REPL/Interactive Window-style "Press Enter to execute" bar for .ipynb notebooks

[pipegr]

Is the feature request related to a problem?

I enjoy the REPL-like experience in the Interactive Window, where I can type code and press Enter to execute immediately. However, in the .ipynb notebook editor, I can only run code by executing whole cells with Shift+Enter or the Run button.

The solution I'd like

I would like to have a "Press Enter to execute" bar (or similar REPL-style input) available in the .ipynb notebook editor in VS Code, so I can quickly test small code snippets without creating a new cell each time.

Alternatives I've considered

• Using the Interactive Window, but it doesn't support all notebook features (as simple as open/load file).
• Creating many small cells, but this is less convenient than a REPL input.

Additional context

This feature would make the notebook editor more flexible and interactive, especially for quick experimentation.

Thank you!

[amunger]

Are you just looking to execute code against the notebook's active kernel in the IW (#4573)? Or just executing a selection of code within a cell, still within the notebook?

[pipegr]

I made both feature requests (the one here and the other in the vscode python repo #25217), at the end of the day I just want a convenient way to execute a code snippet inside a notebook or the equivalent way of being able to restore an Interactive Window after saving and closing, I think it's faster and more comfortable. I thought about modifying the Interactive Window in a new extension but I think it's unnecessary and didn't find much documentation.

Thank you very much.

[pipegr]

It's something so dumb that it doesn't matter. I just wanted the "Press Enter to execute" box that the IW gives you (along with the right click option to "Run in Interactive Window") but it's not really important. Thank you.