diff --git a/IPython/core/display.py b/IPython/core/display.py
index 18bfaa6..490435a 100644
--- a/IPython/core/display.py
+++ b/IPython/core/display.py
@@ -987,9 +987,9 @@ class Image(DisplayObject):
         """shortcut for returning metadata with shape information, if defined"""
         try:
             b64_data = b2a_base64(self.data).decode('ascii')
-        except TypeError:
+        except TypeError as e:
             raise FileNotFoundError(
-                "No such file or directory: '%s'" % (self.data))
+                "No such file or directory: '%s'" % (self.data)) from e
         md = {}
         if self.metadata:
             md.update(self.metadata)
diff --git a/IPython/core/page.py b/IPython/core/page.py
index 8a8f14f..d039925 100644
--- a/IPython/core/page.py
+++ b/IPython/core/page.py
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ def _detect_screen_size(screen_lines_def):
         term_flags = termios.tcgetattr(sys.stdout)
     except termios.error as err:
         # can fail on Linux 2.6, pager_page will catch the TypeError
-        raise TypeError('termios error: {0}'.format(err))
+        raise TypeError('termios error: {0}'.format(err)) from err
 
     try:
         scr = curses.initscr()
diff --git a/IPython/core/pylabtools.py b/IPython/core/pylabtools.py
index ef1539a..3af899e 100644
--- a/IPython/core/pylabtools.py
+++ b/IPython/core/pylabtools.py
@@ -200,8 +200,8 @@ def _reshow_nbagg_figure(fig):
     """reshow an nbagg figure"""
     try:
         reshow = fig.canvas.manager.reshow
-    except AttributeError:
-        raise NotImplementedError()
+    except AttributeError as e:
+        raise NotImplementedError() from e
     else:
         reshow()
 
diff --git a/IPython/core/tests/test_pylabtools.py b/IPython/core/tests/test_pylabtools.py
index 7b64aab..75b103f 100644
--- a/IPython/core/tests/test_pylabtools.py
+++ b/IPython/core/tests/test_pylabtools.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ def _check_pil_jpeg_bytes():
         img.save(buf, 'jpeg')
     except Exception as e:
         ename = e.__class__.__name__
-        raise SkipTest("PIL can't write JPEG to BytesIO: %s: %s" % (ename, e))
+        raise SkipTest("PIL can't write JPEG to BytesIO: %s: %s" % (ename, e)) from e
 
 @dec.skip_without("PIL.Image")
 def test_figure_to_jpeg():
diff --git a/IPython/core/tests/test_run.py b/IPython/core/tests/test_run.py
index 2974da4..9634913 100644
--- a/IPython/core/tests/test_run.py
+++ b/IPython/core/tests/test_run.py
@@ -241,8 +241,8 @@ class TestMagicRunSimple(tt.TempFileMixin):
         if sys.platform == 'win32':
             try:
                 import win32api
-            except ImportError:
-                raise SkipTest("Test requires pywin32")
+            except ImportError as e:
+                raise SkipTest("Test requires pywin32") from e
         src = ("class A(object):\n"
                "    def __del__(self):\n"
                "        print('object A deleted')\n"
diff --git a/IPython/extensions/storemagic.py b/IPython/extensions/storemagic.py
index 51b79ad..9102ea1 100644
--- a/IPython/extensions/storemagic.py
+++ b/IPython/extensions/storemagic.py
@@ -126,13 +126,13 @@ class StoreMagics(Magics):
         if 'd' in opts:
             try:
                 todel = args[0]
-            except IndexError:
-                raise UsageError('You must provide the variable to forget')
+            except IndexError as e:
+                raise UsageError('You must provide the variable to forget') from e
             else:
                 try:
                     del db['autorestore/' + todel]
-                except:
-                    raise UsageError("Can't delete variable '%s'" % todel)
+                except BaseException as e:
+                    raise UsageError("Can't delete variable '%s'" % todel) from e
         # reset
         elif 'z' in opts:
             for k in db.keys('autorestore/*'):
@@ -203,8 +203,8 @@ class StoreMagics(Magics):
                     name = arg
                     try:
                         cmd = ip.alias_manager.retrieve_alias(name)
-                    except ValueError:
-                        raise UsageError("Unknown variable '%s'" % name)
+                    except ValueError as e:
+                        raise UsageError("Unknown variable '%s'" % name) from e
 
