Notebook basics
Core notebook workflows in Orion: running cells, inspecting variables, presentation mode, and keyboard shortcuts.
Run cells
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Run selected cells and move down | Shift + Enter |
| Run selected cells, stay on cell | Ctrl + Enter (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Enter (macOS) |
| Run all code above selection | Alt + A |
| Run selected cell and all below | Alt + B |
Use the Run All Cells button in the toolbar to run the whole notebook and stop at the first error. Open its arrow menu when you need Run All Cells (Ignore Errors) or Restart Kernel and Run All Cells. If Orion stops on an error, choose Go to error to jump to that cell.
Use Interrupt Kernel to stop current work, or Restart Kernel to start the selected kernel fresh. Restarting clears Python variables and cancels queued cell runs, so run the cells that recreate the state you need afterward.
Edit cells
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Enter edit mode on selected cell | Enter |
| Leave edit mode | Esc |
| Change to Markdown | M |
| Change to Code | Y |
Cell management
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Add code cell above | A |
| Add code cell below | B |
| Delete selected cells | D then D |
| Copy / cut / paste cells | C / X / V |
| Undo delete | Z |
| Move cell up or down | Alt + Up / Alt + Down |
| Mention selected cell in chat | I |
Press H in command mode (cell selected, not editing) to open the full shortcuts dialog.
Variable inspector
Open the Variables panel in the left sidebar to list kernel variables. Orion shows readiness indicators so you know when inspector data is current.
Use the Filter variables field to narrow the list by variable name. Use the sort control in the panel header to switch between the kernel's order and alphabetical order, and use Refresh variables after running code when you need an updated list. Click a variable to inspect its details.
Use @ in chat to mention a variable by name so the assistant sees live values and types.
Presentation mode
Settings → Appearance → Notebook includes Presentation mode (hide all cell inputs). Useful when walking through results without showing source code.
Workspace teams can set notebook.presentationHideAllCellInputs in .orion/settings.json. See Workspace settings.
Saving files
Orion marks dirty editor tabs and shows brief save feedback after manual saves. Turn on Settings -> Appearance -> Editor -> Autosave to periodically save dirty files open in the editor.
Autosave uses Autosave interval in milliseconds. The default interval is 1000 ms when autosave is enabled.
Outputs
Orion renders Plotly, Vega, HTML, images, LaTeX, GeoJSON, PDF previews, streams, errors, and Orion UI outputs. When multiple MIME types exist, use the output presentation picker to switch representation.
Plotly rendering notes: Plotly version compatibility.
Keep output history
Wrap a chart, table, or other rich output in ui.version() when you want to compare it with earlier successful runs of the same cell.
import orion_ui as ui
ui.version(fig, key="monthly-sales", max_versions=5)Rerun the cell after changing the result. Orion keeps the latest output plus up to max_versions - 1 earlier versions in the notebook. When more than one version exists, hover over the output and use Version to choose an earlier one; each entry shows when Orion captured it.
max_versions includes the current output and defaults to 10. If a cell has several versioned outputs that you might reorder, give each one a unique key so Orion can keep the correct history with it. See the ui.version() reference.
Views
Toggle Notebook view and App View from the toolbar. See App View and Export notebooks.
Opening files
When no file is open, Orion shows shortcut cards for recent files, pinned files, or pinned workspaces. Change the card contents in Settings → Appearance → Empty editor.
If a file is too large to open comfortably in the editor, Orion warns before loading it. Choose Open anyway only when you expect the editor to handle the file size, or cancel and mention the file in chat instead.
For files Orion cannot open directly, Settings → Appearance → Unsupported files controls whether clicking the file mentions it in chat or opens it with your system's default app.
Changes to an open text file
If Jupyter or another application changes, renames, or deletes a text file while it is open in Orion, an alert appears above the editor.
- For This file changed on disk, choose Save editor version to keep your unsaved Orion edits, or Reload disk version to replace them with the file on disk.
- For This file was renamed, Orion follows the new path and keeps your current editor content. You can still save your version or reload the renamed file from disk.
- For This file was deleted on disk, Orion keeps the editor content. Choose Save editor version to recreate the file at its current path.
Related
Last updated August 2026.