universal-notebook-mcp

Run Jupyter notebooks from any AI editor. Gives your AI assistant full access to read, edit, and execute .ipynb files with live kernel output — without needing to open JupyterLab.

Works in Antigravity, Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and any MCP-compatible tool. Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Quick start

1. Install Python 3.10+

Skip this step if you already have Python 3.10 or later (python --version to check).

winget install Python.Python.3.11

brew install python@3.11

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install python3.11 python3.11-pip

# Fedora / RHEL
sudo dnf install python3.11

# Arch
sudo pacman -S python

2. Install the package

pip install universal-notebook-mcp

On macOS/Linux, if pip maps to Python 3.9, use pip3.11 instead. On Windows, pip from the Python 3.11 installer works directly.

Verify it installed:

nb-mcp --help

3. Add to your editor

Pick your editor below and paste the config. Replace the path with the folder that contains your notebooks.

⚠️ Use the real absolute path — MCP clients pass arguments as literal strings and do not expand editor variables like ${workspaceFolder}.

Windows paths: use forward slashes or escape backslashes: C:/Users/you/notebooks or C:\\Users\\you\\notebooks

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notebook": {
      "command": "nb-mcp",
      "args": ["--workspace-root", "/absolute/path/to/notebooks"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notebook": {
      "command": "nb-mcp",
      "args": ["--workspace-root", "/absolute/path/to/notebooks"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notebook": {
      "command": "nb-mcp",
      "args": ["--workspace-root", "/absolute/path/to/notebooks"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "notebook": {
      "command": "nb-mcp",
      "args": ["--workspace-root", "/absolute/path/to/notebooks"]
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add notebook -- nb-mcp --workspace-root /absolute/path/to/notebooks

4. Reload your editor and go

Your AI can now work with notebooks. Try:

"List the cells in my notebook" "Run cell 3 and show me the output" "Fix the error in cell 5 and re-run it"

What it can do

Kernel state persists across calls — variables and imports from one cell are available in the next, just like a normal Jupyter session.

Edits are checkpointed — every edit creates a timestamped backup (.checkpoint_<timestamp>.ipynb) before writing, so you can always roll back.

Troubleshooting

nb-mcp: command not found (or 'nb-mcp' is not recognized on Windows)

The install directory isn't on your PATH. Find where pip installed it:

# macOS / Linux
python3 -m site --user-scripts   # or: which nb-mcp after activating your venv

# Windows (PowerShell)
python -c "import sys; print(sys.prefix + r'\Scripts')"

Then either use the full path in your MCP config:

"command": "C:\\Users\\you\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\Python\\Python311\\Scripts\\nb-mcp.exe"

Or add the Scripts/bin directory to your PATH permanently.

ModuleNotFoundError when running a cell

The kernel doesn't have your packages installed. Register your environment:

pip install ipykernel
python -m ipykernel install --user --name myenv --display-name "My Env"

Then restart the kernel via notebook_restart_kernel or ask your AI to switch kernels.

List available kernels:

jupyter kernelspec list

Windows: path format in MCP config

Both of these work:

"C:/Users/you/notebooks"       ✓ forward slashes
"C:\\Users\\you\\notebooks"    ✓ escaped backslashes

Avoid raw backslashes — they break JSON:

"C:\Users\you\notebooks"       ✗ invalid JSON

git clone https://github.com/your-org/universal-notebook-mcp.git
cd universal-notebook-mcp

# macOS / Linux
pip3.11 install -e ".[dev]"

# Windows (PowerShell)
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"

python -m pytest                          # all tests
python -m pytest -m "not integration"     # unit tests only (no kernel needed)
python -m pytest -m integration -v        # integration tests (needs ipykernel)

make test        # unit only
make test-all    # unit + integration
make coverage    # coverage report
make lint        # ruff linter

src/universal_notebook_mcp/
  server.py           ← MCP tool surface (17 tools, FastMCP, stdio)
  notebook_adapter.py ← nbformat cell CRUD + checkpoint backups
  kernel_session.py   ← jupyter_client async kernel lifecycle
  notebook_runner.py  ← cell execution + output capture

tests/
  conftest.py         ← shared fixtures (mocked kernel, workspace)
  fixtures/           ← simple.ipynb, pipeline.ipynb, error.ipynb
  test_*.py           ← 125 tests (116 unit + 9 integration)

Security

All notebook paths are sandboxed to --workspace-root. Paths that escape it (e.g. ../secret.ipynb) or that aren't .ipynb files are rejected with an error.

License

MIT