Lightcone Lab

The open AI-assisted research workbench

Lightcone Lab brings a research workbench into JupyterLab, connecting methods, evidence, and computation. The extension currently provides an ASTRA analysis inventory, materialized outputs, cited papers, and optional Jupyter AI integration. ASTRA is the analysis format; astra.yaml and its SDK contracts retain their names.

Requirements

• Python >= 3.11
• JupyterLab >= 4.5.10, < 5
• Node.js >= 20 for extension development or the optional MySTRA viewer

Install

pip install jupyterlab-lightcone

The wheel includes the frontend, shared components, and PDF.js assets. End users do not need Node.js or sibling source checkouts.

Use

Open astra.yaml in the file browser, or select Open With → Lightcone Lab. The Lightcone Lab launcher category and command palette also offer ASTRA Inventory. The inventory is read-only: viewing preserves analysis and result files and starts no kernel. JupyterLab may create its standard document checkpoint when opening a writable file; the normal text editor remains available for editing.

The inventory shows outputs, decisions, inputs, findings, prior insights, and cited papers using the shared ASTRA components. Select an analysis or record to inspect its details. Figures, CSV/TSV tables, and JSON tables/metrics have bounded previews and an action to open the full artifact. Paths, universe selection, validation, and artifact cache tokens come from @astra-spec/sdk.

Launcher actions use the launcher's directory. Palette actions use the current project/document or file-browser directory. Opening the same project reuses its document tab; different projects keep their own selection and dialogs. You can also open an explicit project programmatically:

app.commands.execute('jupyterlab_lightcone:open-inventory', {
  path: 'research/astra.yaml',
  analysisPath: '$'
});

Projects refresh after relevant file operations, through Refresh ASTRA Inventory, and by polling while the browser is visible. Multiple views of the same project share that work. A transient invalid edit preserves the last valid view and displays a notice until the project recovers.

MySTRA Viewer

Choose MySTRA Viewer in the launcher, command palette, or file-browser context menu. Lightcone finds the nearest myst.yml or myst.yaml, starts its MyST CLI, and opens the actual ASTRA article/book application in a tab. Opening the same project reuses the viewer. Saved Markdown and research data changes are handled by MyST's watcher; unsaved editor changes are not rendered.

This feature requires Node.js, the myst CLI, the project's MySTRA plugin, and an ASTRA theme implementing mystra-viewer.v1 in the Jupyter server's environment. It is a MySTRA viewer, not a universal MyST theme preview. Older ASTRA versions and stock MyST themes produce an actionable compatibility error. The project retains its own site.template and plugin configuration; Lightcone does not substitute a renderer or install MyST automatically. The first theme launch may install its dependencies and require network access.

The tab shows status and a bounded build log during startup or on errors; the controls disappear when the report is ready. Restart MySTRA Viewer in the command palette stops and restarts the active project's process group. Closing the tab stops its heartbeat; processes expire after two minutes without a viewer and stop when Jupyter shuts down. An expired tab explains that its session ended and offers a restart. If another process takes one of the ports chosen for MyST, the tab reports it and a restart picks new ports. Up to five sessions can run at once. Each session belongs to its Jupyter identity, and different project directories receive distinct routes/processes.

Opening a viewer executes the project's configured plugins and theme as the Jupyter server user. Use trusted projects. An authorizer must permit execute on the mystra resource and read on contents. Site content and WebSockets remain behind Jupyter authentication, including JupyterHub URL prefixes. The iframe shares Jupyter's origin and is not a security sandbox for untrusted code. Only a local filesystem ContentsManager is supported, and the Jupyter server must run on a POSIX system; Windows servers receive a clear error because process-group cleanup is not implemented there.

Administrators can configure jupyter_server_config.py:

c.LightconeApp.mystra_command = ["/path/to/myst"]
c.LightconeApp.mystra_startup_timeout = 120
c.LightconeApp.mystra_idle_timeout = 120

The integration was validated with MyST 1.10.1 and Node.js 22/26. It requires the companion ASTRA theme changes and the documented mystra-viewer.v1 contract. No separate preview domain or publicly exposed Node port is needed.

Cited papers

Cached papers are read from ~/.cache/astra/papers, retaining access to existing ASTRA caches. Set LIGHTCONE_PAPER_CACHE_DIR in the Jupyter server environment to use another location; ASTRA_PAPER_CACHE_DIR remains supported as a fallback. On JupyterHub this configuration belongs to each single-user server.

Missing PDFs are downloaded only when you choose Fetch paper, using astra-tools==0.2.17. Cache lookup and download failures do not prevent viewing the analysis. Cached PDFs are served from the authenticated Jupyter origin and support continuous scrolling, zoom, and navigation to cited passages.

