posit-dev / posit-dev/positron
Markdown header sections are NOT collapsible in (new) Positron notebooks
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Description
System details:
Positron Version: 2025.12.0 build 35
Code - OSS Version: 1.105.0
Commit: 5418e79f67133ab96a97fc1b3b80e9d3314032e7
Date: 2025-11-06T07:19:04.909Z
Electron: 37.6.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.19.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.0.0
Session details:
Python 3.13
Describe the issue:
- In old notebooks, Markdown cells with headers (e.g.,
#,##,###) create collapsible sections that allow users to hide or expand the code and output cells nested within that section. - In new notebooks, this collapsible functionality no longer works. There is NO triangle next to the header, and users cannot hide cells belonging to that section.
Expected or desired behavior:
As a notebooks user, I want to be able to collapse and expand cells within a Markdown header section so that I can organize long notebooks efficiently and focus only on relevant parts of the workflow.
This feature is useful for:
- Structuring complex analysis notebooks
- Teaching materials with sections and subsections
- Hiding setup code or large output blocks
Steps to reproduce the issue:
-
Open an old notebook and insert the following:
# Section 1Add a few code cells below it.
-
Collapse the section by clicking the triangle next to "Section 1".
→ Works: cells hide correctly. -
Open a new notebook and repeat the same steps.
# Section 1Add a few code cells below it.
-
Try to collapse the section. Notice that there is no triangle next to the markdown cell. It's impossible to collapse the section (in order to have cells hidden underneath.
→ Nothing happens: cells cannot be hidden.
Note:
- This regression affects notebook readability and structure management.
- Old notebooks correctly interpret Markdown headers as collapsible regions, while new notebooks do not.
- Feature parity with the old notebook format and JupyterLab-style collapsible sections is expected.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
No source files, tests, or entry points are identified in the issue. Compare the old and new notebook implementations while reproducing a Markdown # Section 1 followed by code cells; done means new notebooks show a triangle and correctly collapse and expand the cells under the header.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- jupyter-notebook
- Domain
- frontend
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 38/100