Get Started

This guide walks you through installing and configuring jupyter-positron-server to run Positron Server in your Jupyter environment. Check out the below screencast for a walkthrough of getting started, or read on for instructions.

Prerequisites

Before installing, ensure you have:

  1. Python 3.9 or later
  2. Positron Server installed and accessible in your system’s PATH
  3. A valid Positron license key file

Server Setup

1. Get a License

Positron Server is available for educational use only. Free licenses are available for currently enrolled students using Positron for coursework. Review the Positron Education License Rider for full eligibility terms.

To request a license, email academic-licenses@posit.co.

2. Download Positron Server

Download the Positron Server binary for your Linux architecture. For the latest release of Positron (May 2026), you can find the downloads here:

  • Download Linux x64 build: https://cdn.posit.co/positron/releases/server/x86_64/positron-server-linux-x64-2026.05.0-179.tar.gz
  • Download Linux arm64 build: https://cdn.posit.co/positron/releases/server/arm64/positron-server-linux-arm64-2026.05.0-179.tar.gz

After downloading, untar the archive and add it to your PATH.

If you’re using curl, this step might look something like:

# Download Positron server to temporary directory
# Note: this is the url for x64 architecture machines
curl -L "https://cdn.posit.co/positron/releases/server/x86_64/positron-server-linux-x64-2026.05.0-179.tar.gz" -o /tmp/positron-server.tar.gz

# Create directory
mkdir -p /opt/positron-server

# Unpack Positron Server into newly created directory
tar -xzf /tmp/positron-server.tar.gz -C /opt/positron-server --strip-components=1

3. Set the License Key

Place your license file at /opt/positron-server/resources/activation/linux/{ARCH}/license.lic (where {ARCH} is x86_64 or aarch64 depending on your Linux server’s architecture). Positron will automatically detect and activate your license if needed from this location.

4. Install the jupyter-positron-server package

Install jupyter-positron-server in an environment that is available to all users of your JupyterHub server.

pip install jupyter-positron-server

5. Restart your Jupyter server

  1. Start or restart your Jupyter server. In JupyterHub, you can do this by selecting File > Hub Control Panel, then clicking Stop My Server and Start My Server.

  2. Click the “Positron” icon in the JupyterLab launcher.

How It Works

jupyter-positron-server uses jupyter-server-proxy to proxy requests between JupyterHub/JupyterLab and the Positron Server process. When you click the Positron launcher icon:

  1. The proxy starts a new positron-server process (or connects to an existing one)
  2. A secure connection token is generated automatically
  3. Requests are proxied through the Jupyter server to Positron

This approach is similar to how jupyter-rsession-proxy integrates RStudio Server with Jupyter.

Next Steps