jupyterlab_markdown_insert_content_extension

JupyterLab extension for inserting reusable content blocks into markdown files and notebook cells, starting with automatic table of contents generation.

Features

• Context menu integration - right-click in markdown editors or notebook cells to insert content
• Table of contents generation - automatically extracts headings and creates hierarchical TOC with working anchor links
• Configurable settings - customize TOC caption and maximum heading depth through JupyterLab settings
• Code block filtering - excludes headings within fenced code blocks from TOC
• JupyterLab-compatible anchors - generates anchor IDs matching JupyterLab's format for reliable navigation
• Dual mode support - works in both markdown file editors and notebook markdown cells
• Cursor-aware insertion - inserts content at current cursor position

Right-click in markdown editor or notebook cell to access the context menu:

Generated table of contents with hierarchical structure and working anchor links:

Configure TOC caption and maximum heading level through JupyterLab settings:

Requirements

• JupyterLab >= 4.0.0

Install

pip install jupyterlab_markdown_insert_content_extension

Usage

Insert Table of Contents

1. Open a markdown file or create a markdown cell in a notebook
2. Position cursor where you want the TOC inserted
3. Right-click and select "Insert Table of Contents"
4. TOC is generated with links to all headings in the document

Configure Settings

Access settings through Settings -> Settings Editor -> Markdown Insert Content:

• TOC Caption - markdown content inserted before TOC list (default: ## Table of Contents)
• Maximum Heading Level - deepest heading level to include (1-6, default: 3)

Settings apply immediately without restart.

Uninstall

pip uninstall jupyterlab_markdown_insert_content_extension

Development

Development install

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/stellarshenson/jupyterlab_markdown_insert_content_extension.git
cd jupyterlab_markdown_insert_content_extension

# Set up virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install --editable "."

# Link extension with JupyterLab
jupyter labextension develop . --overwrite

# Build extension
jlpm install
jlpm build

Development workflow

# Watch mode - automatically rebuilds on changes
jlpm watch

# In another terminal, run JupyterLab
jupyter lab

Refresh JupyterLab after changes to load updated extension.

Development uninstall

pip uninstall jupyterlab_markdown_insert_content_extension
jupyter labextension list  # Find labextensions folder
# Remove symlink from labextensions folder

Testing

Frontend tests:

jlpm test

Integration tests: See ui-tests/README.md for Playwright integration tests.

Packaging

See RELEASE.md for release process.