Contents

• Editing and Verification Enforcement

• Key Concepts

• Cell Structure

• Editing Rules

• Core CLI Commands

• Export Commands

• Data and Visualization

• Debugging Workflow

• Common Issues

• Additional Resources

Marimo Reactive Notebooks

Marimo is a reactive Python notebook where cells form a DAG and auto-execute on dependency changes. Notebooks are stored as pure .py files.

Editing and Verification Enforcement

IRON LAW #1: NEVER MODIFY CELL DECORATORS OR SIGNATURES

Only edit code INSIDE @app.cell function bodies. This is not negotiable.

NEVER modify:

• Cell decorators (@app.cell )

• Function signatures (def _(deps): )

• Return statements structure (trailing commas required)

ALWAYS verify:

• All used variables are in function parameters

• All created variables are in return statement

• Trailing comma for single returns: return var,

IRON LAW #2: NO EXECUTION CLAIM WITHOUT OUTPUT VERIFICATION

Before claiming ANY marimo notebook works:

• VALIDATE syntax and structure: marimo check notebook.py

• EXECUTE with outputs: marimo export ipynb notebook.py -o marimo/notebook.ipynb --include-outputs

• VERIFY using notebook-debug skill's verification checklist

• CLAIM success only after verification passes

This is not negotiable. Claiming "notebook works" without executing and inspecting outputs is LYING to the user.

Rationalization Table - STOP If You Think:

Excuse Reality Do Instead

"marimo check passed, so it works" Syntax check ≠ runtime correctness EXECUTE with --include-outputs and inspect

"Just a small change, can't break anything" Reactivity means small changes propagate everywhere VERIFY with full execution

"I'll let marimo handle the dependency tracking" Verification of correct behavior is still required CHECK outputs match expectations

"The function signature looks right" Wrong deps/returns break reactivity silently VALIDATE all vars are in params AND returns

"I can modify the function signature" Breaks marimo's dependency detection ONLY edit inside function bodies

"Variables can be used without returning them" Will cause NameError in dependent cells RETURN all created variables

"I can skip the trailing comma for single returns" Python treats return var as returning the value, breaks unpacking USE return var, for single returns

Red Flags - STOP Immediately If You Think:

• "Let me add this variable to the function signature" → NO. Marimo manages signatures.

• "I'll just run marimo check and call it done" → NO. Execute with outputs required.

• "The code looks correct" → NO. Marimo's reactivity must be verified at runtime.

• "I can redefine this variable in another cell" → NO. One variable = one cell.

Editing Checklist

Before every marimo edit:

Structure Validation:

• Only edit code INSIDE @app.cell function bodies

• Do NOT modify decorators or signatures

• Verify all used variables are in function parameters

• Verify all created variables are in return statement

• Ensure trailing comma used for single returns

• Ensure no variable redefinitions across cells

Syntax Validation:

• Execute marimo check notebook.py

• Verify no syntax errors reported

• Verify no undefined variable warnings

• Verify no redefinition warnings

Runtime Verification:

• Execute with marimo export ipynb notebook.py -o marimo/notebook.ipynb --include-outputs

• Verify export succeeded (exit code 0)

• Verify output ipynb exists and is non-empty

• Apply notebook-debug verification checklist

• Verify no tracebacks in any cell

• Verify all cells executed (execution_count not null)

• Verify outputs match expectations

Only after ALL checks pass:

• Claim "notebook works"

Gate Function: Marimo Verification

Follow this sequence for EVERY marimo task:

1. EDIT → Modify code inside @app.cell function bodies only
2. CHECK → marimo check notebook.py
3. EXECUTE → marimo export ipynb notebook.py -o marimo/notebook.ipynb --include-outputs
4. INSPECT → Use notebook-debug verification
5. VERIFY → Outputs match expectations
6. CLAIM → "Notebook works" only after all gates passed

NEVER skip verification gates. Marimo's reactivity means changes propagate unpredictably.

