diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index d82b48ff8..aaf62b564 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@
         "styles",
         "docs"
       ],
+      "dependencies": {
+        "thebe-core": "file:../../GitHub/thebe/thebe/packages/core/thebe-core-0.4.7.tgz"
+      },
       "devDependencies": {
         "@changesets/cli": "^2.26.1",
         "@remix-run/node": "~1.17.0",
@@ -36643,8 +36646,8 @@
     },
     "node_modules/thebe-core": {
       "version": "0.4.7",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/thebe-core/-/thebe-core-0.4.7.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-VwspRu64Yn4O0mAq7pR9Ehoy0b/uGMyHsJrbJ3uiD1doorCk8bRbD9+R7PjhzNV8Zju6g8C2i2tKsG6a9Guk0Q==",
+      "resolved": "file:../../GitHub/thebe/thebe/packages/core/thebe-core-0.4.7.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-C1+6rEQ9He8nEO543MArUvKc872Fv9YqmbFiYtYJkDU2qV2FJJwGXRRpuAyKqG3gWyNy+gqgJUH+3pgj1ERd8Q==",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "@jupyter-widgets/base": "^6.0.6",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index b94d33f6c..e1fdc3341 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -51,5 +51,8 @@
     "npm": ">=7.0.0",
     "node": ">=14.0.0"
   },
-  "packageManager": "npm@8.10.0"
+  "packageManager": "npm@8.10.0",
+  "dependencies": {
+    "thebe-core": "file:../../GitHub/thebe/thebe/packages/core/thebe-core-0.4.7.tgz"
+  }
 }
diff --git a/packages/common/src/types.ts b/packages/common/src/types.ts
index 6195aed8d..536dea4e9 100644
--- a/packages/common/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/common/src/types.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,27 @@ type PageFrontmatterWithDownloads = Omit<PageFrontmatter, 'downloads' | 'exports
   exports?: SiteExport[];
 };
 
+export type WidgetState = {
+  model_module: string;
+  model_module_version: string;
+  model_name: string;
+  state: {
+    [key: string]: any;
+  };
+};
+
+export type Widgets = {
+  state: {
+    [key: string]: WidgetState;
+  };
+  version_major: number;
+  version_minor: number;
+};
+
+export type WidgetsMetaData = {
+  "application/vnd.jupyter.widget-state+json": Widgets
+};
+
 export type PageLoader = {
   kind: SourceFileKind;
   location: string;
@@ -58,6 +79,7 @@ export type PageLoader = {
   project: string; // This is written in at render time in the site
   frontmatter: PageFrontmatterWithDownloads;
   mdast: GenericParent;
+  widgets?: WidgetsMetaData;
   references: References;
   footer?: FooterLinks;
   // This may not be defined
diff --git a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/actions.ts b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/actions.ts
index 3416ebaba..039634599 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/actions.ts
+++ b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/actions.ts
@@ -89,6 +89,16 @@ interface AddNotebookPayload {
   rendermime: IRenderMimeRegistry;
 }
 
+interface AddPassivePayload {
+  manager: any; //TODO ThebePassiveManager
+  rendermime: IRenderMimeRegistry;
+  pageSlug: string;
+}
+
+export function isPassivePayload(payload: unknown): payload is AddPassivePayload {
+  const maybePayload = payload as AddPassivePayload;
+  return typeof maybePayload.manager === 'object' && typeof maybePayload.rendermime === 'object';
+}
 export function isAddSessionPayload(payload: unknown): payload is AddSessionPayload {
   const maybePayload = payload as AddSessionPayload;
   return (
@@ -114,7 +124,8 @@ export interface ExecuteScopeAction {
     | 'ADD_NOTEBOOK'
     | 'ADD_SESSION'
     | 'SET_FIRST_EXECUTION'
-    | 'SET_RENDERING_READY';
+    | 'SET_RENDERING_READY'
+    | 'ADD_PASSIVE';
   payload:
     | NavigatePayload
     | SlugPayload
@@ -122,5 +133,6 @@ export interface ExecuteScopeAction {
     | BuildStatusPayload
     | AddMdastPayload
     | AddNotebookPayload
-    | AddSessionPayload;
+    | AddSessionPayload
+    | AddPassivePayload;
 }
diff --git a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/hooks.ts b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/hooks.ts
index 9890223aa..800255840 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/hooks.ts
+++ b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/hooks.ts
@@ -262,6 +262,7 @@ export function useCellExecution(id: IdOrKey, clearOutputsOnExecute = false) {
   }
 
