Distributed Jupyter Kernel Demo

This project demonstrates a proof of concept for using a custom JupyterLab plugin to connect to a remote Jupyter server's kernel manager using a shared token. It shows how one JupyterLab frontend (Server B) can start and interact with kernels running on another backend Jupyter server (Server A).

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🧩 What This Demo Does

• Server A is a Jupyter Server that exposes a kernel manager (with CORS enabled).
• Server B is a JupyterLab instance running a custom ServiceManagerPlugin.
• The plugin in Server B creates its own KernelManager that connects to Server A using a shared token and URL.
• Kernels started from Server B appear and run on Server A.

This can be a helpful starting point for building distributed or decoupled architectures in the Jupyter ecosystem (e.g., connecting to remote compute backends, multi-user systems, etc.).

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🔧 Local Setup (Without Docker)

1. Create a Conda/mamba Environment and Install Dependencies

conda create -n distributed-jupyter-demo python=3.11 -y
conda activate distributed-jupyter-demo

pip install -e . && pip install jupyterlab
jlpm install
jupyter labextension develop . --overwrite
jupyter lab build

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2. Start the Servers (In Separate Terminals)

Terminal 1: Server A

jupyter server --port 8888 --ServerApp.token=abc123 --ServerApp.allow_origin='http://localhost:8889'

Terminal 2: Server B

jupyter lab --port 8889 --ServerApp.token=abc123

Then open your browser at http://localhost:8889/lab. The kernel plugin will automatically start a kernel on Server A.

You can confirm the kernel was created by checking http://localhost:8888/api/kernels.

💡 If prompted for a token in the browser, enter: abc123 or add ?token=abc123.

🐳 Run with Docker

This project comes with a ready-to-use Docker and Docker Compose setup. You will need to have Docker installed in your system.

1. Build and Start the Servers

docker compose up --build

This launches:

• http://localhost:8888 → Server A (backend kernel server)
• http://localhost:8889 → Server B (JupyterLab frontend with plugin)

💡 If prompted for a token in the browser, enter: abc123 or add ?token=abc123.

After going to http://localhost:8889/lab, Server B will start a kernel on Server A when loaded and you can see it in http://localhost:8888/api/kernels.

💡 Notes

This demo uses a shared token (abc123) to authenticate both servers. In production, proper security measures must be taken.

CORS is enabled on Server A to allow requests from Server B.

This setup assumes both servers are running on the same host, but the architecture can be adapted for different machines or containers.