General User Guide for Noteable

In Noteable, a Notebook Server is the environment you start. It includes the interface and pre-installed libraries you will work with.

When you click a link to Noteable, you'll probably see the following screen. Some of the text on the screen may be different. The important thing to look at here is the dropdown menu. If this is your first time using Noteable, and you would like to follow this walk through, then set this to Standard Python 3 (click on the down arrow to see all options). Then press the Start button.

Great! You've just started your first Standard Python 3 Notebook Server.

Deep-linking from your LMS

Course tutors can also create a link in their LMS so that students open Noteable directly with a chosen Notebook Server.

Deep-linking requires configuration with the VLE.

To set this up, the course tutor should:

1. Open their LMS, such as Learn, Moodle, Canvas, or Brightspace.
2. Turn on edit mode.
3. Select Add activity or resources.
4. Find and choose Noteable LTI.
5. In the Content area, click Select Content.
6. When the Noteable Launcher opens, select the required Notebook Server:
   • Standard Python 3
   • Language and Machine Learning
   • Biochemistry
   • GeoScience
   • Astronomy
7. Click Add to VLE.
8. When course users click this link, Noteable will open automatically with the chosen Notebook Server.

Standard Python 3 Notebook Server gives you access to JupyterLab and Python 3.

A notebook document is different: it is the file you create or open inside that server, usually a .ipynb file.

Important: you can start a different Notebook Server at any time when you log in, and your files and folders will still be there regardless of which server you choose.

Different Notebook Servers are available depending on:

• the programming language you want to use
• the libraries or tools you need
• any subject-specific environment you require

For a high-level overview, see the notebook contents page.

For more detailed information about what each server includes, see the notebook descriptions page.

If you need a different type of Notebook Server, such as one with specific libraries or another kernel, you can contact Noteable to discuss whether it can be developed.

Examples of alternative environments include R, Sage, and subject-focused servers such as Astronomy, Biochemistry, and Machine Learning.

The files and folders you see when you start a Notebook Server are yours to keep.

When you log in again, assuming you use the same account each time, your folders will still be there waiting for you.

We will talk about saving your work later, but for now the key point is this:

If you do some work, close your browser, and come back a few days later, your work will still be there.

If you opened the wrong type of Notebook Server, the steps depend on how Noteable was launched.

If you opened Noteable normally:

• Click the Noteable logo at the top right of the screen, or
• Click Noteable in the top menu bar, then select Return to Launcher.

Once you are back on the launcher page, shut down the current Notebook Server and then choose the Notebook Server you want from the dropdown menu.

Important: before you can start a different Notebook Server, you must first shut down your current one.

The video below shows the menu-bar method: click Noteable, then choose Return to Launcher.

If your Noteable session was started from a Deep Link:

You cannot switch Notebook Server by clicking the Noteable logo or by using Noteable > Return to Launcher. In a Deep Link session, those options will immediately take you back into the same Noteable JupyterLab session.

Instead, you need to:

1. Go back to your LMS, such as Moodle or another learning platform.
2. Launch the normal Noteable launcher, not the Deep Link.
3. From the launcher page, click Shutdown.
4. Then start the Notebook Server you want.

The video below shows this Deep Link case.

Folders help you group related files together, just like folders on your own computer.

To create a new folder:

• Click the folder icon at the top left of the page.
• A new folder will appear with the default name Untitled Folder.
• Type the new name and press Enter.

You have now created an empty folder and given it a name.

Naming tips:

• Avoid these characters in folder names: ?!@*%{}[]<>()/\"'
• Do not start the name with a space.
• Folder names are case-sensitive, so Foo and foo are treated as different folders.
• Keep names fairly short so they are easier to read in the file browser.
• If the name has multiple words, use BiologyProject or Biology_project rather than spaces.
• Choose a name that clearly describes what the folder is for.

For example, if the folder contains work for a biology project, a clear name would be BiologyProject.

Click on the folder name to open it and see what is inside.

Example path: if your folder is called BiologyProject, files inside it will have a path such as home/jovyan/BiologyProject.

If you have several folders, you can check your current location using the path shown above the file list. You can also search for a file using the Filter files by name box.

You can create a new notebook document in three different ways:

Click on the plus sign on the blue box at the top left of JupyterLab:

Click on the plus sign beside the notebook document that you have open or, if no notebook document has been open yet, click on the plus sign on the right of the Launcher:

As you can see, both the plus sign on the blue box and the plus sign beside the notebook document you have open create a new Launcher tab from which you can start another notebook document.

For the third option, click on the File dropdown menu on the top left banner of your screen and then New:

There are several templates and example notebook documents available from the Noteable exemplars repository to get you started. If you or your students have never used notebooks before, it may be useful to refer to the beginner guide notebook, which outlines the basics of interacting with notebook documents.

