fenestr 0.1.1

A window into the web — render YouTube videos and websites inside Jupyter Notebook cells

fenestr

fenestr — a window into the web, from inside your notebook.

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Why fenestr?

The name comes from the Latin word fenestra, meaning window. Just as a window lets you see the outside world without leaving the room, fenestr lets you bring the web inside your Jupyter Notebook without ever switching tabs.

Overview

fenestr is a lightweight Python library for data scientists and educators that renders YouTube videos and websites directly inside Jupyter Notebook output cells via iframes. No browser switching. No copy-pasting URLs. Just one function call.

Installation

pip install fenestr

Quick Start

import fenestr

# Auto-detect: YouTube video or website — fenestr figures it out
fenestr.show("https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ")
# → Renders an embedded YouTube player in the cell output

fenestr.show("https://docs.python.org/3/", width=1100, height=700)
# → Renders the Python docs site inline

# Explicit YouTube with autoplay
fenestr.youtube("https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ", autoplay=True)

# Render a YouTube playlist
from fenestr.youtube import render_youtube_playlist
render_youtube_playlist("PLxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx")

# Embed raw HTML
fenestr.html("<h2 style='color: steelblue'>Hello from fenestr!</h2>")

# Class-based API with persistent defaults
f = fenestr.Fenestr(default_width=1000, default_height=600)
f.show("https://docs.python.org/3/")
f.youtube("https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ")

API Reference

Convenience functions

Function	Description
fenestr.show(url, width, height)	Auto-dispatch: YouTube → render_youtube, else → render_site
fenestr.youtube(url, width, height, autoplay)	Embed a YouTube video
fenestr.site(url, width, height)	Embed any HTTPS website
fenestr.html(content, width, height)	Render a raw HTML string

Class-based API

f = fenestr.Fenestr(default_width=800, default_height=450)
f.show(url)      # auto-dispatch
f.youtube(url)   # YouTube only
f.site(url)      # website only
f.html(content)  # raw HTML

Exceptions

Exception	Raised when
InvalidURLError	URL is malformed, not HTTPS, or not a valid YouTube link
UnsupportedPlatformError	Running outside Jupyter, or IPython not installed
RenderError	IFrame display call fails unexpectedly

Known Limitations — iframe Blocking

Many high-traffic websites set the X-Frame-Options: DENY or Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors 'none' HTTP headers, which instruct browsers to refuse to load the page inside an iframe. This is a server-side restriction that fenestr cannot bypass.

The following domains are known to block iframe embedding:

Domain	Blocks iframes?
google.com	Yes
github.com	Yes
stackoverflow.com	Yes
medium.com	Yes
twitter.com	Yes
facebook.com	Yes

fenestr will still attempt to render these URLs and will log a warning. If you see a blank frame, the restriction is server-side and unrelated to fenestr.

Works well with: documentation sites, Wikipedia, news sites, your own hosted pages, and any site that does not set X-Frame-Options.

Development

git clone https://github.com/your-username/fenestr.git
cd fenestr
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"

tox           # run all checks: pytest + flake8 + mypy
tox -e lint   # flake8 only
tox -e type   # mypy only

License

MIT