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PY IPYNB
File conversion

Convert PY to IPYNB

Verified by Adam B.· reviewed by FE Editorial ·updated Jun 24, 2026
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Is it possible to convert PY to IPYNB?
Yes - PY converts to IPYNB.

Install jupytext with pip install jupytext and run jupytext --to notebook file.py; this produces a .ipynb file in the same folder. Add # %% markers in your .py source beforehand to control where cell boundaries fall.

Also to IPYNB: JUK

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Tested on macOS, Windows & Linux
Last verified Oct 2026

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Why convert PY to IPYNB?

Researchers and data scientists use .ipynb notebooks in JupyterLab to run code interactively, see inline plots, and add markdown explanations between code sections. Converting a plain .py script to .ipynb makes it runnable step-by-step in that environment without rewriting the code.

How to convert PY to IPYNB

jupytext OPEN-SOURCE

Run pip install jupytext then jupytext --to notebook file.py; place # %% comments in the .py source to define cell boundaries before converting for the best result.

Jupyter (nbconvert) FREE

Run jupyter nbconvert --to notebook --execute file.py to convert and run the script storing outputs in the .ipynb; omit --execute to convert without running.

About these formats

.PY Python Source Code File

A .py file is a Python source code file - plain text containing a program or script written in the Python language. To read the code, open it in any text editor. To run it, install Python…

Open .PY details →
.IPYNB IPython notebook

A .IPYNB file is associated with IPython notebook, a misc file.

Open .IPYNB details →

Quality & what to watch

  • Cell boundaries are guessed when no # %% markers are present - add # %% to your .py file before converting to control exactly where each cell starts.
  • The converted .ipynb contains no cell outputs; plots, print statements, and other results are generated when you run the notebook in JupyterLab.
  • nbconvert treats the entire .py as a single code cell unless the file already contains # In[]: cell markers; jupytext handles plain scripts more gracefully.

Frequently asked questions

Will my Python imports and functions work the same in the notebook?
Yes - the code is unchanged. You may need to adjust relative file paths if the notebook is in a different directory than the original script.
Can I convert the notebook back to a .py file?
Yes - jupytext supports bidirectional conversion; run jupytext --to py file.ipynb to go back to a plain Python script.
What is the difference between jupytext and nbconvert for this task?
jupytext produces better cell splits for plain scripts and respects # %% markers; nbconvert is built into Jupyter and can execute the code and store outputs during conversion.