Livebook

A web app for interactive, collaborative Elixir notebooks with charts, smart cells and reproducible runs, saved as Markdown files.

5.9k stars, 528 forks Elixir On GitHub since January 2021

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

Livebook at a glance

Open sourceYes, Apache-2.0No paid parts in the repository
Health61 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDocker, Desktop appsSteps in the README
AppsLinux, macOS, Windows, including ARMBuilds in GitHub releases
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~4 hoursMedian first reply; 58% of recent issues answered

What is Livebook?

Livebook is to Elixir what Jupyter is to Python. Notebooks mix Markdown with code cells evaluated on demand, a CodeMirror editor offers autocompletion and inline docs, and Kino renders Vega-Lite charts, tables and maps. Smart cells handle routine tasks such as querying databases or plotting without writing the code by hand. Several people can edit the same notebook at once. Files use the .livemd format, a Markdown subset with Mermaid diagrams and KaTeX formulas that works well in Git. Notebooks can start a fresh runtime, attach to a running node or run inside an existing project.

Good fit if

  • Your team works in Elixir and wants notebooks for data exploration, documentation or operations scripts.
  • You want to inspect or automate a live Elixir system from a notebook.

Look elsewhere if

Before you adopt it

Livebook is Apache-2.0 and contains no paid parts. About eleven people committed recently. Desktop builds exist for Linux, macOS and Windows, and a Docker image suits server installs.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 31 October 2026. Report a correction

How to run Livebook yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: livebook.dev or the README on GitHub.

Livebook health: is it still maintained?

61 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~10 days14 releases in 12 months; latest v0.19.10
Issue repliesWithin ~4 hoursMedian first reply; 58% of recent issues answered
Bus factorLow riskThe most active of 10 authors wrote 32% of recent commits
  • Activity
    25 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 5 November 2026.
    17 / 30
  • Contributors
    10 people wrote the 25 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 32% of them.
    14 / 20
  • Releases
    14 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v0.19.10, on 18 September 2026.
    8 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 58% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 4 hours.
    17 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 6 November 2026. How the score works

Livebook license: is it open source?

Livebook uses Apache-2.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. January 2021First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayApache-2.0.

Livebook for developers

Written in

  • Elixir 89%
  • JavaScript 8%
  • HTML 1%
  • CSS <1%
  • Rust <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideNot foundNo CONTRIBUTING file in the repository
Open issues19On GitHub
Authors, 90 days10Of 25 commits

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

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Questions about Livebook

Is Livebook open source?

Yes. Livebook is published under Apache-2.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is Livebook still maintained?

Its health score is 61 of 100 (actively developed). It had 25 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 5 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 18 September 2026.

How do I run Livebook?

You can run it with Docker, as an app for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is Livebook written in?

Livebook is written mainly in Elixir (89% of the code), with JavaScript (8%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to Livebook?

Close alternatives in the Developer tools category include Opik, code-server, Hasura.