                     staliases = db.get('stored_aliases',{})
                     staliases[name] = cmd
diff --git a/IPython/lib/clipboard.py b/IPython/lib/clipboard.py
index 316a8ab..95a6b0a 100644
--- a/IPython/lib/clipboard.py
+++ b/IPython/lib/clipboard.py
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ def win32_clipboard_get():
     """
     try:
         import win32clipboard
-    except ImportError:
+    except ImportError as e:
         raise TryNext("Getting text from the clipboard requires the pywin32 "
-                      "extensions: http://sourceforge.net/projects/pywin32/")
+                      "extensions: http://sourceforge.net/projects/pywin32/") from e
     win32clipboard.OpenClipboard()
     try:
         text = win32clipboard.GetClipboardData(win32clipboard.CF_UNICODETEXT)
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ def win32_clipboard_get():
         try:
             text = win32clipboard.GetClipboardData(win32clipboard.CF_TEXT)
             text = py3compat.cast_unicode(text, py3compat.DEFAULT_ENCODING)
-        except (TypeError, win32clipboard.error):
-            raise ClipboardEmpty
+        except (TypeError, win32clipboard.error) as e:
+            raise ClipboardEmpty from e
     finally:
         win32clipboard.CloseClipboard()
     return text
@@ -52,15 +52,15 @@ def tkinter_clipboard_get():
     """
     try:
         from tkinter import Tk, TclError 
-    except ImportError:
-        raise TryNext("Getting text from the clipboard on this platform requires tkinter.")
+    except ImportError as e:
+        raise TryNext("Getting text from the clipboard on this platform requires tkinter.") from e
         
     root = Tk()
     root.withdraw()
     try:
         text = root.clipboard_get()
-    except TclError:
-        raise ClipboardEmpty
+    except TclError as e:
+        raise ClipboardEmpty from e
     finally:
         root.destroy()
     text = py3compat.cast_unicode(text, py3compat.DEFAULT_ENCODING)
diff --git a/IPython/lib/deepreload.py b/IPython/lib/deepreload.py
index bd8c01b..ddfa1bc 100644
--- a/IPython/lib/deepreload.py
+++ b/IPython/lib/deepreload.py
@@ -97,21 +97,21 @@ def get_parent(globals, level):
     for x in range(level, 1, -1):
         try:
             dot = name.rindex('.', 0, dot)
-        except ValueError:
+        except ValueError as e:
             raise ValueError("attempted relative import beyond top-level "
-                             "package")
+                             "package") from e
     name = name[:dot]
 
     try:
         parent = sys.modules[name]
-    except:
+    except BaseException as e:
         if orig_level < 1:
             warn("Parent module '%.200s' not found while handling absolute "
                  "import" % name)
             parent = None
         else:
             raise SystemError("Parent module '%.200s' not loaded, cannot "
-                              "perform relative import" % name)
+                              "perform relative import" % name) from e
 
     # We expect, but can't guarantee, if parent != None, that:
     # - parent.__name__ == name
@@ -292,9 +292,9 @@ def deep_reload_hook(m):
     else:
         try:
             parent = sys.modules[name[:dot]]
-        except KeyError:
+        except KeyError as e:
             modules_reloading.clear()
-            raise ImportError("reload(): parent %.200s not in sys.modules" % name[:dot])
+            raise ImportError("reload(): parent %.200s not in sys.modules" % name[:dot]) from e
         subname = name[dot+1:]
         path = getattr(parent, "__path__", None)
 
diff --git a/IPython/lib/display.py b/IPython/lib/display.py
index d24f455..4f28010 100644
--- a/IPython/lib/display.py
+++ b/IPython/lib/display.py
@@ -182,9 +182,9 @@ class Audio(DisplayObject):
 
         try:
             max_abs_value = float(max([abs(x) for x in data]))
-        except TypeError:
+        except TypeError as e:
             raise TypeError('Only lists of mono audio are '
-                'supported if numpy is not installed')
+                'supported if numpy is not installed') from e
 
         normalization_factor = Audio._get_normalization_factor(max_abs_value, normalize)
         scaled = array.array('h', [int(x / normalization_factor * 32767) for x in data])
diff --git a/IPython/lib/inputhook.py b/IPython/lib/inputhook.py
index 62f840d..86077d0 100644
--- a/IPython/lib/inputhook.py
+++ b/IPython/lib/inputhook.py
@@ -281,9 +281,9 @@ class InputHookManager(object):
         
         try:
             gui_hook = self.guihooks[gui]
-        except KeyError:
+        except KeyError as e:
             e = "Invalid GUI request {!r}, valid ones are: {}"
-            raise ValueError(e.format(gui, ', '.join(self.guihooks)))
+            raise ValueError(e.format(gui, ', '.join(self.guihooks))) from e
         self._current_gui = gui
 