If you are a Unix user, you may be familiar with terminals. There are three different ways to create a new Terminal on Noteable:

Click on the plus sign on the blue box on the top left of your notebook and then Terminal to get one running:

Click on the plus sign beside the notebook that you have open or, if no notebook has been open yet, click on the plus sign on the right of the Launcher and then Terminal:

Note that, both the plus sign on the blue box and the plus sign beside the notebook you have open opens a new Launcher tab from which you can start a terminal.

Click on the File dropdown menu on the top left banner of your screen, hover over New and then choose Terminal :

You can also run commands from a notebook code cell by prefacing the command with !.

Note: exercise caution when issuing commands that require further input from you on the command line - this will usually be easier to do by opening a terminal.

The coding environments available in Noteable have a wide range of libraries pre-installed, which you can access throughout a subscription. To view a high-level description of the available notebook servers in Noteable, visit the Notebook Descriptions section in the Resources area. This section provides detailed descriptions of our different notebook servers.

To check which packages are included in each notebook server, you can log into a notebook server, open a Terminal, and run the pip list command [Alternatively, you can run the same command in a notebook server using the `!`-notation]. The pip list command is particularly useful as it displays all the libraries, including those installed as dependencies.

To view a high-level description of the available notebook servers in Noteable, visit the Notebook contents section in the Resources area: our different notebook servers.

For more information on how to access and use the terminal, refer to the subsection labelled The terminal.

Additional packages can be installed from the terminal or from within a notebook (prefacing commands with !). For information on how to install your won packages, go to Can I install my own packages on Noteable? in the FAQs page.

The quickest option is usually drag and drop.

• Open the file browser in Noteable.
• Click and hold the file or folder you want to move.
• Drag it to the destination folder in the file tree, then release.

If drag and drop is awkward, use Cut and Paste.

• Right-click the file or folder you want to move and select Cut.
• Go to the destination folder.
• Right-click and choose Paste.

If you prefer the command line, use mv.

Open a terminal in Noteable and run a command such as mv /path/to/your/folder /new/location/.

Important: moving a file or folder changes its location, so any code that refers to its old path may need to be updated.

When loading or reading data files in a notebook document, you need to specify the path to the file you want to access.

This means the location of the data file relative to the notebook document is important. If the path is wrong, your code will usually return an error.

The simplest option is to store the data file in the same folder as the notebook document.

For example, if the notebook document Notebook1.ipynb and the data file data.csv are both in ~/folder1, you can use ./data.csv inside the notebook.

If you need to go back one folder level before reaching the data file, you can use ../data.csv.

Saving a notebook document in Noteable is simple and convenient. One of the key features is automatic saving. Noteable continuously saves your work as you make changes, so you don’t have to worry about losing your progress. This background saving happens periodically as you edit, ensuring your work is always up to date.

If you prefer to manually save your notebook document at any point, you can do so by clicking on the File menu at the top of the screen and selecting Save Notebook. This action ensures that all recent changes are saved immediately without waiting for the automatic save.

Additionally, if you need to create a copy of the notebook document under a different name or save it in a different location, use the Save As option. By selecting File > Save Notebook As, you can rename the file or choose a new directory to store it. These saving options ensure your notebook document is safely stored and accessible whenever you need it.

To download a notebook document from Noteable, you can right-click on the file within the folder structure and select Download, or navigate to the File menu and click Download to save the notebook document as a Jupyter source file (.ipynb).

Noteable Summer 2026 includes access to coding-agent tools from the terminal or command line in Noteable environments.

Available tools include:

• Codex
• Claude
• OpenCode

Noteable provides access to these tools, but you may need to sign in with the relevant AI provider or supply your own API key. Available models, usage limits, access requirements, and costs vary between providers.

Any charges from an AI provider are paid directly to that provider and are not included in a Noteable subscription.

If you plan to use a coding agent in teaching, check the account and authentication requirements in advance and test the workflow in the relevant Noteable environment before teaching starts.

The video below shows the setup process and a simple getting-started example using an API key from EDINA's ELM service.

Shutting down your notebook document means stopping the kernel inside that open file, so it no longer runs in the background.

If the notebook is open, you can shut it down by selecting File then Close and Shut Down Notebook.

Shutting down Noteable means ending your current notebook server session.

If you opened Noteable normally:

• Return to the launcher page by clicking the Noteable logo at the top right, or by clicking Noteable in the top menu bar and selecting Return to Launcher.
• On the launcher page, click Shutdown.

This ends your session. Any packages you installed only for that session will be lost.

