diff --git a/.github/scripts/nb-clean-check.sh b/.github/scripts/nb-clean-check.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..5e40b6b50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/nb-clean-check.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+DIRTY=0
+
+# Find all .ipynb files in tutorials/ and projects/
+while IFS= read -r -d '' notebook; do
+  if ! nb-clean check "$notebook"; then
+    echo "DIRTY: $notebook"
+    DIRTY=1
+  fi
+done < <(find tutorials/ projects/ -name '*.ipynb' -type f -print0 2>/dev/null)
+
+# Export result for GitHub Actions
+echo "dirty=$DIRTY" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+if [ "$DIRTY" -eq 1 ]; then
+  echo "::error::Some notebooks are not clean. Run 'nb-clean clean' to fix them."
+  exit 1
+else
+  echo "All notebooks are clean."
+  exit 0
+fi
diff --git a/.github/scripts/nb-clean-cleanup.sh b/.github/scripts/nb-clean-cleanup.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..256a69718
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/nb-clean-cleanup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Clean all notebooks in tutorials/ and projects/
+find tutorials/ projects/ -name '*.ipynb' -type f -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d '' notebook; do
+  echo "Cleaning: $notebook"
+  nb-clean clean "$notebook"
+done
+
+# Configure git user for the cleanup commit
+git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+git config user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+
+# Commit the cleaned notebooks
+git add tutorials/ projects/
+git commit -m "chore: clean notebooks with nb-clean" || echo "No changes to commit"
+
+# Push the cleanup commit back to the PR branch
+git push
diff --git a/.github/workflows/nb-clean.yml b/.github/workflows/nb-clean.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e72fe503d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/nb-clean.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+name: nb-clean
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [staging]
+    paths:
+      - 'tutorials/**/*.ipynb'
+      - 'projects/**/*.ipynb'
+  pull_request_target:
+    branches: [staging]
+    paths:
+      - 'tutorials/**/*.ipynb'
+      - 'projects/**/*.ipynb'
+
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.head_ref }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  pull-requests: write
+
+jobs:
+  nb-clean:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout PR head branch
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.12'
+
+      - name: Install nb-clean
+        run: pip install nb-clean
+
+      - name: Detect PR source
+        id: source
+        run: |
+          if [ "${{ github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name }}" = "${{ github.repository }}" ]; then
+            echo "source=main-repo" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "source=fork" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+
+      - name: Check if notebooks are clean
+        id: check
+        run: |
+          chmod +x .github/scripts/nb-clean-check.sh
+          .github/scripts/nb-clean-check.sh
+
+      - name: Clean notebooks (main repo)
+        if: steps.source.outputs.source == 'main-repo' && steps.check.outputs.dirty == 'true'
+        run: |
+          chmod +x .github/scripts/nb-clean-cleanup.sh
+          .github/scripts/nb-clean-cleanup.sh
+
+      - name: Comment after main repo cleanup
+        if: steps.source.outputs.source == 'main-repo' && steps.check.outputs.dirty == 'true'
+        uses: peter-evans/create-or-update-comment@v4
+        with:
+          issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+          body: |
+            Notebooks have been auto-cleaned with a cleanup commit above. For future PRs, run `uvx nb-clean clean tutorials/ projects/` locally before pushing.
+
+      - name: Create cleanup PR (fork)
+        id: create-pr
+        if: steps.source.outputs.source == 'fork' && steps.check.outputs.dirty == 'true'
+        continue-on-error: true
+        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v8
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          title: "chore: clean notebooks with nb-clean"
+          body: |
+            Auto-generated cleanup of Jupyter notebooks using nb-clean.
+
+            This PR applies `nb-clean clean` to all notebooks in this PR's branch.
+            Please review and merge the changes to accept the cleaned notebooks.
+
+            **To apply locally instead:**
+            ```bash
+            pip install nb-clean
+            nb-clean clean tutorials/ projects/
+            ```
+          commit-message: "chore: clean notebooks with nb-clean"
+          push-to-fork: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name }}
+
+      - name: Comment after fork cleanup PR (if created)
+        if: steps.source.outputs.source == 'fork' && steps.check.outputs.dirty == 'true' && steps.create-pr.outputs.pull-request-number != ''
+        uses: peter-evans/create-or-update-comment@v4
+        with:
+          issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+          body: |
+            A cleanup PR has been created: #${{ steps.create-pr.outputs.pull-request-number }}.
+            Please review and accept the changes, then merge to accept the cleaned notebooks.
+
+      - name: Comment with cleanup instructions (fallback)
+        if: steps.source.outputs.source == 'fork' && steps.check.outputs.dirty == 'true' && steps.create-pr.outcome == 'failure'
+        uses: peter-evans/create-or-update-comment@v4
+        with:
+          issue-number: ${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+          body: |
+            **Notebook Cleanup Required**
+
+            I could not automatically push cleanup changes to your fork. Please clean your notebooks locally:
+
+            ```bash
+            pip install nb-clean
+            nb-clean clean tutorials/ projects/
+            ```
+
+            Then push your cleaned changes to the PR branch.
