Livebook is a web application for writing interactive and collaborative code notebooks in Elixir.
The tool addresses the need for reproducible, shareable code execution environments by combining a rich editor with live evaluation. It runs Elixir code on demand within notebook cells, tracking state and marking stale sections. The approach emphasizes predictability through ordered execution and explicit package management, while supporting multiple users editing the same notebook simultaneously without additional configuration. Smart cells automate common tasks like database queries and chart generation through a UI rather than requiring manual code.
Livebook suits teams and individuals working with Elixir who need to document, explore, or automate workflows interactively. It works well for introspecting existing Elixir projects, since notebooks can connect to running nodes and access their modules and dependencies. The `.livemd` format stores notebooks as Markdown with support for Mermaid diagrams and KaTex formulas, making them version-control friendly and easy to share. The "Run in Livebook" badge mechanism lets anyone import shared notebooks directly. The tool is particularly valuable for data work and visualization, offering built-in Vega-Lite charts, tables, and maps through the Kino library. A rich code editor with autocompletion, inline documentation, and formatting support reduces friction during development.
The project's maintainers respond to issues and pull requests within hours. Development activity concentrates on feature work and improvements to both backend and frontend components.
