Notebook Platforms

Setup and behavior differ across Jupyter, Google Colab, and Binder. This page covers the key differences.

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	Jupyter (local)	Google Colab	Binder
Account	None	Google account required	None
Install	`pip install` in terminal beforehand	`!pip install` in first cell	Pre-installed via `requirements.txt`
Restart needed	No	Yes — after first install	No
Startup time	Instant	Fast (~5s)	Slow (2–5 min cold start)
Persistence	Local filesystem	Google Drive (optional mount)	Ephemeral — lost on timeout
GPU	If available locally	Free tier available	Not available
Custom packages	Full control	`!pip install` per session	Via `requirements.txt` only

Install once in your terminal, then use in any notebook:

pip install kongming-rs-hv

# Cell 1 — no restart needed
from kongming import hv

For development workflows with frequent code changes, use autoreload:

%load_ext autoreload
%autoreload 2

Colab runs in the cloud with a fresh environment each session. Install in the first cell:

# Cell 1 — install
!pip install kongming-rs-hv

After the first install, Colab requires a runtime restart:

Go to Runtime → Restart runtime (or use the button Colab shows after install)
Then run the remaining cells

# Cell 2 — after restart
from kongming import hv
model = hv.MODEL_64K_8BIT

Subsequent sessions on the same notebook will need the install cell again — Colab does not persist pip packages across sessions.

Saving work: Use google.colab.drive to mount Google Drive for persistent storage:

from google.colab import drive
drive.mount('/content/drive')
# Then use paths like /content/drive/MyDrive/...

Binder builds a Docker image from your repo’s requirements.txt and launches a Jupyter server. No account needed.

First launch: Takes 2–5 minutes to build the environment
Subsequent launches: Faster if the image is cached
No install needed: kongming-rs-hv is pre-installed from requirements.txt
Ephemeral: All work is lost when the session times out (~10 min idle)

# Cell 1 — works immediately, no install
from kongming import hv

Limitation

You cannot install additional packages not in requirements.txt (the environment is read-only).

Use case	Recommended
Daily development	Jupyter (local)
Quick demo / sharing	Google Colab
Zero-setup exploration	Binder
Teaching / workshops	Google Colab (students have accounts)
Persistent storage needed	Jupyter (local) or Colab + Drive