If your Noteable session was started from a Deep Link:

The same issue described in I clicked on the wrong type of notebook, how do I get back? applies here. You cannot use the Noteable logo or Noteable > Return to Launcher to get back to the launcher, because Deep Link sessions immediately reopen the same Noteable JupyterLab session.

Instead, you need to:

1. Go back to your LMS, such as Moodle.
2. Launch the normal Noteable launcher, not the Deep Link.
3. From the launcher page, click Shutdown.

If you do not need to shut it down immediately, you can also simply close the Noteable JupyterLab tab. The session will shut down automatically after some time.

Folders in Noteable work in a similar way to folders on your own computer.

A folder can contain files, and it can also contain other folders.

This helps you organise your work into a clear file structure.

For more help with creating folders, please see Creating a folder.

When you start your Standard Notebook, (if unsure how to do this, refer to the subsection labelled Starting up a Notebook Server), this is what you will see:

The application has 5 main components: a menu, the main work area, left & right panels, and a status bar at the bottom.

Application menu

The description below shows a summary of what is in the application menu. For more detailed view of what you can find in each menu, please go to Menus in the JupyterLab interface.

• File: Allows you to create, open, save, or close notebooks and other files.
• Edit: Offers options to cut, copy, paste, and undo changes in your notebook.
• View: Helps adjust the notebook layout, including hiding/showing certain panels.
• Run: Runs your code or specific cells in the notebook.
• Kernel: Lets you restart, interrupt, or change the notebook's computational engine (kernel).
• Git: Integrates with Git for version control, allowing you to commit and track changes.
• Noteable: Provides access to Noteable-specific features like assignments and settings.
• Nbgrader: Manages assignments and grading tools.
• Tabs: Allows you to manage open tabs.
• Settings: Adjust general settings for your notebook environment.
• Help: Provides help and support for using Noteable.

Main work area (Middle of the Screen)

The man work area revolves around the Launcher tab. This has a set of buttons for starting various services / components:

• Notebook: Here, you can launch a new notebook for Python 3.
• Console: Allows you to open a Python 3 console for running code without using a notebook interface.
• Other: Options to open a terminal, create text files, markdown files, or Python files.
• Jupytext: Additional formats to open notebooks, such as Python scripts and Markdown-based notebooks.

See Jupyter's own documentation on the Main work area for more information.

Side Panels (File Browser, et al)

• The left panel is predominantly used to show the file tree, where you can browse your folders and files. You can click on any folder or file to open it. There is also a filter box to search for specific files by name. For more information, go to Creating a folder
• The right panel contains access to debugger and inspection tools. It is also where the Create Assignment tool sits, for course-instructors.

See Jupyter's own documentation on side panels for more information.

There are 4 significant logos in the top-right corner of a notebook server (Note: RStudio and Legacy notebooks are different).

• The first two relates to collaboration: The symbol enables Collaboration, and the two letters in the blue circle are related to Collab but not used;
• The second-last next icon is an indicator of the notebook server started and will be different in Astronomy, GeoSpatial, etc.;
• Lastly, the "Noteable" logo is a link back to the launch page.

If you are unsure how to do this, please refer to the subsection labelled Shutting down your notebook/Noteable.

Below is a guide to the key features available in the Jupyter notebook interface, designed to help you manage your files, collaborate with others, and enhance your productivity.

• Folder: Access and manage all your files and folders within the notebook environment by clicking here.
• Running Terminals and Kernels: View and manage currently active terminals and running kernels in your notebook.
• Git: Manage version control by syncing, tracking, and handling changes in your Git repositories directly from the platform.
• Collaborate: Shows you how many people you are collaborating with, and which documents you are sharing with them. Note that Noteable has no mechaism for attributing users, so the collaboration system autogenerates anonymous names.
• Table of Contents: This creates a table of contents based on markdown heading levels.
• Extension Manager: Lists the currently installed extensions, and allows new extensions to be installed. Note that user-installed extensions to not remain beyond the current session.
• Jupyter AI Chat: Enables the user to configure an AI "chat bot" to interact with. Note that Noteable does not provide any API keys in notebook servers.

The file structure in Noteable helps you organise your work clearly.

When you open Noteable, you will see your files and folders displayed in a hierarchical structure, similar to the file system on a normal computer.

You can navigate through this structure by clicking on folders to open them and view their contents.

From the Folder section in the left toolbar, you can:

• create new folders
• upload files
• rename files and folders
• move items between folders
• delete files or folders

These tools make it easier to keep your workspace tidy, organised, and accessible.

If you haven't already, download or create the notebook file (name ends in .ipynb) that you would like to upload to Noteable - make sure you know where it's downloaded on your computer. Once you've followed the steps to Starting up a Notebook Server, and have reached the screen below, click Upload. You can select the file from the files on your computer. So go to the location that the notebook was downloaded into on your computer and select it. The notebook is now within your Noteable directory and you can click on it to open it.

