Jupyter Positron Server

Run Positron Server inside your Jupyter environment using jupyter-server-proxy.

Requirements

• Python >= 3.9
• positron-server installed and available in your PATH
• A Positron license file (license.lic), requested from academic-licenses@posit.co
• At least 2.5 GB of RAM per session

Setup

For Positron Server 2026.09.0 and newer, the setup is:

1. Send email to academic-licenses@posit.co to request a license file (license.lic). Free for currently enrolled students using Positron for coursework. See the Positron Education License Rider for eligibility.
2. Download the Positron Server binary and extract it to /opt/positron-server in the single-user image.
3. Place license.lic next to the license-manager binary, at /opt/positron-server/resources/activation/linux/<arch>/license.lic, with mode 644 so each session can read it. <arch> is x86_64 or aarch64.
4. Install jupyter-positron-server in the single-user image.
5. Add /opt/positron-server/bin to c.Spawner.environment["PATH"] in jupyterhub_config.py.
6. Restart JupyterHub, then select the Positron tile in the JupyterLab launcher.

See the Get started guide for the full walkthrough, including the exact jupyterhub_config.py snippets and how to move an existing verifier deployment off the signing key.

Which setup applies to your version

Positron Server changed how it verifies a license twice, so the setup steps depend on the version you install. Find your version below, then follow the guide in the last column.

Positron Server version	How the license is verified	What to install	Setup guide
2026.09.0 and newer	positron-server validates license.lic in its own activation directory	jupyter-positron-server	Get started
2026.07.0 through 2026.08.2	A Hub service mints a signed, per-session token from a signing key. No license file is read by the session	jupyter-positron-server and jupyter-positron-verifier	Verifier setup
2026.06.1 and older	positron-server validates license.lic in its own activation directory	jupyter-positron-server	Get started

The signing key is a former way of working, scoped to Positron Server 2026.07.0 through 2026.08.2, and not recommended for a new deployment. See the Verifier setup guide only if you are deploying that exact version range.

The two license file rows differ in one detail: on 2026.06.1 and older, install jupyter-positron-server version 0.0.4, and on 2026.09.0 and newer, install version 0.0.6 or newer.