IPYNB File Format (.ipynb)
An IPYNB file is a Jupyter notebook: a JSON document that interleaves markdown text and code cells with the stored output of each cell's last run, including rendered plots and printed results.
IPYNB at a glance#
| Full name | Jupyter Notebook |
|---|---|
| File extension | .ipynb |
| Category | Documents |
| Developer | Project Jupyter |
| First released | 2011 |
| MIME types | application/vnd.jupyter |
| Compression | Uncompressed |
| Specification | Jupyter Notebook Format (nbformat) |
| FileFlip support | FileFlip reads and writes this format |
What a .ipynb file can hold#
These are the things a IPYNB file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.
| Embedded metadata | Yes |
|---|---|
| Selectable text | Yes |
| Human readable | Yes |
Strengths and limitations of IPYNB#
What IPYNB does well
- Keeps code, its output, and explanatory text together in one file, so the notebook is both a program and its own report
- Stores rendered outputs, such as plots, tables, and printed values, inside the JSON, so the notebook shows results without being re-run
- Carries cell-level metadata, like which kernel and language produced it, alongside the content itself
Where IPYNB falls short
- Converting it to a document format flattens the notebook into static text and images, so the result can no longer be executed or edited as code
- Diffing and merging in git is painful, because outputs and execution counts change the underlying JSON on every run, even when the code itself doesn't change
- Large embedded outputs, especially images, bloat the file well past the size of the source code alone
Keep a document as IPYNB while it needs to stay runnable, meaning someone will re-execute the code and expect fresh output.
Convert IPYNB to another format when sharing the result with someone who only needs to read it, such as a report, a slide deck, or a PDF.
How to open a .ipynb file#
A .ipynb file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts IPYNB into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.
| Platform | Programs that open it |
|---|---|
| Windows | JupyterLab, Jupyter Notebook, Visual Studio Code (Jupyter extension), PyCharm |
| macOS | JupyterLab, Jupyter Notebook, Visual Studio Code (Jupyter extension), PyCharm |
| Linux | JupyterLab, Jupyter Notebook, Visual Studio Code (Jupyter extension), PyCharm |
| Web | Google Colab, JupyterLite, GitHub (renders notebooks in the browser), FileFlip |
IPYNB questions people ask#
What is an IPYNB file?
An IPYNB file is a Jupyter notebook, a JSON document made of code cells, text cells, and the output each code cell produced the last time it ran, including any charts or printed results. The name comes from IPython, the project Jupyter grew out of.
Can I open an IPYNB file without installing Jupyter?
Yes. GitHub renders .ipynb files directly in the browser, Google Colab opens and runs them with no local install, and Visual Studio Code opens them with its Jupyter extension. Installing JupyterLab or Jupyter Notebook is only needed to run the code locally.
What happens to the code when I convert a notebook to PDF or Word?
Converting an IPYNB file to PDF, Word, or HTML flattens it into static text and images: the code appears as a formatted listing and the stored outputs appear as rendered results, but neither can be executed or edited afterward. The notebook stops being a runnable program and becomes a fixed report.
Why does my notebook's git diff show changes when I didn't edit any code?
Running a Jupyter notebook updates its execution_count numbers and the stored output for every cell, and both are written into the same JSON file as the code. Git sees those as changed lines even when the actual code is untouched, which is why notebook diffs are noisy compared to plain source files.
Converting IPYNB files#
Convert IPYNB to another format
- IPYNB to AsciiDoc
- IPYNB to AVIF
- IPYNB to BBCode
- IPYNB to BibTeX
- IPYNB to BMP
- IPYNB to BMP2
- IPYNB to BMP3
- IPYNB to CBZ
- IPYNB to Djot
- IPYNB to DocBook
- IPYNB to DOCX
- IPYNB to DokuWiki
- IPYNB to EPUB
- IPYNB to FB2
- IPYNB to GIF
- IPYNB to GIF87
- IPYNB to Haddock
- IPYNB to HDR
- IPYNB to HTML
- IPYNB to ICML
- IPYNB to ICO
- IPYNB to ICON
- IPYNB to Jira
- IPYNB to JNG
See every IPYNB conversion (37 more)
Convert another format to IPYNB
- 3FR to IPYNB
- ARW to IPYNB
- AsciiDoc to IPYNB
- AVIF to IPYNB
- BibTeX to IPYNB
- BMP to IPYNB
- BMP2 to IPYNB
- BMP3 to IPYNB
- CBZ to IPYNB
- CR2 to IPYNB
- CR3 to IPYNB
- Creole to IPYNB
- CRW to IPYNB
- DCR to IPYNB
- Djot to IPYNB
- DNG to IPYNB
- DocBook to IPYNB
- DOCX to IPYNB
- DokuWiki to IPYNB
- EPUB to IPYNB
- ERF to IPYNB
- FB2 to IPYNB
- GIF to IPYNB
- GIF87 to IPYNB
See every document conversion (62 more)
Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.