Ability to make Python runnable code blocks

[limitcracker]

I would like to make some python blocks as exercises to my students. Below or in another file to have test cases for those exercises that will provide score to the student. Can this be done with the current versions or needs tweak for python runnable blocks?

[alagrede]

Hi @limitcracker,

Thanks for your message. That sounds like a great use case!
Currently, Znote doesn’t natively run Python code blocks, but you can work around it by using a custom JavaScript function that loads a Python block and executes it as if you were in a terminal.

Here’s a basic example of how it could work:

🐍 Python block (exercise)

```python blockName=py;
print("Hello from Python")

🧠 Custom JS function to run Python

async function runPy(sourceCode) {
  _fs.writeFileSync(__dirname + 'pyscript-example.py', sourceCode);
  const { stdout, stderr } = await exec(`python3 "${__dirname}pyscript-example.py"`);
  console.log(stdout);
}

▶️ Execute Python from a code block

await runPy(loadBlock('py'));

You can define runPy once in the custom function editor, and then reuse it across any notebook.
This approach could let you build small Python exercises and write JS tests or assertions around them to score students.

Let me know if you'd like help setting this up or automating the test flow — I'd be happy to guide you further!

Best,
Anthony

[limitcracker]

Thanks a lot for the workaround! Does the feature request I mentioned have a chance to be implemented with an ETA?

[alagrede]

Hi @limitcracker 👋,
Thanks for the suggestion! At the moment I don’t see enough demand to justify implementing Python execution directly in the app. Supporting it properly would require handling things like virtual environments and the full tooling that Python developers usually expect.
That said, I’ll keep an eye on interest in this feature and might revisit it in the future.
Thanks for your understanding!