   const ready = context.state.pages[context.slug]?.ready;
+  const passive = context.state.pages[context.slug]?.passive;
   const kind = context.state.pages[context.slug]?.kind ?? SourceFileKind.Article;
 
   const execute = useCallback(() => {
@@ -297,6 +298,7 @@ export function useCellExecution(id: IdOrKey, clearOutputsOnExecute = false) {
   return {
     canCompute: context.canCompute,
     kind,
+    passive,
     ready,
     execute,
     clear,
diff --git a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/provider.tsx b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/provider.tsx
index 9291790fa..edaa1968a 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/provider.tsx
+++ b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/provider.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { Dependency } from 'myst-spec-ext';
 import { SourceFileKind } from 'myst-spec-ext';
-import React, { useEffect, useReducer, useRef } from 'react';
+import React, { useEffect, useReducer, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import { selectAll } from 'unist-util-select';
 import type { ExecuteScopeAction } from './actions.js';
 import type { Computable, ExecuteScopeState, IdKeyMap } from './types.js';
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ import {
 } from './selectors.js';
 import { MdastFetcher, NotebookBuilder, ServerMonitor, SessionStarter } from './leaf.js';
 import type { GenericParent } from 'myst-common';
+import {  WidgetsMetaData } from '../../../common/dist/types.js';
+import {useThebeLoader} from 'thebe-react';
 
 export interface ExecuteScopeType {
   canCompute: boolean;
@@ -30,6 +32,7 @@ type ArticleContents = {
   mdast: GenericParent;
   location?: string;
   dependencies?: Dependency[];
+  widgets?:WidgetsMetaData;
 };
 
 function useScopeNavigate({
@@ -106,12 +109,35 @@ export function ExecuteScopeProvider({
   children,
   enable,
   contents,
-}: React.PropsWithChildren<{ enable: boolean; contents: ArticleContents }>) {
+}: React.PropsWithChildren<{ enable: boolean; contents: ArticleContents ;}>) {
   // compute incoming for first render
   const computables: Computable[] = listComputables(contents.mdast);
-
   const fallbackLocation = contents.kind === SourceFileKind.Notebook ? '/fallback.ipynb' : '/';
 
+  const { core } = useThebeLoader();
+  const [isCoreLoaded, setIsCoreLoaded] = useState(false);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (core) {
+      setIsCoreLoaded(true);
+    }
+  }, [core]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (isCoreLoaded && core) {
+      const rendermime = core.makeRenderMimeRegistry();
+      const manager = new core.ThebePassiveManager(rendermime, contents?.widgets?.["application/vnd.jupyter.widget-state+json"]);
+
+      dispatch({
+        type: 'ADD_PASSIVE',
+        payload: {
+          rendermime,
+          manager,
+          pageSlug:contents.slug
+        },
+      });
+    }
+  }, [isCoreLoaded, core, contents?.widgets]);
+
   const initialState: ExecuteScopeState = {
     mdast: {
       [contents.slug]: { root: contents.mdast },
@@ -126,6 +152,7 @@ export function ExecuteScopeProvider({
         computables,
         ready: false,
         scopes: {},
+        passive: undefined
       },
     },
     builds: {},
diff --git a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/reducer.ts b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/reducer.ts
index 9a9c88adf..b6a405664 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/reducer.ts
+++ b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/reducer.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
   isBuildStatusPayload,
   isNavigatePayload,
   isSlugPayload,
+  isPassivePayload,
 } from './actions.js';
 import type { ExecuteScopeState } from './types.js';
 
@@ -161,6 +162,28 @@ export function reducer(state: ExecuteScopeState, action: ExecuteScopeAction): E
         },
       };
     }
+    case 'ADD_PASSIVE': {
+      if (!isPassivePayload(action.payload)) {
+        console.error(action.payload);
+        throw new Error('invalid ADD_PASSIVE payload');
+      }
+      const { rendermime, manager, pageSlug} = action.payload;
+      
+      return {
+        ...state,
+        pages: {
+          ...state.pages,
+          [pageSlug]: {
+            ...state.pages[pageSlug],
+            passive: {
+              rendermime: rendermime,
+              manager: manager,
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      };
+    }
+    
     case 'ADD_SESSION': {
       if (!isAddSessionPayload(action.payload)) {
         console.error(action.payload);
diff --git a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/types.ts b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/types.ts
index e684435e9..f40a826b0 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/types.ts
+++ b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/types.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { GenericParent } from 'myst-common';
 import type { SourceFileKind, Dependency } from 'myst-spec-ext';
-import type { IRenderMimeRegistry, ThebeNotebook, ThebeSession } from 'thebe-core';
+import type { IRenderMimeRegistry, ThebeNotebook, ThebeSession, ThebePassiveManager } from 'thebe-core';
 
