Installing JB2 to create a book

For those using Anaconda + Windows + JB2 (MyST CLI), here is the clean setup from scratch.

✅ Install JB2 (MyST-based Jupyter Book v2) Locally

1️⃣ Create a fresh conda environment

Open Anaconda Prompt:

conda create -n jb2-env python=3.11
conda activate jb2-env

You can use 3.10 or 3.11 — both are stable.

2️⃣ Install MyST (JB2 engine)

pip install mystmd

That’s it.

JB2 is no longer the old jupyter-book package. It runs through the MyST CLI.

3️⃣ Verify installation

myst --version

You should see something like:

myst 1.x.x

4️⃣ Create a new book

Navigate to your project folder:

cd C:\GitHub\MyNewBook
myst init

This creates:

myst.yml

5️⃣ Add content

Create markdown files like:

intro.md
chapter1.md
chapter2.md

Then edit myst.yml:

version: 1

project:
  title: My Book

  toc:
    - file: intro.md
    - file: chapter1.md
    - file: chapter2.md

site:
  template: book-theme

6️⃣ View locally (HTML)

myst start --port 8000

Then open:

http://localhost:8000

7️⃣ Build a PDF

Add to myst.yml:

exports:
  - format: pdf

Then run:

myst build
or
myst build --pdf

PDF will appear in:

_build/exports/

You should have TeX Live installed.

🔁 If You Ever Need to Reinstall Everything

Just:

conda remove -n jb2-env --all
conda create -n jb2-env python=3.11
conda activate jb2-env
pip install mystmd

That’s the entire JB2 stack.

⚠️ Important

Do NOT install:

pip install jupyter-book

That is Jupyter Book v1 (old Sphinx-based).

You are using:

JB2 = MyST CLI

🧠 One-line memory trick

conda → pip install mystmd → myst init → myst start

That’s JB2.

4️⃣ Create a new book(alternative method)

You need not use

myst init

Just create two files myst.md and intro.md:

📁 Folder Structure

MyBook/
│
├── myst.yml
├── intro.md
├── chapter1.md    (etc.)
└── references.bib   (optional)

That’s it. Nothing else needed.

1️⃣ `myst.yml` (minimal + correct)

version: 1

project:
  title: My Book Title
  authors:
    - name: Your Name

  toc:
    - file: intro.md
    - file: chapter1.md

site:
  template: book-theme

exports:
    - format: pdf

Copy this exactly, or what I use below for a little more control:

version: 1

project:
  title: My Book Title
  authors:
    - name: Your Name

  toc:
    - file: intro.md
    - file: chapter1.md

site:
  template: book-theme
  options:
    logo_text: "Book Name"   # Removes Myst logo
    outline_maxdepth: 2

exports:
    - format: pdf
      output: _build/exports/my-book.pdf
      articles:
        - intro.md
        - chapter1.md

2️⃣ `intro.md`

# Introduction

This is the start of my MyST Book. 

- [ ] Add more chapters
- [ ] Link my Python Jupyter notebooks

$$
y = \beta_0 + \beta_1 x
$$ {#eq-simple}

You can number equations only when needed.

:::{math}
:label: eq-ols
:enumerated: true
\hat{\beta} = (X'X)^{-1}X'y
:::

As seen in [](#eq-simple) and [](#eq-ols) ...

![](figs/TaylorSeries.png){#fig-taylor alt="Taylor Series" width="70%" align="center"}

:::{figure} figs/TaylorSeries.png
:label: fig-taylor
:alt: Taylor Series
:width: 70%
:align: center

This is a caption for the **Taylor Series** expansion.
:::

3️⃣ `chapter1.md`

# Chapter 1

## A Section 

## A Sub-section {.unlisted .unnumbered}

Inline math uses $ ... $.

Display math uses MyST blocks:

:::{math}
:enumerated: false
f(x) =
\begin{cases}
-1, & x < 0, \\
1, & x > 0,
\end{cases}
:::

To make footnotes.[^ch1-1]

[^ch1-1]: Write what you want in the footnote.

In Jupyter Book 2 (MyST), admonitions (also known as callouts or notice boxes) are incredibly useful for highlighting specific types of information. Because JB2 uses the modern MyST-JS parser, these are highly standardized and accessible.

Available Admonitions in JB2

Type	Recommended Use	Visual Style (Default)
`note`	General supplementary information.	Blue / Info icon
`tip`	Helpful advice or “pro-tips” for the reader.	Green / Lightbulb icon
`info`	Neutral, informative background details.	Blue / Info icon
`warning`	Alerts the user to potential issues or mistakes.	Orange / Warning icon
`caution`	Similar to warning, but often for less critical risks.	Yellow / Exclamation
`error`	Critical failures or “do not do this” actions.	Red / Stop icon
`danger`	Serious risks or destructive potential.	Dark Red / Fire or Bold Alert
`important`	Key takeaways that the reader must not miss.	Purple or Blue / Star icon
`seealso`	References to other sections or external docs.	Blue / Link icon
`todo`	Internal reminders or planned future work.	Grey / Checklist icon

How to use them

The most common way to write these in JB2 is using the colon fence. You can even add a custom title by putting it immediately after the type.