Jupyter AI: rich references and agent navigation

Install the optional integration and restart JupyterLab:

pip install "jupyterlab-lightcone[ai]"

This supports Jupyter AI 3.2 / Jupyter Chat 0.25. Configure an agent through Jupyter AI as usual. With an inventory open (or its folder selected), run Lightcone Agent from the command palette or the Lightcone Lab launcher section at the top of the launcher page. The gold chat shortcut opens Jupyter Chat in the left sidebar and uses the launcher’s current folder. Outside an ASTRA project it shows guidance for opening a folder containing astra.yaml. The composer opens empty. Write your own message; when you send it, a short ASTRA context block is appended with the project and bound universe (or project defaults), so the agent receives the same context shown by the project chip. Each discussion keeps its project and universe fixed; start a new one to change them. The project chip shows that binding, including after reopening a saved .chat file.

Ask the agent to show an ASTRA element in chat, for example:

Show preview cards for decisions.covariance_source and outputs.bao_fit_plot.

The agent calls lightcone_preview_element, which inserts a rich MIME card into its conversation. Cards display the existing ASTRA previews directly, including supported figures and tables. Click a card to open it in a tab; links and controls inside the card keep their own actions. They persist in saved chats and resolve the current project data in the conversation's fixed universe. The text fallback remains readable without Lightcone installed. These cards work with both the stock Markdown renderer and jupyterlab-myst enabled.

The agent reads astra.yaml and referenced project files directly using its existing file tools. The built-in Jupyter MCP server adds two presentation tools:

• lightcone_preview_element: display a card in chat (the default presentation).
• lightcone_open_element: open or reuse a native ASTRA tab.

Tools require a connected originating browser and a bound Lightcone discussion. Cards are attributed to the calling agent; repeated previews of the same target in one prompt reuse the card. Existing agent terminal tools, lc, and research skills remain available through the agent's normal setup; Lightcone observes changes without starting recipes.

For direct UI integrations:

app.commands.execute('jupyterlab_lightcone:open-element', {
  entrypoint: 'research/astra.yaml',
  target: 'decisions.covariance_source'
});
// Cited papers keep DOI identity rather than introducing a new MySTRA role:
app.commands.execute('jupyterlab_lightcone:open-element', {
  entrypoint: 'research/astra.yaml',
  target: '',
  doi: '10.1234/example'
});

New results reuse an unpinned preview tab in the same project, universe, and result group. Its native tab title is italic. Choose Pin tab, double-click the native tab title or a card, or use Pin ASTRA tab in the tab context menu/command palette to keep that result. Moving a tab also pins it. Later results use another preview tab alongside retained tabs. Choose Unpin tab, or Unpin ASTRA tab in the context menu/command palette, to make that tab reusable again. If its group already has a preview for the same project and universe, that other tab is pinned so both results remain available. Opening an already displayed record focuses it without creating a duplicate. Pins keep the record's identity while its data stays live; tabs remain movable and closable. The layout, records, and pins survive a browser reload.

Option/evidence paths open their owner. Analysis/collection paths use the inventory, which currently supports its automatically selected universe; other pinned universes support record tabs. Missing outputs stay unavailable and papers download only through Fetch paper.

Inline {astra} roles in response text do not produce hover previews. The previous Markdown DOM adapter has been removed: MyST consumes unknown roles, and neither renderer offers a shared inline extension hook. Agents should use the preview tool instead. Full MyST documents, block/value/citation roles, and historical result snapshots are outside this implementation.

See the integration design for the compatibility boundary and future ways to simplify it.

Appearance

Inventory components use the shared Lightcone brand and follow JupyterLab's light/dark theme without changing the surrounding shell.

The brand adapter from @lightcone-research/brand supplies every ASTRA UI token; the extension does not redefine any of them from JupyterLab settings. JupyterLab styles plain button, a, select, code and pre elements throughout its shell, which would otherwise override the shared components' layered styles (the shared @astra-spec/ui/isolate.css defines the boundary). Inside the inventory those elements are handed back to the ASTRA UI and brand layers, so they render exactly as the shared components define them.

Troubleshoot

Check that both extensions are enabled:

jupyter server extension list
jupyter labextension list

After installing a new extension, restart JupyterLab. During development, build after TypeScript changes and refresh the browser; restart the server after Python changes.

Uninstall

pip uninstall jupyterlab-lightcone

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the template's development, testing, and packaging workflow, and AGENTS.md for repository conventions.

The ASTRA appearance follows the publication reference through the shared brand adapter. Font assets, type sizes and kind marks come from the shared packages; this extension owns layout, theme synchronization and the astra-isolate scope.

The shared rendering contract uses published @astra-spec/ui 0.0.5 and @lightcone-research/brand 0.0.3, installed from npm.