Observable Notebooks Data Loaders
created: Sept. 10, 2025, 5:04 p.m. | updated: Sept. 14, 2025, 6:09 p.m.
The cell above is JavaScript that runs in Node.js, unlike normal JavaScript cells that run in the browser.
The output of a data loader cell is automatically saved to a .observable/cache directory on your local file system alongside your notebooks.
Data snapshots are stable — the data only updates if you re-run the data loader cell.
In Observable Desktop, you can re-run a data loader cell by clicking the Play button, by hitting shift-return, or by clicking on the query age in the cell toolbar.
In Notebook Kit, delete the corresponding file from the .observable/cache directory; you can also use continuous deployment, such as GitHub Actions, to refresh data automatically.
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