FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

General Questions

What is the Jupyter extension?

The Jupyter extension is a VS Code extension designed to add a Jupyter notebook coding experience to VS Code for Python and other languages that participate in the Jupyter ecosystem. See https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-toolsai.jupyter for more information.

Why do my notebooks suddenly look different than they used to?

We are re-implementing our Jupyter notebook support to make use of notebook functionality being built into VS Code itself. Therefore, we have been migrating our users over to the new experience. We think you'll love it! But if you find a need to use the original experience, please read the information on the [Native Notebook Support in VS Code]] page to opt out, or opt back in.

Why does the Python extension install the Jupyter extension as a soft dependency?

The Jupyter notebook functionality has been built into the Python extension since 2019. In October of 2020, we separated out the notebook functionality as well as some other functionality that may be generally useful to users beyond Python so that other languages could easily create VS Code notebook experiences without needing a Python install or Python extension dependency. Therefore, while the Jupyter extension does not need the Python extension, the Python extension does make use of the Jupyter extension for some of its functionality. Other language extensions like R and Julia may in the future end up using it as well.

Workarounds for Common or Recent Issues

Why am I not able to run Python cells in a notebook or the interactive window? Or Why isn't my Python kernel starting?

Please see: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-jupyter/wiki/Troubleshooting-Jupyter-issues-in-the-Python-Interactive-Window-or-Notebook-Editor