Don't worry you don't have to do this each time you start up your Noteable, the file you just uploaded will be stored there, as long as you don't delete it.

If you are using git to upload a new file, there are four main options for you to do this within Noteable:

• Using the Git menu,
• Using Git in the left panel,
• Using git through the terminal within Noteable,
• Using git from the notebook interface (within a cell of a running notebook) by using "!" magic to execute a shell command.

Note: You cannot use git from a terminal on your machine - use the terminal in Noteable!

The following github repository will be used to show how to upload repositories with git: https://github.com/robyngreene/tutorialsNoteable.git

Both the Git menu and Git from the left panel do the same thing, with the same interface.

• From the application menu, click Git, then Clone a Repository
• In the left panel, click on the git icon, then Clone a Repository

.... paste the URL of the repo - the https://... link, not the git@... link

This will clone the repository and any files it contains onto your Noteable account. Any changes you make to this file will not alter the original repository.

If the repository is "private", then after you click Clone you will be asked to provide a username and password.

Several templates and exemplars are available for use on the Noteable exemplar repository. You can access these by clicking Git and entering the following URL: https://github.com/edina/Exemplars2020.

If you would like to use git commands on Noteable, you can either:

• open up a terminal by using any of the methods for opening a Terminal explained above in the option The Terminal, or
• Execute a command in a notebook-document using the ! "magic"

If the repository is private, or you wish the clone a non-standard branch, we suggest you use the terminal

You can use git commands such as git clone <url> by using the link from gitlab or github as you would with the files on your machine.

Remember that "~"" in the path correlates with your home directory on Noteable, not your computer, you will only be able to access folders and files that are on Noteable and the file you are uploading will only be uploaded to Noteable.

Noteable does not restrict Git in any way - so users are able to create branches, push updates, and/or rebase code as they need to. Management of git repositories is outside our control.

Whist the git extension is surprisingly good, for anything complicated - drop to the command line and do it by hand.

This menu typically allows you to create, open, save, or export notebooks, as well as manage file operations like downloading or printing. (for more information, refer to the subsection labelled Saving your work in a notebook ). For more information on downloading a notebook, refer to the subsection labelled Downloading a notebook.

This menu is only applicable when editing documents. It contains options such as undo/redo, copy/paste, find/replace, and cell manipulation in notebook documents.

Offers options to control what is shown in the interface, such as switching various side panels, adjusting the layout, and managing the visibility of different elements within the JupyterLab interface. This is also where you find how to toggle syntax highlighting, line numbers (counting the number of lines of code), and code-folding.

This menu is only applicable when working in notebook documents. It provides commands for running cells, sections, or the entire notebook. It may also allow you to restart and run all cells.

This menu is mostly only applicable when working in notebook documents. This is where you can restart, interrupt or change the kernel for the notebook you are currently viewing.

Manages version control, allowing you to sync, push, pull, or commit changes to a Git repository connected to the currently listed directory.

The Noteable menu is specific to the Noteable service, and provides quick access to key resources, allowing you to return to the launch page, view a resources page for additional learning materials, and access the help and guides page for documentation and assistance with the platform.

It also includes a Clear Trash option at the bottom of the menu. This clears the trash for you directly from the interface, which is much easier than using the older terminal command rm -rf ~/.local/share/Trash.

Nbgrader adds it's own menu to the JupyterLab interface.

Nbgrader in JupyterLab improves upon the Legacy Jupyter interface as it opens sup-panels in the main work area, rather than opening new tabs in the browser.

The Nbgrader menu offers tools for managing assignments in Jupyter notebooks, allowing instructors to create, distribute, and grade assignments. It streamlines the process of generating assignments and ensures efficient feedback and grading for students within the platform.

Note that the place for defining cell types, and any points for that cell, are managed through the Create assignment panel on the right-hand side. See the Developing assignments with the assignment toolbar documentation

Manages multiple open tabs (launchers, terminals, documents, etc) within the main work area, allowing you to activate tabs or switch between them.

Access to various configuration options for the notebook environment, allowing you to customize preferences such as and Language, Autosave Documents (note that collab overrides this, and continually autosaves.), and specific settings for various components within JupyterLab.

Provides access to help documentation, tutorials, or platform-specific support resources for JupyterLab. When Context Help is enabled, it can show documentation specific to a class or method, and/or load reference documentation appropriate for the currently focused tab.

The notebook server allows multiple notebook documents to run concurrently. Each document can use a different kernel, provided that the kernel is available on the server.

This means you can open several notebooks, each using a different kernel, but any single notebook can only use the kernel it was assigned.