FAQ
How is jOtter different from JupyterLab?
Section titled “How is jOtter different from JupyterLab?”JupyterLab runs in a browser; jOtter runs in your terminal, starts instantly, and works over SSH without port forwarding. Both run the same kernels and read and write the same files, so you can switch between them on the same notebook.
JupyterLab has things jOtter doesn’t: interactive widgets, HTML outputs, multiple notebooks in tabs, and extensions.
How is it different from euporie, jpterm, nbterm or jupyter-console?
Section titled “How is it different from euporie, jpterm, nbterm or jupyter-console?”In short: euporie has more features (widgets, HTML output, tabs), jpterm is a JupyterLab-like app with text-only outputs that can also work against a Jupyter server, nbterm is unmaintained (jpterm replaced it), and jupyter-console is a REPL rather than a notebook editor. jOtter is a single binary that saves notebooks byte-identically to Jupyter and can edit cells in your own Neovim. Compared with other tools goes through each of them, including the Neovim plugins molten-nvim and jupytext.
Can I connect to a running kernel or a remote Jupyter server?
Section titled “Can I connect to a running kernel or a remote Jupyter server?”No. jOtter always starts its own kernel, which it needs so that interrupting and restarting work reliably. To work on a remote machine, run jOtter there over SSH.
Does it work over SSH?
Section titled “Does it work over SSH?”Yes. Run jOtter on the remote machine. Images work if your local terminal supports an image protocol, and clipboard copies work through OSC 52.
Does it support languages other than Python?
Section titled “Does it support languages other than Python?”Yes, any Jupyter kernel works. Syntax highlighting follows the notebook’s language. Completion and documentation work with kernels that implement them. See Kernels.
Can I remap keys?
Section titled “Can I remap keys?”Not yet. The keys are listed in Keybindings. With the Neovim backend, your own Neovim mappings apply inside cells.
Does it run on macOS or Windows?
Section titled “Does it run on macOS or Windows?”macOS: it builds and runs (cargo install jotter-tui, or the Nix flake), but isn’t regularly tested. Windows is not supported; WSL works like Linux.
Why is the crate called jotter-tui?
Section titled “Why is the crate called jotter-tui?”The name jotter was already taken on crates.io. The installed program is still called jotter.
Where does the name come from?
Section titled “Where does the name come from?”A jotter is a notebook, and there’s an otter in jOtter. The mascot is always taking notes.