Installing Software Packages

In addition to the pre-installed software packages detailed in Available Images, users can install additional software to their environment either directly within the Jupyter Notebook or from the integrated terminal.

Method 1: Installing Packages Directly in a Jupyter Notebook

You can install Python packages directly from a Jupyter Notebook using the ! command to run shell commands. Follow these steps:

  1. Open your Jupyter Notebook

  2. Create a new code cell

  3. Use the following command to install a package (replace package_name with the name of the package you want to install): 
    !pip install package_name

  4. Run the cell by pressing Ctrl + Enter. The package will be installed, and you’ll see the installation progress in the output

  5. Import the package to use it in your notebook: 
    import numpy as np

Method 2: Installing Packages via the Terminal

If you prefer using the terminal, follow these steps:

  1. Launch a Terminal:
    • From the dashboard, click on the big blue “+” in the top left corner
    • Select “Terminal” from the Launcher menu
    • Install the package using pip in the terminal. For example, to install pandas, type: 
      pip install pandas

  2. Press Enter to execute the command. You’ll see the installation progress in the terminal

  3. Return to your notebook to import and use the package: 
    import pandas as pd

Method 3: Installing Packages Using Anaconda

If you’re more familiar with using Anaconda as your package manager, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Anaconda.org
  2. Search for packages:
    • In the search bar, type the name of the package you are looking for (e.g., numpy)
    • Press Enter to view the search results
    • On the search results page, you can filter the results by the conda-forge channel
  3. Select a package:
    • Click on the package name to view more details, including installation instructions and available versions
  4. Open your Jupyter Notebook
  5. Launch a Terminal:
    • From the dashboard, click on the big blue “+” in the top left corner
    • Select “Terminal” from the Launcher menu
  6. Install Mamba (faster than Conda):
    • If you haven’t already installed mamba, you can do so in the terminal with: 
       conda install mamba -n base -c conda-forge
  7. Install the desired package with Mamba: 
     mamba install package_name -c conda-forge
  8. Return to your notebook to import and use the package: 
     import package_name