diff --git a/extensions/vscode-notebook-tests/src/notebook.test.ts b/extensions/vscode-notebook-tests/src/notebook.test.ts
index 077815ad16d..4b4efea03e6 100644
--- a/extensions/vscode-notebook-tests/src/notebook.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/vscode-notebook-tests/src/notebook.test.ts
@@ -278,6 +278,23 @@ suite('API tests', () => {
 		await vscode.commands.executeCommand('workbench.action.files.save');
 		await vscode.commands.executeCommand('workbench.action.closeActiveEditor');
 	});
+
+	test('initialzation should not emit cell change events.', async function () {
+		const resource = vscode.Uri.file(join(vscode.workspace.rootPath || '', './first.vsctestnb'));
+
+		let count = 0;
+		const disposables: vscode.Disposable[] = [];
+		disposables.push(vscode.notebook.onDidChangeNotebookCells(() => {
+			count++;
+		}));
+
+		await vscode.commands.executeCommand('vscode.openWith', resource, 'notebookCoreTest');
+		assert.equal(count, 0);
+
+		disposables.forEach(d => d.dispose());
+		await vscode.commands.executeCommand('workbench.action.files.save');
+		await vscode.commands.executeCommand('workbench.action.closeActiveEditor');
+	});
 });
 
 suite('notebook workflow', () => {
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/api/browser/mainThreadNotebook.ts b/src/vs/workbench/api/browser/mainThreadNotebook.ts
index d908d6c0fb0..a82dd202a82 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/api/browser/mainThreadNotebook.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/api/browser/mainThreadNotebook.ts
@@ -476,14 +476,16 @@ export class MainThreadNotebookController implements IMainNotebookController {
 			document.textModel.metadata = backup.metadata;
 			document.textModel.languages = backup.languages;
 
+			// restored from backup, update the text model without emitting any event to exthost
 			document.textModel.$applyEdit(document.textModel.versionId, [
 				{
 					editType: CellEditType.Insert,
 					index: 0,
 					cells: backup.cells || []
 				}
-			]);
+			], false);
 
+			// create document in ext host with cells data
 			await this._mainThreadNotebook.addNotebookDocument({
 				viewType: document.viewType,
 				handle: document.handle,
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/api/common/extHostNotebook.ts b/src/vs/workbench/api/common/extHostNotebook.ts
index 0d6daa6086a..a725b04b779 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/api/common/extHostNotebook.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/api/common/extHostNotebook.ts
@@ -263,8 +263,10 @@ export class ExtHostNotebookDocument extends Disposable implements vscode.Notebo
 
 	accpetModelChanged(event: NotebookCellsChangedEvent): void {
 		this._versionId = event.versionId;
-		if (event.kind === NotebookCellsChangeType.ModelChange) {
-			this.$spliceNotebookCells(event.changes);
+		if (event.kind === NotebookCellsChangeType.Initialize) {
+			this.$spliceNotebookCells(event.changes, true);
+		} if (event.kind === NotebookCellsChangeType.ModelChange) {
+			this.$spliceNotebookCells(event.changes, false);
 		} else if (event.kind === NotebookCellsChangeType.Move) {
 			this.$moveCell(event.index, event.newIdx);
 		} else if (event.kind === NotebookCellsChangeType.CellClearOutput) {
@@ -276,7 +278,7 @@ export class ExtHostNotebookDocument extends Disposable implements vscode.Notebo
 		}
 	}
 
-	private $spliceNotebookCells(splices: NotebookCellsSplice2[]): void {
+	private $spliceNotebookCells(splices: NotebookCellsSplice2[], initialization: boolean): void {
 		if (this._disposed) {
 			return;
 		}
@@ -323,10 +325,12 @@ export class ExtHostNotebookDocument extends Disposable implements vscode.Notebo
 			contentChangeEvents.push(event);
 		});
 
