jupyterlab-share-files-extension 1.1.2

Peer-to-peer file sharing for JupyterLab - create named shares (drops) or requests (inboxes), get a link, share it. Files served directly from your server; recipients can use a JupyterLab panel or a plain browser.

jupyterlab_share_files_extension

If you live in JupyterLab and have ever had to "just send over that dataset" or "could you please upload your CSV somewhere I can grab it" - you know the routine. Email it (too big). Drop it in OneDrive (sync it first, share it, accept the corporate Terms of the Universe). Spin up an S3 bucket (and a meeting). By the time anyone has the file, you've forgotten what you needed it for.

This extension does not try to replace any of that. OneDrive, Dropbox, S3, that one Slack channel called #files-final-FINAL - they remain undefeated for serious file logistics. This is the small, embarrassingly specific tool for the other 90% of the time, when two people on JupyterLab just need to pass a folder back and forth and would prefer not to involve an enterprise.

Create a share (file drop) or request (inbox) from a side panel, copy the link, paste it in chat. Recipients open it in their JupyterLab panel or any plain browser. That is the whole pitch.

Features

• Shares - read-only drops of files and folders; recipients download
• Requests - inboxes; recipients upload, organised per uploader
• Connections - paste someone's link to subscribe to their share or upload to their request
• Drag-and-drop from the file browser - drop zone (new share), share row (add files), request row (upload)
• Browse inside a share - double-click a folder to drill in; the .. row takes you back up
• Open files directly - double-click a file in the panel and JupyterLab opens it with the right viewer
• Right-click context menu - in the file browser ("Share Files..."), and on panel rows ("Copy to Current Folder", "Show in File Browser")
• Hidden files visible by default - dotfiles like .env, .gitignore, .ssh/config are easy to share; toggle in Settings if you want them hidden
• Standalone HTML page - link works in any browser, no JupyterLab needed
• Live upload notifications when someone uploads to your request
• Self-connect guard - pasting your own link shows a clear "you already own this" dialog instead of a silent toast
• Symlink-friendly - sharing @shared/... and similar works
• Delete to trash - panel deletes move files to the OS trash by default (toggle with c.ShareFilesConfig.use_trash)
• HTTPS-aware links - share URLs follow the scheme the browser is on (HTTPS behind a proxy, HTTP for direct peer-to-peer)
• Settings toggles - turn shares, requests, or hidden-file visibility on/off independently

Requirements

• JupyterLab >= 4.0.0
• Python >= 3.9

Install

Developers install via the project Makefile:

make install

End-users install the published package from PyPI:

pip install jupyterlab_share_files_extension

Configuration

Optional, set in jupyter_server_config.py:

c.ShareFilesConfig.shares_dir = "uploads"        # default - relative to the notebook root
c.ShareFilesConfig.shares_dir = "data/uploads"   # any path inside the notebook root
c.ShareFilesConfig.use_trash = True              # default: True
c.ShareFilesConfig.verify_peer_tls = True        # default: True

Set verify_peer_tls = False when peers (for example a JupyterHub) use a self-signed certificate. Saving from a connected share and uploading to a connected request are server-side fetches to the peer; with verification on and a self-signed peer they fail and the panel reports a 502. With it off, those fetches succeed.

A relative shares_dir is resolved against the notebook root (the same folder the file browser starts in - the Jupyter server's root_dir). The directory is created on demand and does not have to exist beforehand.

shares_dir must resolve to a location inside the notebook root. The extension refuses to start with a StorageError if it does not, because shares outside the root are unreachable via JupyterLab's file browser and Contents API - the panel's drag-out, "Copy to Current Folder", and "Show in File Browser" actions would all break silently.

The panel's refresh interval is set in JupyterLab's Settings Editor under Share Files (pollIntervalSeconds, default 15, minimum 2). One tick refreshes all of your shares and requests and all connections.

MCP server (agent access)

The package ships an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, jupyterlab-share-files-mcp, that lets an AI agent operate the extension - create shares and requests, connect to peers, pick up and send files, and close them. It is a thin stdio client over the same authenticated HTTP API the panel uses, acting as a single user via that user's Jupyter/JupyterHub token.

It is configured with two environment variables:

• SHARE_FILES_BASE_URL - the base URL of your Jupyter server running the extension. On JupyterHub this must be the public user URL (e.g. https://hub.example.com/user/<name>/) so that generated share links carry the public host and /user/<name>/ prefix. Falls back to JUPYTER_SERVER_URL (which on JupyterHub is the internal address - links would then be internal and not shareable).
• SHARE_FILES_TOKEN - a Jupyter or JupyterHub API token. Falls back to JUPYTERHUB_API_TOKEN / JUPYTER_TOKEN.
• SHARE_FILES_INSECURE - set to 1 to skip TLS certificate verification (for hubs behind a self-signed certificate). Off by default.

Register it with an MCP client (Claude Code .mcp.json, Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "share-files": {
      "command": "jupyterlab-share-files-mcp",
      "env": {
        "SHARE_FILES_BASE_URL": "https://hub.example.com/user/<name>/",
        "SHARE_FILES_TOKEN": "<your-jupyter-or-hub-token>",
        "SHARE_FILES_INSECURE": "0"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools: list_items, create_share, create_request, connect, disconnect, close_share, close_request, pick_up, send_to_request, list_request_uploads.

Security

The link is the credential (40 bits of entropy). HTTPS is inherited from your JupyterHub/Jupyter proxy. Suitable for trusted-channel sharing (Slack, email). No expiry, no PIN.

Uninstall

pip uninstall jupyterlab_share_files_extension