Feature request: Sync with Github Gist / Repo

[triptych]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
I wish I could "back up" my notebook on github gist. Meaning if there was some way to serialize a notebook into a JSON format or some other format that could be synchronized with a github gist or repo.

Describe the solution you'd like
Export to Gist button - requires you to link to your github account. Creates a gist with all your cells, etc.
Import from Gist button - again requires you to link the notebook to a Github url - updates the notebook with the changes from the gist ( shows as a new entry in the notebook's history )

Describe alternatives you've considered
Manually exporting a notebook then uploading as a github repo -- very tedious and has lots of extra "stuff" that one doesn't need when just wanting to keep an archive or edit in a plain text editor.

Additional context
Add any other context or screenshots about the feature request here.

[CobusT]

Is the request here to be able to back it up, or to also restore it, or even synchronize it? Trying to understand the 'why' behind the request. I can infer a few things here:
a) Wanting a backup outside of Observable as a future-proof copy of your work
b) Wanting to use create notebooks outside of Observable and use Observable for rendering and sharing
c) ...

Can you please elaborate a bit what the main driver for this request is?
Thanks!

[triptych]

The main driver is to be able to create notebooks outside of Observable in a format that is "exchangeable". A way to export and import Observable notebooks outside the current implementation.

[bmschmidt]

Just want to +1 this, as an ideal version of a feature that would also be partially realized by #209. I outlined my current use case on Observable Forums and was pointed to this issue.

The situation is this. I have a course textbook written in markdown that includes code blocks in R and Python. I can currently compile that into a Jupyter notebook or an RStudio document; I’d like to also be able to publish chapters to observable with js code blocks turned into cells, and markdown or HTML rendered as is.

In my ideal world I’d be depositing some kind of JSON manifest of cells, much like an .ipynb file, into a git repo that would instantly be the live version of the observable notebook. I anticipate the editing flow would be one-way, with observablehq downstream from the editing.

Some kind of two-way editing is possible with RMarkdown and with IPython JSON; would love to be able to use Observable in some of the same workflows.

[hellonearthis]

I do like this idea.

A GISTS might be too small due to the archiving of file attachments (GISTS have a 10MB limit). A REPO would work better.

[tomlarkworthy]

I made this that backups to GitHub (need to train my copilot) https://observablehq.com/@tomlarkworthy/github-backups