Feature Proposal / Workflow Idea: Jupytext-based Notebook Workflow in Zed

[sergioruiiz91]

Overview

This workflow lets you work with Jupyter notebooks indirectly inside Zed, using Jupytext to sync between text-based formats (.py, .R, .md, .Rmd) and .ipynb notebooks.

It gives you the speed, keybindings, and editor features of Zed while staying fully compatible with the Jupyter ecosystem.

⚠️ Note: This is not a full implementation of .ipynb or .Rmd inside Zed.
It is a practical solution to work with notebooks without leaving Zed for VSCode, RStudio, or Jupyter.

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Features / Benefits

• Create and manage notebooks in multiple formats:
  • Python: .py + .md, .py + .ipynb
  • R: .R + .ipynb, .R + .Rmd
  • Automatic synchronization between paired files.
• Run code directly from Zed:
  • Execute current cell or entire notebook.
  • Supports Python and R REPL integration.
• Full editor advantages:
  • Vim-mode, inlay hints, ligatures, autocomplete.
  • Integrated terminal for tests and scripts.
  • Tasks to quickly create new sessions or sync existing files.
• Round-trip safe: Changes in .py, .R, .md, or .Rmd are reflected in .ipynb and vice versa.
• Version control friendly: Text-based scripts are git-friendly; no large JSON diffs.

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Limitations / Considerations

• Not real-time sync: Syncing is triggered manually via tasks. No auto-save sync yet.
• Zed-only workflow: Designed around Zed’s terminal and task system; may need adjustments for other editors.
• Dependency on Jupytext: Users must have Python and Jupytext installed (virtualenv recommended).
• Minor quirks with paths: Some ZED_FILE / ZED_STEM handling may require attention on new projects.

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Installation / Setup

1. Install Jupytext

Create a virtual environment and install Jupytext:

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install jupytext

2. Configure Zed Tasks

• Copy the tasks JSON (see below) to ~/.config/zed/tasks.json or your project-level tasks.
• Supports creating notebook sessions, syncing files, and running code.

3. Using the Workflow

• Open a .py or .R file in Zed.
• Trigger a “Create & Sync” task to generate paired formats.
• Edit code freely in Zed; use tasks to sync changes to .ipynb or .Rmd.
• Run cells or entire notebooks directly via tasks.

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Potential Improvements

• Auto-sync on save or focus change.
• Parameterized execution of cells via tasks (like %run cell shortcut).
• Support for more languages (Julia, Bash, etc.) using Jupytext-compatible formats.
• Predefined templates for Python and R notebooks.

---

Tasks JSON Example

[
  {
    "label": "Jupytext: Create new SESSION Python notebook (py + md)",
    "command": "read -p 'Name of new Python notebook: ' name && touch \"$name.py\" \"$name.md\" && jupytext --set-formats py,md \"$name.py\" && jupytext --sync \"$name.py\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "Jupytext: Create new SESSION Python notebook (py + ipynb)",
    "command": "read -p 'Name of new Python notebook: ' name && touch \"$name.py\" \"$name.ipynb\" && jupytext --set-formats py,ipynb \"$name.py\" && jupytext --sync \"$name.py\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "Jupytext: Create new SESSION R notebook (r + ipynb)",
    "command": "read -p 'Name of new R notebook: ' name && touch \"$name.R\" \"$name.ipynb\" && jupytext --set-formats R,ipynb \"$name.R\" && jupytext --sync \"$name.R\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "Jupytext: Create new SESSION R notebook (r + rmd)",
    "command": "read -p 'Name of new R notebook: ' name && touch \"$name.R\" \"$name.Rmd\" && jupytext --set-formats R,Rmd \"$name.R\" && jupytext --sync \"$name.R\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "Jupytext: TOTAL SYNC",
    "command": "jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "Python -> MD",
    "command": "touch \"$ZED_STEM.md\"; jupytext --set-formats py,md \"$ZED_FILE\"; jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "MD -> Python",
    "command": "touch \"$ZED_STEM.py\"; jupytext --set-formats py,md \"$ZED_FILE\"; jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "Python -> IPYNB",
    "command": "touch \"$ZED_STEM.ipynb\"; jupytext --set-formats py,ipynb \"$ZED_FILE\"; jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "IPYNB -> Python",
    "command": "touch \"$ZED_STEM.py\"; jupytext --set-formats py,ipynb \"$ZED_FILE\"; jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "R -> RMD",
    "command": "touch \"$ZED_STEM.Rmd\"; jupytext --set-formats R,Rmd \"$ZED_FILE\"; jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "RMD -> R",
    "command": "touch \"$ZED_STEM.R\"; jupytext --set-formats R,Rmd \"$ZED_FILE\"; jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "R -> IPYNB",
    "command": "touch \"$ZED_STEM.ipynb\"; jupytext --set-formats R,ipynb \"$ZED_FILE\"; jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "IPYNB -> R",
    "command": "touch \"$ZED_STEM.R\"; jupytext --set-formats R,ipynb \"$ZED_FILE\"; jupytext --sync \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": true
  },
  {
    "label": "Jupytext: Run current cell (Python)",
    "command": "python -i \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": false
  },
  {
    "label": "Jupytext: Run entire Python notebook",
    "command": "python -i \"$ZED_FILE\"",
    "use_new_terminal": false
  },
  {
    "label": "Run current cell (R)",
    "command": "R --quiet -e \"source('$ZED_FILE', echo=TRUE)\"",
    "use_new_terminal": false
  },
  {
    "label": "Jupytext: Run entire R notebook",
    "command": "R --quiet -e \"source('$ZED_FILE', echo=TRUE)\"",
    "use_new_terminal": false
  }
]

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⚠️ Reminder: This setup uses text-based Jupytext syncing. It does not implement .ipynb or .Rmd as native Zed features, but lets you edit, sync, and run notebooks entirely from Zed.
tasks.json