Note:

::::{admonition} Key idea
:class: note
- **Analytics**: describing and explaining data to support decisions (dashboards, KPIs, A/B testing).
- **Data Science**: building reproducible data workflows and products (pipelines, prediction services).
- **AI**: a broad goal — machines performing tasks that normally require “intelligence.”
- **ML**: methods that learn patterns from data (prediction, classification, clustering).
::::

Nested Content:

::::{admonition} Matrix and vector multiplication
:class: important

The proper way to multiply a matrix and a vector is:

:::{math}
:enumerated: false
1 \begin{bmatrix} 0 \\ 1 \end{bmatrix} + 2 \begin{bmatrix} -1 \\ 0 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} -2 \\ 1 \end{bmatrix}
:::
::::

Pro-Tip: Dropdowns

In JB2, you can turn any of these into a “collapsible” box (dropdown) by adding the :dropdown: option:

::::{dropdown} **Click to expand me!**

$5A - 2B$ &emsp;&emsp; (b)  $2A + 3B$ &emsp;&emsp; (c)  $2C - 3D$  

::::

4️⃣ Local Development Workflow

conda activate jb2-env
myst start --port 8000

Open:

http://localhost:8000

5️⃣ Build PDF

myst build

Output:

_build/exports/my-book-title.pdf

6️⃣ Recommended Writing Conventions (Keep This!)

✔ Inline math → $ ... $ ✔ Display math → {math} ✔ Default → :enumerated: false ✔ Number only referenced equations ✔ Indent footnotes properly

7️⃣ Optional (but clean) Enhancements

If you want slightly more polish later:

Add this under project: in myst.yml:

  github: https://github.com/yourusername/mybook

And optionally:

  keywords: [econometrics, mathematics]

But keep it minimal unless needed.

🧠 Your Personal “Never Get Lost Again” Checklist

When starting a new book:

conda create -n jb2-env python=3.11
conda activate jb2-env
pip install mystmd
mkdir MyBook
cd MyBook
myst init

Then replace myst.yml with your template above.

Done.

CORE Econ

In the context of Jupyter Book 2 (MyST), if you are looking to replicate the style of the famous CORE Econ (Curriculum Open-access Resources in Economics) textbooks, you are in luck. CORE was one of the primary inspirations for the development of MyST Markdown and the new CLI.

While there isn’t a single “button” for a CORE template, you can achieve that specific look by configuring the book-theme in your myst.yml.

1. The “CORE” Configuration

The CORE style is defined by a clean sidebar, specific margin usage (sidenotes), and structured theorem/definition boxes. Add these to your site section:

site:
  template: book-theme
  options:
    # CORE often uses a "fixed" sidebar and a clean top nav
    hide_toc_from_sidebar: false
    # Enable sidenotes for that classic academic margin look
    sidenotes: true
    margin_references: true

2. Emulating CORE Features

CORE books rely heavily on specific components. Here is how you replicate them in JB2:

A. The “Leibniz” (Calculus/Math blocks)

CORE uses “Leibniz” popups for mathematical derivations. In JB2, you use the dropdown or proof directives:

::::{important} Leibniz: The Multiplier Effect
:dropdown:
In this section, we derive the multiplier...
$$
k = \frac{1}{1 - c_1}
$$
::::

B. Definitions in the Margin

CORE puts key terms in the margin. In JB2, use the {margin} directive:

:::{margin}
**Marginal Rate of Substitution (MRS)**: The trade-off that a person is willing to make between two goods.
:::
While the consumer moves along the indifference curve...

3. CSS for the “CORE” Look

To get the exact fonts and colors (like the specific CORE green/blue), you can add a custom CSS file.

Create a file named custom.css.
Link it in your myst.yml:

site:
  template: book-theme
  css: custom.css

Common CORE Colors:

:root {
  --pst-color-primary: #007d8a; /* CORE-style teal */
  --pst-color-info: #2d5973;
}

4. Project Structure (The “Units” approach)

CORE books are organized into “Units” rather than chapters. Reflect this in your toc:

site:
  toc:
    - file: intro.md
    - title: Unit 1 - The Capitalist Revolution
      sections:
        - file: unit_01/01_intro.md
        - file: unit_01/02_inequality.ipynb

Is there a pre-built theme?

There is an ongoing effort by the Executuable Books Project and Curvenote (who build MyST) to support these open-curriculum styles natively. Since you are using JB2, keep an eye on the curvenote template as an alternative to book-theme if you want a more “Journal/Scientific” look.