jupytext

Jupytext is a tool that lets you convert between Jupyter Notebooks (.ipynb) and plain text formats like:

• Python scripts (.py)
• Markdown (.md)
• R (.R)
• Julia (.jl)

What Can You Do with It?

• Edit notebooks in your favorite text editor (e.g., VS Code, Vim, Emacs)

• Version-control notebooks easily using Git (avoids messy JSON diffs)

• Convert .py ↔ .ipynb:

  • From script to notebook:

    jupytext --to notebook script.py

  • From notebook to script:

    jupytext --to py notebook.ipynb

• Pair .ipynb with .py so changes sync in both directions

Bidirectional Sync (“Paired Notebooks”)

You can keep a .ipynb notebook and a .py (or .md, etc.) file synced:

• Edit in Jupyter or in a text editor, and both formats stay up to date.
• Useful for version control (text diffs) while still running interactively in notebooks.

python

# Add this to the top of a Python script for pairing:
# ---
# jupyter:
#   jupytext:
#     formats: ipynb,py
#     text_representation:
#       extension: .py
#       format_name: light
# ---
"""# This becomes a markdown cell in the notebook"""

Then run:

jupytext --sync notebook.ipynb