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notebook_edit

Edit, insert, or delete cells in Jupyter notebooks (.ipynb files) by specifying the cell index and new content. Supports code or markdown cell types for precise modifications.

Instructions

Completely replaces the contents of a specific cell in a Jupyter notebook (.ipynb file) with new source. Jupyter notebooks are interactive documents that combine code, text, and visualizations, commonly used for data analysis and scientific computing. The notebook_path parameter must be an absolute path, not a relative path. The cell_number is 0-indexed. Use edit_mode=insert to add a new cell at the index specified by cell_number. Use edit_mode=delete to delete the cell at the index specified by cell_number.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
cell_numberYesThe index of the cell to edit (0-based)
cell_typeNoThe of the cell (code or markdown). If not specified, it defaults to the current cell type. If using edit_mode=insert, this is required.code
edit_modeNoThe of edit to make (replace, insert, delete). Defaults to replace.replace
new_sourceNoThe new source for the cell
notebook_pathYesThe absolute path to the Jupyter notebook file to edit (must be absolute, not relative)

Implementation Reference

  • The async call method that executes the notebook_edit tool logic: validates parameters, reads and parses the .ipynb JSON, modifies cells according to edit_mode (replace, insert, or delete), handles errors, and writes changes back to the file.
    async def call( self, ctx: MCPContext, **params: Unpack[NotebookEditToolParams], ) -> str: """Execute the tool with the given parameters. Args: ctx: MCP context **params: Tool parameters Returns: Tool result """ tool_ctx = self.create_tool_context(ctx) self.set_tool_context_info(tool_ctx) # Extract parameters notebook_path = params.get("notebook_path") cell_number = params.get("cell_number") new_source = params.get("new_source") cell_type = params.get("cell_type") edit_mode = params.get("edit_mode", "replace") path_validation = self.validate_path(notebook_path) if path_validation.is_error: await tool_ctx.error(path_validation.error_message) return f"Error: {path_validation.error_message}" # Validate edit_mode if edit_mode not in ["replace", "insert", "delete"]: await tool_ctx.error("Edit mode must be replace, insert, or delete") return "Error: Edit mode must be replace, insert, or delete" # In insert mode, cell_type is required if edit_mode == "insert" and cell_type is None: await tool_ctx.error("Cell type is required when using insert mode") return "Error: Cell type is required when using insert mode" # Don't validate new_source for delete mode if edit_mode != "delete" and not new_source: await tool_ctx.error( "New source is required for replace or insert operations" ) return "Error: New source is required for replace or insert operations" await tool_ctx.info( f"Editing notebook: {notebook_path} (cell: {cell_number}, mode: {edit_mode})" ) # Check if path is allowed if not self.is_path_allowed(notebook_path): await tool_ctx.error( f"Access denied - path outside allowed directories: {notebook_path}" ) return f"Error: Access denied - path outside allowed directories: {notebook_path}" try: file_path = Path(notebook_path) if not file_path.exists(): await tool_ctx.error(f"File does not exist: {notebook_path}") return f"Error: File does not exist: {notebook_path}" if not file_path.is_file(): await tool_ctx.error(f"Path is not a file: {notebook_path}") return f"Error: Path is not a file: {notebook_path}" # Check file extension if file_path.suffix.lower() != ".ipynb": await tool_ctx.error(f"File is not a Jupyter notebook: {notebook_path}") return f"Error: File is not a Jupyter notebook: {notebook_path}" # Read and parse the notebook try: with open(file_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f: content = f.read() notebook = json.loads(content) except json.JSONDecodeError: await tool_ctx.error(f"Invalid notebook format: {notebook_path}") return f"Error: Invalid notebook format: {notebook_path}" except UnicodeDecodeError: await tool_ctx.error(f"Cannot read notebook file: {notebook_path}") return f"Error: Cannot read notebook file: {notebook_path}" # Check cell_number is valid cells = notebook.get("cells", []) if edit_mode == "insert": if cell_number > len(cells): await tool_ctx.error( f"Cell number {cell_number} is out of bounds for insert (max: {len(cells)})" ) return f"Error: Cell number {cell_number} is out of bounds for insert (max: {len(cells)})" else: # replace or delete if cell_number >= len(cells): await tool_ctx.error( f"Cell number {cell_number} is out of bounds (max: {len(cells) - 1})" ) return f"Error: Cell number {cell_number} is out of bounds (max: {len(cells) - 1})" # Get notebook language (needed for context but not directly used in this block) _ = ( notebook.get("metadata", {}) .get("language_info", {}) .get("name", "python") ) # Perform the requested operation if edit_mode == "replace": # Get the target cell target_cell = cells[cell_number] # Store previous contents for reporting old_type = target_cell.get("cell_type", "code") old_source = target_cell.get("source", "") # Fix for old_source which might be a list of strings if isinstance(old_source, list): old_source = "".join([str(item) for item in old_source]) # Update source target_cell["source"] = new_source # Update type if specified if cell_type is not None: target_cell["cell_type"] = cell_type # If changing to markdown, remove code-specific fields if cell_type == "markdown": if "outputs" in target_cell: del target_cell["outputs"] if "execution_count" in target_cell: del target_cell["execution_count"] # If code cell, reset execution if target_cell["cell_type"] == "code": target_cell["outputs"] = [] target_cell["execution_count"] = None change_description = f"Replaced cell {cell_number}" if cell_type is not None and cell_type != old_type: change_description += ( f" (changed type from {old_type} to {cell_type})" ) elif edit_mode == "insert": # Create new cell new_cell: dict[str, Any] = { "cell_type": cell_type, "source": new_source, "metadata": {}, } # Add code-specific fields if cell_type == "code": new_cell["outputs"] = [] new_cell["execution_count"] = None # Insert the cell cells.insert(cell_number, new_cell) change_description = ( f"Inserted new {cell_type} cell at position {cell_number}" ) else: # delete # Store deleted cell info for reporting deleted_cell = cells[cell_number] deleted_type = deleted_cell.get("cell_type", "code") # Remove the cell del cells[cell_number] change_description = ( f"Deleted {deleted_type} cell at position {cell_number}" ) # Write the updated notebook back to file with open(file_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f: json.dump(notebook, f, indent=1) await tool_ctx.info( f"Successfully edited notebook: {notebook_path} - {change_description}" ) return ( f"Successfully edited notebook: {notebook_path} - {change_description}" ) except Exception as e: await tool_ctx.error(f"Error editing notebook: {str(e)}") return f"Error editing notebook: {str(e)}"
  • Type definitions using Annotated and TypedDict for tool parameters: notebook_path (absolute path), cell_number (0-based index), new_source, cell_type (code/markdown), edit_mode (replace/insert/delete).
    NotebookPath = Annotated[ str, Field( description="The absolute path to the Jupyter notebook file to edit (must be absolute, not relative)", ), ] CellNumber = Annotated[ int, Field( description="The index of the cell to edit (0-based)", ge=0, ), ] NewSource = Annotated[ str, Field( description="The new source for the cell", default="", ), ] CellType = Annotated[ Literal["code", "markdown"], Field( description="The of the cell (code or markdown). If not specified, it defaults to the current cell type. If using edit_mode=insert, this is required.", default="code", ), ] EditMode = Annotated[ Literal["replace", "insert", "delete"], Field( description="The of edit to make (replace, insert, delete). Defaults to replace.", default="replace", ), ] class NotebookEditToolParams(TypedDict): """Parameters for the NotebookEditTool. Attributes: notebook_path: The absolute path to the Jupyter notebook file to edit (must be absolute, not relative) cell_number: The index of the cell to edit (0-based) new_source: The new source for the cell cell_type: The of the cell (code or markdown). If not specified, it defaults to the current cell type. If using edit_mode=insert, this is required. edit_mode: The of edit to make (replace, insert, delete). Defaults to replace. """ notebook_path: NotebookPath cell_number: CellNumber new_source: NewSource cell_type: CellType edit_mode: EditMode
  • The register method which creates a wrapper function decorated with @mcp_server.tool(name="notebook_edit", description=...) and calls the instance's call method.
    @override def register(self, mcp_server: FastMCP) -> None: """Register this edit notebook tool with the MCP server. Creates a wrapper function with explicitly defined parameters that match the tool's parameter schema and registers it with the MCP server. Args: mcp_server: The FastMCP server instance """ tool_self = self # Create a reference to self for use in the closure @mcp_server.tool(name=self.name, description=self.description) async def notebook_edit( notebook_path: NotebookPath, cell_number: CellNumber, new_source: NewSource, cell_type: CellType, edit_mode: EditMode, ) -> str: ctx = get_context() return await tool_self.call( ctx, notebook_path=notebook_path, cell_number=cell_number, new_source=new_source, cell_type=cell_type, edit_mode=edit_mode, )
  • register_jupyter_tools function: imports and instantiates NoteBookEditTool with PermissionManager, adds to tools list, and registers via ToolRegistry.register_tools(mcp_server, tools).
    def register_jupyter_tools( mcp_server: FastMCP, permission_manager: PermissionManager, ) -> list[BaseTool]: """Register all Jupyter notebook tools with the MCP server. Args: mcp_server: The FastMCP server instance permission_manager: Permission manager for access control Returns: List of registered tools """ tools = get_jupyter_tools(permission_manager) ToolRegistry.register_tools(mcp_server, tools) return tools
  • register_all_tools calls register_jupyter_tools(mcp_server, permission_manager) to register the jupyter tools including notebook_edit.
    # Register all jupyter tools jupyter_tools = register_jupyter_tools(mcp_server, permission_manager) for tool in jupyter_tools: all_tools[tool.name] = tool

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