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Jupyter Book
What it is
Jupyter Book creates computational narratives that can be reused and published on the web, as websites, PDFs, or other formats. The project is aimed at researchers, educators, and data scientists. Authors can build with MyST Markdown and Jupyter notebooks, adding cross-references, citations, figures, tables, equations, and executable code blocks. Code can run during a build to generate figures, tables, and values, but execution is off by default. Pages may also include interactive widgets, use a remote kernel for browser-based code execution, or provide launch buttons for Binder and JupyterHub. Hosting options include GitHub Pages, Read the Docs, GitLab Pages, Netlify, CurveNote, and custom web servers. Plugins can supply custom directives, roles, and content transforms. The open-source project is available through PyPI, conda-forge, and npm, with several installation methods. Jupyter Book 2 is built on the MyST Document Engine and still has improvements to make; version 1 is mostly in maintenance mode. Some version 2 features remain unavailable, and custom Sphinx extensions are not compatible with it.
For and against
For
- Free and open source.
- Builds websites, PDFs, and other formats.
- Supports notebooks, citations, equations, and executable code.
- Offers multiple hosting and installation options.
Against
- Jupyter Book 2 still has improvements to make.
- Custom Sphinx extensions are incompatible with version 2.
- Version 1 is mostly in maintenance mode.
- Some version 2 features are not yet available.
The verdict
Jupyter Book offers a flexible path from notebooks and Markdown to published computational narratives. Check version 2's listed gaps and compatibility limits if your book relies on older Sphinx tools.
Who it suits
Jupyter Book suits researchers, educators, and data scientists who want to publish computational material in web or document formats. It also fits authors who need interactive content or reproducible code in their publications.
Plans and prices
Jupyter Book
Open source project · installable from PyPI, conda-forge, and npm
Read 11 Oct 2026 · jupyterbook.org
On the record
- Audience
- The project describes itself as built for and by researchers, educators, and data scientists.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Authoring
- Jupyter Book 2 supports MyST Markdown features including directives, cross-references, citations, figures, tables, equations, executable code blocks, tabs, grids, and cards.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Code execution
- Books can run code at build time, cache outputs, and include computational results such as figures, tables, and values.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Compatibility limit
- Custom Sphinx extensions are not compatible with Jupyter Book 2, and the upgrade guide says books using Sphinx’s `conf.py` directly cannot be automatically upgraded.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Extensibility
- Jupyter Book uses the MyST plugin system, which supports directives, roles, and transforms; plugins can be written in JavaScript or another language following the MyST plugin protocol.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Formats
- A book can be built as a website, PDF, or other formats and deployed to the web.jupyterbook.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Jupyter Book is available through PyPI, conda-forge, and npm, with installation instructions for pip, mamba or conda, pipx, uv, pixi, and npm.jupyterbook.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Install options
- The install guide lists PyPI, conda-forge, and npm, with installation methods including pip, mamba or conda, pipx, uv, pixi, and npm.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The FAQ lists GitHub Pages, ReadTheDocs, Netlify, Vercel, CurveNote, and custom hosting as deployment options.jupyterbook.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Interactive computing
- The documentation describes interactive widgets, in-page code execution through Thebe backed by a remote kernel, and launch buttons for Binder or JupyterHub.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Jupyter Book 1 status
- The Jupyter Book 1 stack is mostly in maintenance mode, with no active development planned for its tools and limited commitments to review community contributions.jupyterbook.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Jupyter Book 2
- Jupyter Book 2 is a rewrite built on the MyST Document Engine rather than Sphinx.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Jupyter Book 2 status
- Jupyter Book 2 is built on the MyST Document Engine and the project says it still has many improvements to be made.jupyterbook.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Known limitations
- The Jupyter Book 2 FAQ lists execution feature parity, editable Thebe cells, Sphinx autodoc-style API documentation, and exporting notebook outputs as MyST as not yet available.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Local preview
- The `jupyter book start` command runs a built-in server that serves the book locally and updates as content changes.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Open source community
- Jupyter Book is developed by the Executable Books community, which welcomes discussion, feedback, and contributions.jupyterbook.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Publishing integrations
- The publishing guide lists GitHub Pages, Read the Docs, GitLab Pages, Netlify, Curvenote, and custom web servers as hosting options.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Jupyter Book creates computational narratives from notebooks or Markdown, executes code, and publishes the results to the web.jupyterbook.org · read 11 Oct 2026
