jupyter_fsspec

Welcome to the jupyter_fsspec repo, a Jupyter extension for the fsspec Python library. Browse your fsspec filesystems in Jupyter, copy files and paths and otherwise interact with your data in the Jupyter interface and inside your notebooks.

Documentation

Read the documentation at https://jupyter-fsspec.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Requirements

• JupyterLab >= 4.0.0

Install

To install the extension, execute:

pip install jupyter_fsspec

Uninstall

To remove the extension, execute:

pip uninstall jupyter_fsspec

Motivation

jupyter_fsspec was created to provide seamless integration between Jupyter environments and the powerful fsspec ecosystem. While the Jupyter ecosystem already had file browsing capabilities, there was a need for a dedicated extension that could leverage the full power of fsspec's unified interface to various filesystems.

Why We Created jupyter_fsspec

The creation of jupyter_fsspec was inspired by several ideas we wanted to explore:

1. Direct fsspec Integration: We wanted to build a bridge directly to the fsspec ecosystem, making it simple to access all filesystems supported by fsspec with minimal layers.

2. Unified Interface: fsspec offers a consistent API across different storage backends (local, cloud, and remote filesystems). We thought it would be valuable to bring this unified approach to the Jupyter interface.

3. Complementary Approach: We designed the UI with certain workflows in mind, focusing on unified browsing, easy file path copying, and seamless notebook integration.

Complementary to jupyter-fs

jupyter-fs is also a great project with similar goals but different design choices that make it excellent for certain use cases:

• jupyter-fs leverages PyFilesystem, providing robust filesystem abstractions with its own set of advantages
• The separate panel per filesystem in jupyter-fs offers a clean separation that some users may prefer for their workflows
• Both projects enhance the Jupyter experience by bringing better filesystem access to users

We see jupyter_fsspec and jupyter-fs as complementary tools in the ecosystem. We have also been discussing trying to merge the projects and jupyter-fs recently added a fsspec backend as well.

If you're deciding between the two, consider your specific needs:

• If you're already using fsspec in your Python code, jupyter_fsspec provides a consistent experience
• If you prefer separate filesystem panels or are already using PyFilesystem, jupyter-fs might be more aligned with your workflow

We welcome contributions and feedback from the community as we continue developing this extension. We're also open to collaborations with other filesystem projects in the Jupyter ecosystem to collectively improve the experience for data scientists and researchers working with diverse data sources.