Automatically Load Code in Jupyter Notebooks Using the IPython Startup Folder

If you frequently work with Jupyter notebooks, you’ve probably found yourself writing the same import statements, utility functions, or configuration settings at the beginning of each notebook. This repetitive task can be eliminated by taking advantage of IPython’s startup folder functionality, which allows you to automatically load code every time you start a new notebook.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to set up and use the IPython startup folder in both Windows and Unix-based systems (macOS/Linux).

Introduction to DuckDB

DuckDB has emerged as a game-changer in the data processing landscape. It’s an in-process SQL OLAP database management system, similar to SQLite but optimized for analytical queries rather than transactional workloads. What makes DuckDB particularly attractive is its remarkable performance for data analysis tasks combined with its simplicity - no server setup, no complex configuration, just a library you can import into your Python scripts or notebooks.