         app = gui_hook.enable(app)
diff --git a/IPython/lib/inputhookglut.py b/IPython/lib/inputhookglut.py
index 9fc29bd..e866ebd 100644
--- a/IPython/lib/inputhookglut.py
+++ b/IPython/lib/inputhookglut.py
@@ -61,10 +61,10 @@ if sys.platform == 'darwin':
             doc='glutCheckLoop(  ) -> None',
             argNames=(),
             )
-    except AttributeError:
+    except AttributeError as e:
         raise RuntimeError(
             '''Your glut implementation does not allow interactive sessions. '''
-            '''Consider installing freeglut.''')
+            '''Consider installing freeglut.''') from e
     glutMainLoopEvent = glutCheckLoop
 elif glut.HAVE_FREEGLUT:
     glutMainLoopEvent = glut.glutMainLoopEvent
diff --git a/IPython/lib/latextools.py b/IPython/lib/latextools.py
index cbcc7d9..9561bd7 100644
--- a/IPython/lib/latextools.py
+++ b/IPython/lib/latextools.py
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ def latex_to_png(s, encode=False, backend=None, wrap=False, color='Black',
                 try:
                     color = "RGB {}".format(" ".join([str(int(x, 16)) for x in
                                                       textwrap.wrap(color[1:], 2)]))
-                except ValueError:
-                    raise ValueError('Invalid color specification {}.'.format(color))
+                except ValueError as e:
+                    raise ValueError('Invalid color specification {}.'.format(color)) from e
             else:
                 raise ValueError('Invalid color specification {}.'.format(color))
     else:
diff --git a/IPython/paths.py b/IPython/paths.py
index bbe3d5c..5334429 100644
--- a/IPython/paths.py
+++ b/IPython/paths.py
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ def locate_profile(profile='default'):
     from IPython.core.profiledir import ProfileDir, ProfileDirError
     try:
         pd = ProfileDir.find_profile_dir_by_name(get_ipython_dir(), profile)
-    except ProfileDirError:
+    except ProfileDirError as e:
         # IOError makes more sense when people are expecting a path
-        raise IOError("Couldn't find profile %r" % profile)
+        raise IOError("Couldn't find profile %r" % profile) from e
     return pd.location
diff --git a/IPython/sphinxext/custom_doctests.py b/IPython/sphinxext/custom_doctests.py
index 7678fd6..75c2a25 100644
--- a/IPython/sphinxext/custom_doctests.py
+++ b/IPython/sphinxext/custom_doctests.py
@@ -107,10 +107,10 @@ def float_doctest(sphinx_shell, args, input_lines, found, submitted):
         try:
             rtol = float(args[2])
             atol = float(args[3])
-        except IndexError:
+        except IndexError as e:
             e = ("Both `rtol` and `atol` must be specified "
                  "if either are specified: {0}".format(args))
-            raise IndexError(e)
+            raise IndexError(e) from e
 
     try:
         submitted = str_to_array(submitted)
diff --git a/IPython/terminal/magics.py b/IPython/terminal/magics.py
index 3c7e82b..9e6f647 100644
--- a/IPython/terminal/magics.py
+++ b/IPython/terminal/magics.py
@@ -181,8 +181,8 @@ class TerminalMagics(Magics):
             else:
                 error('Could not get text from the clipboard.')
             return
-        except ClipboardEmpty:
-            raise UsageError("The clipboard appears to be empty")
+        except ClipboardEmpty as e:
+            raise UsageError("The clipboard appears to be empty") from e
 
         # By default, echo back to terminal unless quiet mode is requested
         if 'q' not in opts:
diff --git a/IPython/terminal/pt_inputhooks/glut.py b/IPython/terminal/pt_inputhooks/glut.py
index d26f91c..835aadf 100644
--- a/IPython/terminal/pt_inputhooks/glut.py
+++ b/IPython/terminal/pt_inputhooks/glut.py
@@ -44,10 +44,10 @@ if sys.platform == 'darwin':
             doc='glutCheckLoop(  ) -> None',
             argNames=(),
             )
-    except AttributeError:
+    except AttributeError as e:
         raise RuntimeError(
             '''Your glut implementation does not allow interactive sessions. '''
-            '''Consider installing freeglut.''')
+            '''Consider installing freeglut.''') from e
     glutMainLoopEvent = glutCheckLoop
 elif glut.HAVE_FREEGLUT:
     glutMainLoopEvent = glut.glutMainLoopEvent
diff --git a/IPython/testing/tools.py b/IPython/testing/tools.py
index 0db926a..75a9525 100644
--- a/IPython/testing/tools.py
+++ b/IPython/testing/tools.py
@@ -443,8 +443,8 @@ def fake_input(inputs):
     def mock_input(prompt=''):
         try:
             return next(it)
-        except StopIteration:
-            raise EOFError('No more inputs given')
+        except StopIteration as e:
+            raise EOFError('No more inputs given') from e
 
     return patch('builtins.input', mock_input)
 
