<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" width="40px" />

Looking for a quicker way to get started in a Renku session? See How to add a session launcher to your project.

</aside>

Contents

What Docker images can I use in RenkuLab sessions?

There are some limitations to what images you can use in Renku sessions. The image must meet all of the conditions below in order to work on RenkuLab:

1. The image needs a front end

   The image you use needs a user interface web frontend to run so that you can access the session via the browser. Examples of these include JupyterLab, VSCode or RStudio.

2. The image must be public

   RenkuLab can not yet use images that not publicly accessible.

3. The image will be run as non-root

   For security reasons, sessions are started with a non-root user.

How to configure an image as a custom environment

In the project page:

1. Under Sessions section click on ➕ to add a new launcher

2. Select Custom environment

   

3. For the container image, provide an image identifier.

   • Some examples of image identifiers:
     • if the image is hosted on DockerHub:
       • renku/renkulab-py:3.10-0.24.0
       • continuumio/anaconda3:2024.06-1
     • if the image is hosted on gitlab.renkulab.io:
       • registry.renkulab.io/laura.kinkead1/n2o-pathway-analysis:980f4a3
   • The image identifier should be in the format that works with docker pull

4. Depending on the image you’re using, you’ll need to fill in the Advanced settings. See the information below for how to fill it in:

   • I’m using an image created by Renku and that is newer than version 0.24.0 (the version number is in the image tag).
   • I’m using an image created by Renku and that is older than version 0.24.0 (the version number is in the image tag).
   • I’m using an image created somewhere else (not by Renku).

5. Select the Resource class that best fits your expected computational needs.

   <aside> <img src="/icons/rocket_green.svg" alt="/icons/rocket_green.svg" width="40px" />

   If the available resource classes are too small for your compute requirements, we can create a custom resource pool for you! See Request a Custom Resource Pool.

   </aside>

6. Give your session launcher a name

7. Click on Add session launcher button

<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_blue.svg" width="40px" />

Note that you can always modify your session launcher by clicking on top of it on the project’s page, and using the menu on the right:

</aside>