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Add a session launcher to your project

A session launcher defines the environment and compute resources for a Renku session. The basic steps for creating a session launcher are:

  1. In the Sessions section of the project page, click on ➕ to add a new session launcher.

  2. Choose and configure an environment (see Creating an environment for your session below).

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

    tip

    Do you need more resources than are available in RenkuLab’s public resource classes? Contact us! We can configure a custom resource pool for your needs upon demand.

Creating an environment for your session​

Renku supports a variety of ways of working with sessions. To determine what kind of Renku session environment is right for you, answer the following questions:

1. What language are you working in?​

→ I’m working in R​

Renku only has one mode for working with R sessions at the moment. When you create a session launcher, select global environment and select the R global environment. If you need to install additional packages, see How to install packages on-the-fly in your session.

→ I’m working in Python​

We have multiple ways of working in Python in Renku sessions! Please continue to the next question 2. Would you like packages to be pre-installed and ready to go when you (or anyone else) launches the session?.

→ I’m working in another language​

Working in some other language? That’s ok! You can run a wide variety of Docker images in Renku sessions! See How to use your own docker image for a Renku session

2. Would you like packages to be pre-installed and ready to go when you (or anyone else) launches the session?​

→ Yes please!​

If you’d like a set of custom packages to be installed and ready to go when you (or anyone else) launches a session in your project, you can take advantage of Renku’s code based environments.

With Renku code based environments, you can point Renku to a code repository that contains an environment definition file, such as a environment.yml, requirements.txt, or pyproject.toml, and Renku will build a custom environment for your session for you!

→ If your code repository is public, see How to create an environment with custom packages installed.

→ If your code repository is private, see How to create an environment with custom packages from a private code repository.

→ Having packages pre-installed is not so important to me right now.​

If you don’t need custom packages installed, you can get started quickly by simply selecting one or Renku’s pre-made global environments. When you create a session launcher, select global environment and choose one of the pre-made environments.

When you launch a session with a global environment, you can still install packages on the fly. Please note, however, that these packages will not persist once you shut down your session. You will have to re-install them after you shut down and re-launch your session. In addition, the packages you install won’t be available for anyone else who launches a session from the launcher.

If you’d like to permanently add the packages you need to your session environment, see How to create an environment with custom packages installed.