diff --git a/IPython/utils/_process_win32.py b/IPython/utils/_process_win32.py
index 6d05bda..86d8100 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/_process_win32.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/_process_win32.py
@@ -75,8 +75,8 @@ def _find_cmd(cmd):
     """Find the full path to a .bat or .exe using the win32api module."""
     try:
         from win32api import SearchPath
-    except ImportError:
-        raise ImportError('you need to have pywin32 installed for this to work')
+    except ImportError as e:
+        raise ImportError('you need to have pywin32 installed for this to work') from e
     else:
         PATH = os.environ['PATH']
         extensions = ['.exe', '.com', '.bat', '.py']
diff --git a/IPython/utils/coloransi.py b/IPython/utils/coloransi.py
index bc8e837..e331421 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/coloransi.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/coloransi.py
@@ -176,9 +176,9 @@ class ColorSchemeTable(dict):
             scheme_test = scheme.lower()
         try:
             scheme_idx = valid_schemes.index(scheme_test)
-        except ValueError:
+        except ValueError as e:
             raise ValueError('Unrecognized color scheme: ' + scheme + \
-                  '\nValid schemes: '+str(scheme_names).replace("'', ",''))
+                  '\nValid schemes: '+str(scheme_names).replace("'', ",'')) from e
         else:
             active = scheme_names[scheme_idx]
             self.active_scheme_name = active
diff --git a/IPython/utils/importstring.py b/IPython/utils/importstring.py
index c8e1840..c7a9cce 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/importstring.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/importstring.py
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ def import_item(name):
         module = __import__(package, fromlist=[obj])
         try:
             pak = getattr(module, obj)
-        except AttributeError:
-            raise ImportError('No module named %s' % obj)
+        except AttributeError as e:
+            raise ImportError('No module named %s' % obj) from e
         return pak
     else:
         # called with un-dotted string
diff --git a/IPython/utils/ipstruct.py b/IPython/utils/ipstruct.py
index e2b3e8f..376fbbe 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/ipstruct.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/ipstruct.py
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ class Struct(dict):
         try:
             self.__setitem__(key, value)
         except KeyError as e:
-            raise AttributeError(e)
+            raise AttributeError(e) from e
 
     def __getattr__(self, key):
         """Get an attr by calling :meth:`dict.__getitem__`.
@@ -145,8 +145,8 @@ class Struct(dict):
         """
         try:
             result = self[key]
-        except KeyError:
-            raise AttributeError(key)
+        except KeyError as e:
+            raise AttributeError(key) from e
         else:
             return result
 
diff --git a/IPython/utils/path.py b/IPython/utils/path.py
index 0fb6144..3f0e217 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/path.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/path.py
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ if sys.platform == 'win32':
         """
         try:
             import ctypes
-        except ImportError:
-            raise ImportError('you need to have ctypes installed for this to work')
+        except ImportError as e: 
+            raise ImportError('you need to have ctypes installed for this to work') from e
         _GetLongPathName = ctypes.windll.kernel32.GetLongPathNameW
         _GetLongPathName.argtypes = [ctypes.c_wchar_p, ctypes.c_wchar_p,
             ctypes.c_uint ]
diff --git a/IPython/utils/shimmodule.py b/IPython/utils/shimmodule.py
index b70ac13..cc05503 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/shimmodule.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/shimmodule.py
@@ -90,5 +90,5 @@ class ShimModule(types.ModuleType):
         name = "%s.%s" % (self._mirror, key)
         try:
             return import_item(name)
-        except ImportError:
-            raise AttributeError(key)
+        except ImportError as e:
+            raise AttributeError(key) from e
diff --git a/docs/sphinxext/github.py b/docs/sphinxext/github.py
index dcc0250..a24b5a6 100644
--- a/docs/sphinxext/github.py
+++ b/docs/sphinxext/github.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def make_link_node(rawtext, app, type, slug, options):
         if not base.endswith('/'):
             base += '/'
     except AttributeError as err:
-        raise ValueError('github_project_url configuration value is not set (%s)' % str(err))
+        raise ValueError('github_project_url configuration value is not set (%s)' % str(err)) from err
 
     ref = base + type + '/' + slug + '/'
     set_classes(options)
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ def ghcommit_role(name, rawtext, text, lineno, inliner, options={}, content=[]):
         if not base.endswith('/'):
             base += '/'
     except AttributeError as err:
-        raise ValueError('github_project_url configuration value is not set (%s)' % str(err))
+        raise ValueError('github_project_url configuration value is not set (%s)' % str(err)) from err
 
     ref = base + text
     node = nodes.reference(rawtext, text[:6], refuri=ref, **options)
diff --git a/tools/gh_api.py b/tools/gh_api.py
index 094562d..d03495b 100644
--- a/tools/gh_api.py
+++ b/tools/gh_api.py
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ class Obj(dict):
     def __getattr__(self, name):
         try:
             return self[name]
-        except KeyError:
-            raise AttributeError(name)
+        except KeyError as e:
+            raise AttributeError(name) from e
 
     def __setattr__(self, name, val):
         self[name] = val