notebook

name	notebook
description	Work with Zeppelin notebooks — create notebooks, add paragraphs, configure charts, and manage notebook content via MCP tools. Use this skill whenever the user asks to create a notebook, add paragraphs or cells to a notebook, configure or change chart types, set up visualizations, or any task involving Zeppelin notebook manipulation. Also trigger when the user references a specific notebook by name or ID and wants changes made to it, or asks to fix/refactor existing notebook code.
argument-hint	[notebook name/ID or task description]

You are working with Zeppelin notebooks via MCP tools. The user's request is:

$ARGUMENTS

Follow the steps below in order.

Step 0: Check the artifact doc cache

Before discovering anything, check whether this artifact is already documented. Full protocol: $WIKI_DOCS_PATH/docs/artifact_cache_protocol.md.

Cache state (resolved at invocation)

• Docs root: !echo "${WIKI_DOCS_PATH:-unset}"
• Sync: ![ -d "$WIKI_DOCS_PATH/.git" ] && { git -C "$WIKI_DOCS_PATH" pull --ff-only --quiet 2>/dev/null && echo synced || echo "pull failed - using local copy"; } || echo "no clone - cache off, use normal discovery"
• Project slug (derived from cwd): !head -1 knowledge/project/data_model.md 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^# //; s/ Data Model$//'
• Project _index.md:

!`s=$(head -1 knowledge/project/data_model.md 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^# //; s/ Data Model$//'); [ -n "$s" ] && cat "$WIKI_DOCS_PATH/$s/_index.md" 2>/dev/null || echo "(no index for slug '$s' - cold cache, or slug underivable from this cwd; resolve per protocol 1)"`

1. Interpret the pre-resolved cache state above — it already performed the env resolution, the git pull --ff-only sync, the <project_slug> derivation, and the _index.md read; do NOT redo them. Docs root unset or "no clone" → log one warning and proceed with normal discovery (the cache is optional; never create the root directory yourself — only the SessionStart hook's clone does). Slug empty or index unreadable → resolve them manually per protocol §1 (the cwd may not be the analyst repo).
2. Not listed (cold miss) → proceed to normal discovery; write the spec in the final step.
3. Listed → call get_notebook_fingerprint(notebook_id, spec_path="$WIKI_DOCS_PATH/<project_slug>/notebooks/<id>.md") — the server reads the stored hashes from the spec frontmatter itself and returns match plus an exact diff; never hand-compare hash maps or re-type them into tool arguments. Then read the spec body (it is the payload, not part of the check):
   • match: true (hit) → trust the spec, skip Step 2 discovery, go to the task.
   • match: false (stale) → diff names the changed/added/removed paragraph ids; re-learn those and their dependents (cross-unit rule, protocol §5); update the spec in the final step.
   • spec_note in the response → stored hashes unreadable; treat the spec as unverified background and run normal discovery.

Step 1: Identify the notebook

• If the user provides a notebook ID → use get_notebook directly
• If the user provides a name or partial name → use list_notebooks with a name filter
• If creating a new notebook → confirm the path follows the folder conventions already visible on the server (e.g. Users/{username}/{Project}/{Notebook name})
  • Use list_notebooks to discover existing structure before creating

Step 2: Understand context

Read existing notebook paragraphs with get_notebook to understand the structure, data flow, and coding patterns already in use. This is important because paragraphs share interpreter state — variables and imports from earlier paragraphs are available in later ones.

Decide how much exploration is needed:

Situation	What to explore
Adding a paragraph similar to existing ones	Notebook context is sufficient
Adding a new kind of query or metric	Check the project's query templates / reference notebooks, if the project keeps any
Creating a new notebook from scratch	Read an existing notebook in the same folder/project to learn the interpreter prefix, connection pattern, and coding style

When the data schema is unknown: discover it live from a scratch paragraph (e.g. inspect the table DDL or list distinct values of a key column with a LIMIT) instead of guessing table or column names.

Step 3: Generate and add content

Markdown paragraphs: separators yes, commentary only on explicit request

Two kinds of %md paragraphs — treat them differently:

• Section separators (a short header line that structures the notebook, e.g. %md ## Retention) — allowed and encouraged for readability.
• Commentary — methodology descriptions, analysis narratives, findings tables, conclusion or recommendation sections — do NOT add these unless the user explicitly asks. Conclusions and methodology belong in the chat response, not in the notebook.

When the user does ask for analysis/conclusion paragraphs: keep them clear and concise — short bullets, key numbers with their source (table, date range), no filler prose or restating what the chart already shows.

Interpreter prefix

Every Zeppelin paragraph starts with an interpreter prefix. Check existing notebooks on the same server to find the correct one — e.g. %python, %sql, %jdbc(...), %md. Do not guess — using a prefix that isn't configured on the server causes HTTP 500 errors.

Code patterns

Follow the connection pattern already used in the notebook. If no pattern exists, a common shape for Python paragraphs querying a database is:

%python

import os
from sqlalchemy import create_engine
import pandas as pd

sql = "QUERY"
df = pd.read_sql(sql, create_engine(os.getenv('YOUR_CONNECTION_STRING_ENV')).connect())

(adapt the connection source to whatever the server/team already uses — an env var, a configured interpreter, or a helper module).

• Use z.show(df) to output DataFrames for Zeppelin's built-in charts
• For plotly (only when Zeppelin charts can't handle it — Sankey, heatmaps, violin plots): print("%html " + fig.to_html(include_plotlyjs='cdn', full_html=False))

Adding paragraphs

Set a descriptive title for each paragraph. For a single paragraph use add_paragraph; for two or more, use batch_add_paragraph — one call, paragraphs created in the given order, returns the new IDs.

