# marimo

53 Hacker News commenters recommended marimo and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free reactive Python notebook stored as plain .py files that many people use in place of Jupyter. Critics say it restricts classic notebook workflows.

## Why people recommend it

- Plain Python files, easy version control (7 comments): "What I like about Marimo notebooks over Jupyter: They're just a python file so they work with python editors" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49044402)) "Their representation is just Python, they can run as scripts, and they have native HTML output." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46972410)) "marimo does everything you're looking for in plain .py files that render as notebooks." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45815302))
- Reactive cells keep state consistent (6 comments): "a well-organized reactive notebook saved a lot of time on iterating on components without losing data" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49044448)) "marimo's reactivity adds another layer of guardrails on top when it comes to managing context/state" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47719030)) "The cell DAG enforces that there’s no implicit state, which reduces cognitive load for me a lot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49046334))
- Replaces Jupyter for many users (4 comments): "For me marimo is already a successor to Jupyter, it has replaced it entirely for me." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45814264)) "Marimo (OSS local first) honestly renders it completely obsolete for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50266557)) "I haven't used Jupyter at all since I started running marimo from uvx." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48386959))
- Notebooks double as apps and CLIs (3 comments): "Their representation is just Python, they can run as scripts, and they have native HTML output." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46972410)) "I also have a bunch of marimo notebooks that double as clis and they're lovely." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49042834)) "Marimo has made notebooks into apps. They're easier to deploy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46355085))

## What people warn about

- Restricts classic notebook workflows (2 comments): "they traded off being able to assign to a variable more than once in order to allow out-of-order execution of cells" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49042625)) "it breaks workflows where people use notebooks as notebooks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45814979))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Jupyter Notebook](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jupyter.md): 67 recommend
- [Pluto.jl](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pluto-jl.md): 21 recommend
- [Google Colab](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-colab.md): 18 recommend
- [Deepnote](https://hackerapproved.com/p/deepnote.md): 12 recommend
- [JupyterLite](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jupyterlite.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "marimo", https://hackerapproved.com/p/marimo/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).