Binder Documentation

Binder allows you to create custom computing environments that can be shared and used by many remote users. It is powered by BinderHub, which is an open-source tool that deploys the Binder service in the cloud. One-such deployment lives here, at mybinder.org, and is free to use.

This documentation provides information for those who wish to use a pre-existing Binder deployment such as mybinder.org. If you’d like documentation on how to create and administer your own BinderHub deployment, see the BinderHub documentation, which guides you through deploying your own BinderHub.

See the Binder Examples GitHub organization for sample Binder repositories demonstrating its functionality.

Note

Binder is a research pilot, whose main goal is to understand usage patterns and workloads for future evolution and development. It is not a service that can be relied on for critical operations.

Using Binder

The following sections cover the basics of how to use a Binder service.

• Getting started with Binder
  • An interactive introduction to Binder
  • What can I do with Binder?
  • Generating a sharable Binder link
  • What technology does Binder use?
• Using Binder
  • Preparing a repository for Binder
  • Configuration Files
  • Launching your Binder
  • Use cases
• Binder Usage Guidelines
  • Temporary Banning
  • Maximum Concurrent Users for a Repository
  • Reporting Abuse

Sample repositories

The following is a list of sample repositories showing off various things you can do with Binder.

• Sample Binder Repositories
  • Julia and Python environments
  • Python environment with requirements.txt
  • Conda environment with environment.yml
  • Remote Storage with Binder
  • Using latex with Binder
  • JupyterLab + Binder
  • Specifying an R environment with a runtime.txt file
  • Specifying a Python 2 environment with runtime.txt
  • Enabling Jupyter Extensions with post-build commands
  • Using conda with pip in the same build
  • Creating interactive presentations on Binder with RISE
  • Interactive apps from Jupyter Notebooks
  • Using a Docker image from the Jupyter docker-stacks repository
  • Mixing Python 2 and 3 kernels with runtime.txt
  • Installing packages from apt repositories
  • Importing data with Quilt

Advanced

These sections cover more advanced topics in the Binder ecosystem, as well as resources for more information.

• Using a Dockerfile
  • When should you use a Dockerfile?
  • Preparing your Dockerfile
  • Ensuring reproducibility with Dockerfiles
• Tips for reproducibility
  • Pin dependencies
  • Using Dockerfiles
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • What is a Binder?
  • What is the Binder community?
  • What is BinderHub?
  • What is mybinder.org?
  • Is mybinder.org free to use?
  • How much does running mybinder.org cost?
  • How can mybinder.org be free to use?
  • How much memory am I given when using Binder?
  • How long will my Binder session last?
  • Can I use mybinder.org for a live demo or workshop?
  • How does mybinder.org ensure user privacy?
  • How secure is mybinder.org?
  • Where can I report a security issue?
  • Can I push data from my Binder session back to my repository?
  • Can I put my configuration files outside the root of my repository?
  • What factors influence how long it takes a Binder session to start?
  • Will repos with fewer notebooks launch faster? Should I split my notebooks into smaller repos?
  • Will repos that are launched often get prioritized and launch faster?
  • What can I do if mybinder.org does not meet my needs?
• Status of mybinder.org
  • Running Binder sessions
  • Binder launch success
  • Launch time percentiles
• mybinder.org status and reliability
  • Site Reliability Goals
  • Site metrics
• More information about Binder
  • Blog posts
  • Tools