Fixing existing code: use update_paragraph to edit one paragraph in place, or batch_update_paragraph for several (best-effort: per-item failures are reported, not fatal). The MCP server automatically backs up the original content before applying changes.

Same query, different chart: use clone_paragraph — it copies code, title, and chart config directly below the original, so you only change the chart config afterwards instead of re-sending the code.

Chart configuration

After running a paragraph that outputs table data, use update_paragraph_config to set the chart and the presentation flags from "Finalize paragraph config" below in a single call:

{
  "editorHide": true,
  "runOnSelectionChange": false,
  "graph": {
    "mode": "lineChart",
    "keys": [{"name": "date_column"}],
    "groups": [{"name": "segment_column"}],
    "values": [{"name": "metric_column"}]
  }
}

Supported graph.mode values: table, multiBarChart, stackedAreaChart, lineChart, pieChart, scatterChart.

Set graph.keys, graph.groups, graph.values with name only — omit index and aggr so Zeppelin auto-detects them from the result set.

Important — these cause broken charts if ignored:

• Use {"name": "col"} only in keys/groups/values — never include index or aggr fields. The MCP server auto-fills these from paragraph output headers.
• Always verify column names against actual executed output (get_paragraph) before setting chart config. Column names in code (e.g. SQL aliases) may differ from what Zeppelin outputs. Guessing causes "out of sync" warnings.

Dynamic forms

• Use get_paragraph_forms to discover available form parameters before running
• Pass params dict to run_paragraph to set form values (keys must match field names exactly)
• Use update_paragraph_forms to change values without re-executing

Important — new paragraphs ignore pre-set forms:

• update_paragraph_forms before a paragraph's first run is silently ignored by Zeppelin — the forms aren't registered yet. Pass params directly to run_paragraph instead, which registers forms and executes with correct values in one pass.

Running paragraphs

• Several paragraphs in order → batch_run_paragraph (runs sequentially in the given order; stops on first error by default; each run item is {paragraph_id, params?} so cells can get different form values, with top-level params as the shared default) — use this for the "run each paragraph one-by-one" step of notebook migrations instead of N separate calls
• Long-running query → run_paragraph_async to start without waiting, then poll get_paragraph_status
• Stuck or runaway execution → stop_paragraph
• Exploratory queries → always add a LIMIT so a scratch query can't scan or return unbounded data

Finalize paragraph config

Every paragraph the assistant adds or edits MUST be finalized with both of the following set via update_paragraph_config before the task is considered complete — these are not optional polish, they are part of "done":

• editorHide: true — hides the code editor so readers see the result (chart/table), not the query. Readers who want the code can unhide it with the paragraph menu.
• runOnSelectionChange: false — disables Zeppelin's default behavior of auto-re-running the paragraph every time a dropdown or form value changes. Heavy queries otherwise fire on every click, which wastes cluster time and can crash the server. Users re-run explicitly with the Run button.

Minimal call (paragraph without a chart — e.g. markdown or a pure table output):

{
  "editorHide": true,
  "runOnSelectionChange": false
}

For paragraphs with charts, fold these keys into the same update_paragraph_config call as graph (see the Chart configuration example above) — one round-trip, not two.

When finalizing several paragraphs, use batch_update_paragraph_config — one call with a config object per paragraph (same shape as above) instead of N update_paragraph_config calls.

Verify before writing: editorHide and runOnSelectionChange are paragraph-config keys in current Zeppelin versions, but names can shift across versions. Fetch the current config via get_paragraph and confirm the key is accepted; if update_paragraph_config returns without the key taking effect, check the paragraph's JSON and adapt (e.g. some versions nest the editor-hide flag under editorSetting).

Step 4: Update the artifact doc cache

After the task succeeds, persist what was learned (protocol: $WIKI_DOCS_PATH/docs/artifact_cache_protocol.md):

• Cold miss → write a new spec to $WIKI_DOCS_PATH/<project_slug>/notebooks/<notebook_id>.md using the spec template (fingerprint + units via get_notebook_fingerprint; record validated:), and register it: wiki index-add <project> notebooks/<id>.md --name "…" --desc "…".
• Stale → update the changed ## Per-unit notes / ## Architecture sections (plus dependents per the cross-unit rule), append a ## Change log entry (cap at 5 — drop the oldest), refresh validated:, and re-fetch the fingerprint into the frontmatter.
• Do not run git commands — the plugin Stop hook commits and pushes. If the hook reports a rebase conflict in _index.md, take the remote version and re-add this artifact's bullet — never hand-merge prose. (Hook not installed — older plugin — → commit manually per protocol §6.)
• If $WIKI_DOCS_PATH is unset/absent, skip silently — do not fail the task.

Boundaries

What MCP can do: read/search notebooks and paragraphs; add/update/delete/move paragraphs (single or batch_* variants); clone paragraphs and notebooks; create/export/import notebooks; modify paragraph config (charts, single or batch); run paragraphs (sync, batch, or async with status polling) and stop them; update form values; read/update permissions.

What MCP cannot do: modify or delete ~Backups notebooks (protected by the MCP server).

Hard rules — these exist because violations have caused real problems:

• Never make direct HTTP/curl requests to Zeppelin — all interaction goes through MCP tools only
• Never read credential files, .env files, or connection strings from the filesystem
• Never modify or delete ~Backups notebooks — these are auto-created safety backups and the MCP server blocks mutations on them