+
+            Alternatively, enable **"Allow edits from maintainers"** in your fork settings, or check if there's a cleanup PR already created for this PR.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 36080fd02..b9a7eb43d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,6 +34,23 @@ Derivative works may use the license that is more appropriate to the relevant co
 [bsd-3]: https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause
 [bsd-3-shield]: https://img.shields.io/badge/License-BSD_3--Clause-blue.svg
 
+## Contributing Notebooks
+
+When contributing Jupyter notebooks, please ensure they are clean for version control:
+
+```bash
+pip install nb-clean
+nb-clean clean tutorials/ projects/
+```
+
+Or use the one-liner:
+
+```bash
+uvx nb-clean clean tutorials/ projects/
+```
+
+Notebooks will be automatically cleaned when you open a PR. If the cleanup fails to push to your fork, you'll be asked to run the cleanup locally.
+
 ## Contributors ✨
 
 Thanks goes to these wonderful people ([emoji key](https://allcontributors.org/docs/en/emoji-key)):
diff --git a/docs/plans/2026-06-10-nb-clean-design.md b/docs/plans/2026-06-10-nb-clean-design.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2f808b2ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/plans/2026-06-10-nb-clean-design.md
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+# nb-clean GitHub Action Design
+
+**Date:** 2026-06-10  
+**Status:** Approved
+
+## Overview
+
+A GitHub Action workflow that automatically cleans Jupyter notebooks when pull requests are opened against the `staging` branch. The workflow uses `nb-clean` to strip cell execution counts, metadata, and outputs from notebooks in `tutorials/` and `projects/`.
+
+The workflow handles two cases differently based on whether the PR comes from a branch on the main repo or from a fork.
+
+## Trigger
+
+- **Workflow file:** `.github/workflows/nb-clean.yml`
+- **Trigger event:** `pull_request` to `staging` branch
+- **Path filter:** `tutorials/**/*.ipynb`, `projects/**/*.ipynb`
+- **Skip condition:** If no `.ipynb` files changed in the PR, the workflow skips entirely
+- **Skip condition:** If all changed notebooks are already clean, the workflow passes silently
+
+## Main Repo Branch Flow
+
+When the PR source branch is on the main repo (`github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name == github.repository`):
+
+1. Checkout the PR head branch
+2. Run `nb-clean check` on all `.ipynb` files in `tutorials/` and `projects/`
+3. If dirty, run `nb-clean clean` to fix in place
+4. Push a cleanup commit back to the same branch
+5. Fail the CI check and comment on the PR with brief instructions
+
+Instructions comment:
+> Notebooks have been auto-cleaned with a cleanup commit above. For future PRs, run `uvx nb-clean clean tutorials/ projects/` locally before pushing.
+
+## Fork Branch Flow
+
+When the PR comes from a fork:
+
+1. Checkout the PR head branch (from the fork)
+2. Run `nb-clean check` on all `.ipynb` files in `tutorials/` and `projects/`
+3. If dirty, run `nb-clean clean` to fix in place
+4. Use `peter-evans/create-pull-request` action with `push-to-fork` option to push a cleanup branch to the fork and create a PR
+5. Comment on the original PR with a link to the cleanup PR
+
+**Fallback:** If the action cannot push to the fork (e.g., "Allow edits from maintainers" is disabled), post a comment with a GitHub gist containing the cleaned notebooks and manual instructions.
+
+## Error Handling
+
+- If `nb-clean` is not installed or fails, the workflow fails gracefully with a clear error message
+- If git push fails, post a comment explaining the issue and providing manual instructions
+- If the PR is already clean, the workflow passes silently
+- If no `.ipynb` files changed, the workflow is skipped
+
+## Edge Cases
+
+- **Multiple commits:** Workflow re-runs on each push, re-applies cleanup
+- **Rebase conflicts:** If contributor rebases after cleanup commit, git will fail and comment with instructions
+- **Large PRs:** `nb-clean check` runs against all changed `.ipynb` files; protected by GitHub's 6-hour job limit
+
+## Architecture
+
+### Files
+
+```
+.github/
+  workflows/
+    nb-clean.yml          # Main workflow file
+  scripts/
+    nb-clean-check.sh     # Bash script: runs nb-clean check, returns exit code
+    nb-clean-cleanup.sh   # Bash script: runs nb-clean clean, commits cleanup
+```
+
+### Workflow Structure
+
+The workflow uses both `pull_request` and `pull_request_target` triggers. `pull_request` handles the main repo case; `pull_request_target` ensures fork PRs also get cleanup PRs with write access to the fork.
+
+Permissions:
+- `contents: write` — for pushing cleanup commits
+- `pull-requests: write` — for creating cleanup PRs
+
+### Key Steps
+
+1. Checkout PR head branch
+2. Set up Python 3.12
+3. Install `nb-clean` via pip
+4. Detect PR source (main repo vs fork) using `github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name`
+5. Run `nb-clean check` on changed notebooks
+6. Branch based on source:
+   - Main repo: run cleanup script, push commit
+   - Fork: use `peter-evans/create-pull-request@v8` with `push-to-fork`
+
+## Tools & Dependencies
+
+- **nb-clean** — Python package for cleaning Jupyter notebooks (`pip install nb-clean`)
+- **peter-evans/create-pull-request@v8** — GitHub Action for creating/updating PRs, with `push-to-fork` support
+- **actions/checkout@v6** — Check out the PR head branch
+- **actions/setup-python@v6** — Set up Python 3.12