-		this._emitter.emitModelChange({
-			document: this,
-			changes: contentChangeEvents
-		});
+		if (!initialization) {
+			this._emitter.emitModelChange({
+				document: this,
+				changes: contentChangeEvents
+			});
+		}
 	}
 
 	private $moveCell(index: number, newIdx: number): void {
@@ -1105,7 +1109,7 @@ export class ExtHostNotebookController implements ExtHostNotebookShape, ExtHostN
 					}
 
 					document.accpetModelChanged({
-						kind: NotebookCellsChangeType.ModelChange,
+						kind: NotebookCellsChangeType.Initialize,
 						versionId: modelData.versionId,
 						changes: [[
 							0,
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/common/model/notebookTextModel.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/common/model/notebookTextModel.ts
index 305d80a87bd..c47e6d922fb 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/common/model/notebookTextModel.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/common/model/notebookTextModel.ts
@@ -134,10 +134,10 @@ export class NotebookTextModel extends Disposable implements INotebookTextModel
 			const cellUri = CellUri.generate(this.uri, cellHandle);
 			return new NotebookCellTextModel(cellUri, cellHandle, cell.source, cell.language, cell.cellKind, cell.outputs || [], cell.metadata);
 		});
-		this.insertNewCell(0, mainCells);
+		this.insertNewCell(0, mainCells, false);
 	}
 
-	$applyEdit(modelVersionId: number, rawEdits: ICellEditOperation[]): boolean {
+	$applyEdit(modelVersionId: number, rawEdits: ICellEditOperation[], emitToExtHost: boolean = true): boolean {
 		if (modelVersionId !== this._versionId) {
 			return false;
 		}
@@ -198,19 +198,21 @@ export class NotebookTextModel extends Disposable implements INotebookTextModel
 			return [diff.start, diff.deleteCount, diff.toInsert] as [number, number, NotebookCellTextModel[]];
 		});
 
-		this._onDidModelChangeProxy.fire({
-			kind: NotebookCellsChangeType.ModelChange,
-			versionId: this._versionId,
-			changes: diffs.map(diff => [diff[0], diff[1], diff[2].map(cell => ({
-				handle: cell.handle,
-				uri: cell.uri,
-				source: cell.textBuffer.getLinesContent(),
-				language: cell.language,
-				cellKind: cell.cellKind,
-				outputs: cell.outputs,
-				metadata: cell.metadata
-			}))] as [number, number, IMainCellDto[]])
-		});
+		if (emitToExtHost) {
+			this._onDidModelChangeProxy.fire({
+				kind: NotebookCellsChangeType.ModelChange,
+				versionId: this._versionId,
+				changes: diffs.map(diff => [diff[0], diff[1], diff[2].map(cell => ({
+					handle: cell.handle,
+					uri: cell.uri,
+					source: cell.textBuffer.getLinesContent(),
+					language: cell.language,
+					cellKind: cell.cellKind,
+					outputs: cell.outputs,
+					metadata: cell.metadata
+				}))] as [number, number, IMainCellDto[]])
+			});
+		}
 
 		this._onDidChangeCells.fire(diffs);
 		return true;
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/common/notebookCommon.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/common/notebookCommon.ts
index 7dce654a3f2..c67e219b28a 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/common/notebookCommon.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/notebook/common/notebookCommon.ts
@@ -300,7 +300,14 @@ export enum NotebookCellsChangeType {
 	Move = 2,
 	CellClearOutput = 3,
 	CellsClearOutput = 4,
-	ChangeLanguage = 5
+	ChangeLanguage = 5,
+	Initialize = 6
+}
+
+export interface NotebookCellsInitializeEvent {
+	readonly kind: NotebookCellsChangeType.Initialize;
+	readonly changes: NotebookCellsSplice2[];
+	readonly versionId: number;
 }
 
 export interface NotebookCellsModelChangedEvent {
@@ -334,7 +341,7 @@ export interface NotebookCellsChangeLanguageEvent {
 	readonly language: string;
 }
 
-export type NotebookCellsChangedEvent = NotebookCellsModelChangedEvent | NotebookCellsModelMoveEvent | NotebookCellClearOutputEvent | NotebookCellsClearOutputEvent | NotebookCellsChangeLanguageEvent;
+export type NotebookCellsChangedEvent = NotebookCellsInitializeEvent | NotebookCellsModelChangedEvent | NotebookCellsModelMoveEvent | NotebookCellClearOutputEvent | NotebookCellsClearOutputEvent | NotebookCellsChangeLanguageEvent;
 export enum CellEditType {
 	Insert = 1,
 	Delete = 2