What happens when you change from .ipynb to .py as default fileformat for notebooks

martheelise — Wed, 28 May 2025 11:36:40 GMT

Hi,

I was struggling to do Pull Requests with the "new" default fileformat for Notebooks and wanted to change it back to source(.py). My questions are:

1) Does this affect the whole workspace for all users?

2) Does this change the format of old .ipynb files or does this need to be done manually for each notebook?

Manage notebook format | Databricks Documentation

Re: What happens when you change from .ipynb to .py as default fileformat for notebooks

Walter_C — Wed, 28 May 2025 12:26:44 GMT

Changing the default notebook file format from .ipynb to .py in Databricks has several implications based on current implementations and user scenarios:

User Experience: The .ipynb format captures more comprehensive data, including environment settings, visualizations, and widgets, enhancing user experience. In contrast, the .py format is more minimalistic, capturing only the source code
Compatibility Issues: There are potential concerns for users who primarily rely on Git and source control, as notebooks committed in the .py format may lack critical metadata and features compared to .ipynb files. This can lead to unexpected behavior, especially in serverless environments that utilize notebook features not captured in the source format
Impact on Existing Notebooks: Changing the default format will not retroactively affect existing notebooks. Only newly created notebooks will adopt the new default setting, ensuring that current workflows remain unaffected

topic Re: What happens when you change from .ipynb to .py as default fileformat for notebooks in Data Engineering

What happens when you change from .ipynb to .py as default fileformat for notebooks

Re: What happens when you change from .ipynb to .py as default fileformat for notebooks