Honesty Framing

Claiming a marimo notebook works without executing it with --include-outputs and inspecting the results is LYING.

Syntax checks and code inspection prove nothing about reactive execution correctness. The user expects a working notebook where all cells execute correctly with proper dependency tracking.

Key Concepts

• Reactive execution: Cells auto-update when dependencies change

• No hidden state: Each variable defined in exactly one cell

• Pure Python: .py files, version control friendly

• Cell structure: @app.cell decorator pattern

Cell Structure

import marimo

app = marimo.App()

@app.cell def _(pl): # Dependencies as parameters df = pl.read_csv("data.csv") return df, # Trailing comma required for single return

@app.cell def _(df, pl): summary = df.describe() filtered = df.filter(pl.col("value") > 0) return summary, filtered # Multiple returns

Editing Rules

• Edit code INSIDE @app.cell functions only

• Never modify cell decorators or function signatures

• Variables cannot be redefined across cells

• All used variables must be returned from their defining cell

• Markdown cells: Always wrap $ in backticks - mo.md("Cost: $50") not mo.md("Cost: $50")

Core CLI Commands

Command Purpose

marimo edit notebook.py

marimo: Open notebook in browser editor for interactive development

marimo run notebook.py

marimo: Run notebook as executable app

marimo check notebook.py

marimo: Validate notebook structure and syntax without execution

marimo convert notebook.ipynb

marimo: Convert Jupyter notebook to marimo format

Export Commands

marimo: Export to ipynb with code only

marimo export ipynb notebook.py -o marimo/notebook.ipynb

marimo: Export to ipynb with outputs (runs notebook first)

marimo export ipynb notebook.py -o marimo/notebook.ipynb --include-outputs

marimo: Export to HTML (runs notebook by default)

marimo export html notebook.py -o marimo/notebook.html

marimo: Export to HTML with auto-refresh on changes (live preview)

marimo export html notebook.py -o marimo/notebook.html --watch

Key difference: HTML export runs the notebook by default. ipynb export does NOT - use --include-outputs to run and capture outputs.

Tip: Use marimo/ folder for all exports (ipynb, html). The editor can auto-save there.

Data and Visualization

• Prefer polars over pandas for performance

• Use mo.ui for interactive widgets

• SQL cells: mo.sql(df, "SELECT * FROM df")

• Display markdown: mo.md("# Heading")

Debugging Workflow

1. Pre-execution validation:

scripts: Validate notebook syntax and cell structure

scripts/check_notebook.sh notebook.py

Runs syntax check, marimo validation, and cell structure overview in one command.

2. Runtime errors: Export with outputs, then use notebook-debug skill:

marimo: Export to ipynb with outputs for inspection

marimo export ipynb notebook.py -o marimo/notebook.ipynb --include-outputs

Common Issues

Issue Fix

Variable redefinition Rename one variable or merge cells

Circular dependency Break cycle by merging or restructuring

Missing return Add return var, with trailing comma

Import not available Ensure import cell returns the module

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For detailed patterns and advanced techniques, consult:

• references/reactivity.md

• DAG execution, variable rules, dependency detection patterns

• references/debugging.md

• Error patterns, runtime debugging, environment-specific issues

• references/widgets.md

• Interactive UI components and mo.ui patterns

• references/sql.md

• SQL cells and database integration techniques

Examples

Working examples available in examples/ :

• examples/basic_notebook.py

• Minimal marimo notebook structure

• examples/data_analysis.py

• Data loading, filtering, and visualization patterns

• examples/interactive_widgets.py

• Interactive UI component usage

Scripts

Validation utilities in scripts/ :

• scripts/check_notebook.sh

• Primary validation: syntax check, marimo validation, cell structure overview

• scripts/get_cell_map.py

• Extract cell metadata (invoked by check_notebook.sh)

Related Skills

• notebook-debug
• Debugging executed ipynb files with tracebacks and output inspection