selected snippet;
* [Change tab size...](/9.4/ida-actions/snippetschangetabsize.md) — set the editor's tab width.
### Recent scripts
The external script files you have run, tracked by their path on disk. Each row carries a language icon (Python or IDC), and single-child folder chains are coalesced so the tree stays shallow. Entries are shown read-only in the editor; from here you can run them or [import them as snippets](#import-as-snippet).
### Examples
The IDAPython examples shipped with IDA, browsable directly inside the window. Like Recent scripts, entries are read-only and can be run or imported as snippets.
### Search
Searches across all three sources — Snippets, Recent scripts and Examples — at once. Selecting a hit previews it, with the matching line highlighted in the editor.
Double-clicking a hit (or pressing Enter) jumps to its native tab, scrolled to the matched line.
## Running scripts
A selected entry can be run by pressing Enter, double-clicking it, or using the **Run** control. The **Last run** column records when each entry was last executed. Snippets run with or without a database (see scratch mode above).
## The editor
The editor shows the selected script. Snippets are editable; Recent scripts and Examples are shown read-only. A language indicator shows the script's interpreter (Python or IDC) — editable for snippets, fixed for the other sources. Press Ctrl+Space for auto-completion while editing; the completion list is dismissed with Esc, and pressing Ctrl+Space again brings it back.
## Import as snippet
From the **Recent scripts** or **Examples** tab, [Import as snippet](/9.4/ida-actions/scriptsimportassnippet.md) copies the selected script into a new snippet and selects it on the **Snippets** tab, so it can be edited and kept with the database.
## Configuration
## Related topics
* [IDAPython examples](/9.4/developer/idapython/idapython-examples.md)
* [IDC examples](/9.4/developer/idc/idc-examples.md)
* [Script command...](/9.4/ida-actions/executeline.md) — the command-line input line at the bottom of the IDA window.
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