 export type BuildStatus =
   | 'pending'
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ export interface ExecuteScopeState {
       scopes: {
         [notebookSlug: string]: ExecutionScope;
       };
+      passive? : {
+        manager: ThebePassiveManager;
+        rendermime: IRenderMimeRegistry
+      }
     };
   };
   builds: {
diff --git a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/utils.ts b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/utils.ts
index 65432d9e8..20e8c5771 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter/src/execute/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/jupyter/src/execute/utils.ts
@@ -75,17 +75,19 @@ export function notebookFromMdast(
       if (codeCell.identifier) idkmap[codeCell.identifier] = target;
       if (output.identifier) idkmap[output.identifier] = target;
 
+      // TODO Future Fix: pass through metadata to sync passive and active state
+      const metadata = {};      
+     
       return new core.ThebeCodeCell(
         target.cellId,
         notebook.id,
-        codeCell.value ?? '',
+        codeCell.value ?? '', //source
+        [block.data] ?? [{}], 
         config,
-        block.data ?? {},
+        metadata, 
         notebook.rendermime,
       );
     } else {
-      // assume content - concatenate it
-      // TODO inject cell metadata
       const cell = new core.ThebeMarkdownCell(
         block.key,
         notebook.id,
diff --git a/packages/jupyter/src/jupyter.tsx b/packages/jupyter/src/jupyter.tsx
index 72daa6348..66d0a82b8 100644
--- a/packages/jupyter/src/jupyter.tsx
+++ b/packages/jupyter/src/jupyter.tsx
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { fetchAndEncodeOutputImages } from './convertImages.js';
 import type { ThebeCore } from 'thebe-core';
 import { SourceFileKind } from 'myst-spec-ext';
 import { useXRefState } from '@myst-theme/providers';
-import { useThebeLoader } from 'thebe-react';
+import {  useThebeLoader } from 'thebe-react';
 import { useCellExecution } from './execute/index.js';
 import { usePlaceholder } from './decoration.js';
 import { MyST } from 'myst-to-react';
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ function ActiveOutputRenderer({
     console.debug(`${verb} cell ${exec.cell.id} to DOM at:`, {
       el: ref.current,
       connected: ref.current.isConnected,
-      data: core?.stripWidgets(initialData) ?? initialData,
+      data: initialData,
     });
 
     exec.cell.attachToDOM(ref.current);
@@ -76,19 +76,25 @@ function PassiveOutputRenderer({
   core: ThebeCore;
   kind: SourceFileKind;
 }) {
-  const rendermime = core.makeRenderMimeRegistry();
+  const exec = useCellExecution(id);
 
-  const cell = useRef(new core.PassiveCellRenderer(id, rendermime, undefined));
+  const cell = useRef<any>(null); // Initially null
   const ref = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
 
-  const { loaded } = usePlotlyPassively(rendermime, data);
+  // Use exec.passive.rendermime or fallback to core.makeRenderMimeRegistry()
+  const { loaded } = usePlotlyPassively(exec.passive?.rendermime ?? core.makeRenderMimeRegistry(), data);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!ref.current || !loaded) return;
-    // eslint-disable-next-line import/no-extraneous-dependencies
-    cell.current.attachToDOM(ref.current ?? undefined, true);
-    cell.current.render(core?.stripWidgets(data) ?? data);
-  }, [ref, loaded]);
+    if (!ref.current || !loaded || !exec.passive?.rendermime) return;
+
+    // Initialize cell when exec.passive.rendermime is available
+    cell.current = new core.PassiveCellRenderer(id, data, exec.passive.rendermime);
+
+    cell.current.attachToDOM(ref.current ?? undefined, { appendExisting: true });
+
+    // Render regular output
+    cell.current.render(data);
+  }, [ref, loaded, exec.passive?.rendermime, id, data, core]);
 
   return <div ref={ref} data-thebe-passive-ref="true" />;
 }