# serialize
## The `#| export` pragma
boopiter keeps nbdev’s `#| export` pragma out of a cell’s editable
source entirely, tracking it as a flag instead.
[`_has_export`](https://drscotthawley.github.io/boopiter/serialize.html#_has_export)/[`_strip_export`](https://drscotthawley.github.io/boopiter/serialize.html#_strip_export)
detect and remove that leading line when reading a cell from disk.
## Saving
[`save_notebook`](https://drscotthawley.github.io/boopiter/serialize.html#save_notebook)
writes `nb` out as a real Jupyter `.ipynb`, merging each Prompt +
following Assistant into one markdown cell (solveit separator + the
assistant’s `` block + the reply).
[`_blocks_to_nb_outputs`](https://drscotthawley.github.io/boopiter/serialize.html#_blocks_to_nb_outputs)
converts boopiter’s output blocks into valid nbformat outputs so saved
files still render in Jupyter. Cell ids and the separator’s reply-id are
reused across saves to keep git diffs clean.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
source
### save_notebook
``` python
def save_notebook(
path:str | pathlib.Path | None=None
)->Path:
```
*Serialize `nb.cells` to a real Jupyter notebook file (`{nb.name}.ipynb`
in the cwd by default). A Prompt cell and the Assistant reply that
follows it are stored solveit-style as a SINGLE markdown cell – prompt,
a `##### 🤖Reply🤖` line, the assistant’s
`
` block, then the reply – so the prompt/reply structure lives
in the cell source (which nbdev-clean leaves alone) rather than in
strippable metadata. note/code/raw stay plain native cells; code cells
keep their `#| export` pragma and outputs. Cell ids (and the separator’s
reply-id hex) are preserved across saves so unchanged cells don’t churn
git diffs. A `solveit_ai:true` flag is also stamped on prompt/reply
cells for solveit’s benefit – boopiter itself relies only on the
separator.*
## Loading
[`load_notebook`](https://drscotthawley.github.io/boopiter/serialize.html#load_notebook)
is the inverse: a markdown cell carrying the `SOLVEIT_SEPARATOR` splits
back into a Prompt + Assistant pair (re-extracting the ``
block); plain markdown is a note; code cells get their `#| export` flag
detected. It falls back to legacy `metadata.boopiter` for notebooks
saved by older boopiter, and to nbformat cell types for non-boopiter
notebooks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
source
### load_notebook
``` python
def load_notebook(
path:str | pathlib.Path
)->Notebook:
```
*Load a Jupyter notebook file into `nb`, replacing its current contents
– the inverse of save_notebook(). A markdown cell containing the
`SOLVEIT_SEPARATOR` splits back into a Prompt cell plus its Assistant
reply (with the `
` block re-extracted into `details`); other
markdown is a note; code cells get their leading `#| export` detected
and stripped. For notebooks saved by older boopiter it falls back to
reading legacy `metadata.boopiter` (ctype/visible/details); for plain
non-boopiter notebooks it falls back to nbformat cell types.*
## Round-trip test
Proves the point of this whole scheme: save a notebook, wipe every
cell’s metadata (what `nbdev-clean` does), reload, and confirm the
prompt/reply structure – plus code/note/raw, `#| export`, and the
assistant `details` – all survive because they live in the cell source,
not metadata. Runs under `nbdev-test`.
``` python
# Round-trip test: the prompt/reply structure (and code/note/raw, export, details) must survive
# nbdev-clean, which strips cell metadata. We prove it by saving, deleting ALL metadata (exactly
# what nbdev-clean does to the parts we no longer rely on), then reloading and checking.
import tempfile as _tf, json as _json, os as _os
nb.cells.clear(); nb._nid = 0; nb.selected = None
nb.add('note', '# hi there')
nb.add('prompt', 'What is 2+2?')
nb.add('assistant', 'It is 4.', details='Reply details