jupyter-videochat

Video Chat with JupyterHub peers inside JupyterLab and RetroLab, powered by Jitsi.

Requirements

python >=3.7
jupyterlab ==3.*

Install

Install the server extension and JupyterLab extension with pip:

pip install -U jupyter-videochat

...or conda/mamba:

conda install -c conda-forge jupyter-videochat

Usage

See the [Jitsi Handbook] for more about using the actual chat once launched.

View the Room List

JupyterLab

From the Main Menu...
- Click File ▶ New ▶ Video Chat
From the Launcher...
- Open a new JupyterLab Launcher
- Scroll down to Other
- Click the Video Chat launcher card

RetroLab

From the Main Menu...
- Click File ▶ New ▶ Video Chat
From the RetroLab File Tree...
- Click the New Video Chat button

Start a Chat

Provide your name and email (optional)
- these will be saved in JupyterLab user settings for future usage
- your email will be used to provide Gravatar icon
From one of the room providers, choose a room.
- You may need to provide a room name

Stop a Chat

From the the Jitsi IFrame:
- Click the red "hang up" button, or
From the Video Chat toolbar
- Click the Disconnect Video Chat button

Troubleshoot

If the Jitsi frame actually loads, the [Jitsi Handbook] is the best source for more help.

I see the Lab UI, but the video chat IFrame doesn't load

Sometimes the Jitsi IFrame runs into issues, and just shows a white frame.

Try reloading the browser.

I see the UI but I'm missing rooms

If you are seeing the frontend extension but it is not working, check that the server extension is enabled:

jupyter server extension list
jupyter server extension enable --sys-prefix --py jupyter_videochat

... and restart the server.

If you launch your Jupyter server with jupyter notebook, as Binder does, the equivalent commands are:
jupyter serverextension list
jupyter serverextension enable --sys-prefix --py jupyter_videochat

If the server extension is installed and enabled but you are not seeing the frontend, check the frontend is installed:

jupyter labextension list

If you do not see jupyterlab-videochat, the best course of action is to uninstall and reinstall, and carefully watch the log output.

Architecture

This extension is composed of:

a Python package named jupyter_videochat, which offers:
- a jupyter_server extension which provides convenient, configurable defaults for rooms on a JupyterHub
- a JupyterLab pre-built or federated extension named jupyter-videochat
  - also distributed on npm
    - for more about the TypeScript/JS API, see CONTRIBUTING
  - at JupyterLab runtime, some Plugins which can be independently disabled
    - jupyterlab-videochat:plugin which is required by:
    - jupyterlab-videochat:rooms-server
    - jupyterlab-videochat:rooms-public
    - jupyterlab-videochat:toggle-area

Configuration

Server Configuration

In your jupyter_server_config.json (or equivalent .py or conf.d/*.json), you can configure the VideoChat:

room_prefix, a prefix used for your group, by default a URL-frieldy version of your JupyterHub's hostname
- can be overriden with the JUPYTER_VIDEOCHAT_ROOM_PREFIX environment variable
jitsi_server, an HTTPS host that serves the Jitsi web application, by default meet.jit.si
rooms, a list of Room descriptions that everyone on your Hub will be able to join

Example

{
  "VideoChat": {
    "room_prefix": "our-spiffy-room-prefix",
    "rooms": [
      {
        "id": "stand-up",
        "displayName": "Stand-Up",
        "description": "Daily room for meeting with the team"
      },
      {
        "id": "all-hands",
        "displayName": "All-Hands",
        "description": "A weekly room for the whole team"
      }
    ],
    "jitsi_server": "jitsi.example.com"
  }
}

Client Configuration

In the JupyterLab Advanced Settings panel, the Video Chat settings can be further configured, as can a user's default displayName and email. The defaults provided are generally pretty conservative, and disable as many third-party services as possible.

Additionally, access to globally-accessible public rooms may be enabled.

Binder Client Example

For example, to enable all third-party features, public rooms, and open in the main area by default:

create an overrides.json

{
  "jupyter-videochat:plugin": {
    "interfaceConfigOverwrite": null,
    "configOverwrite": null,
    "disablePublicRooms": false,
    "area": "main"
  }
}

Copy it to the JupyterLab settings directory

# postBuild
mkdir -p ${NB_PYTHON_PREFIX}/share/jupyter/lab/settings
cp overrides.json ${NB_PYTHON_PREFIX}/share/jupyter/lab/settings

JupyterLite Client Example

Note: JupyterLite is still alpha software, and the API is likely to change.

jupyter lite build

jupyter_lite_config_.json

{
  "LabBuildConfig": {
    "federated_extensions": ["https://pypi.io/.../jupyterlab-videochat-0.6.0.whl"]
  }
}

Add a runtime jupyter-lite.json (or a build time overrides.json) to disable server rooms.

{
  "jupyter-lite-schema-version": 0,
  "jupyter-config-data": {
    "disabledExtensions": ["jupyterlab-videochat:rooms-server"],
    "settingsOverrides": {
      "jupyterlab-videochat:plugin": {
        "disablePublicRooms": false
      }
    }
  }
}

This can then be tested with:

jupyter lite serve

Start a Meet by URL

Appending ?jvc=room-name to a JupyterLab URL will automatically open the Meet (but not fully start it, as browsers require a user gesture to start audio/video).

Binder URL Example

On Binder, use the urlpath to append the argument, ensuring the arguments get properly URL-encoded.

https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/jupyterlab-contrib/jupyter-videochat/demo?urlpath=tree%3Fjvc%3DStand-Up
                                                         # URL-encoded  [? ] [=  ]

nbgitpuller

If you have two repos (or branches) that contain:

content that changes frequently
a stable environment

...you can use nbgitpuller to have fast-building, (almost) single-click URLs that launch right into JupyterLab showing your meeting and content. For example, to use...

the [Python Data Science Handbook] as master
this project's repo, at demo (not recommended, as it's pretty minimal)

...and launch directly into JupyterLab showing

the Preface notebook
the Office Hours room

...the doubly-escaped URL would be something like:

https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/jupyterlab-contrib/jupyter-videochat/demo?
urlpath=git-pull
  %3Frepo%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fgithub.com%252Fjakevdp%252FPythonDataScienceHandbook
  %26branch%3Dmaster
  %26urlpath%3Dlab%252Ftree%252FPythonDataScienceHandbook%252Fnotebooks%252F00.00-Preface.ipynb
  %253Fjvc%253DOffice%2BHours

JupyterLite Example

Additionally, ?JVC-PUBLIC=a-very-long-and-well-thought-key can be enabled, providing a similar experience, but for unobfuscated, publicly-visible rooms. Use with care, and as a moderator take additional whatever steps you can from within the Jitsi security UI, including:

lobbies
passwords
end-to-end encryption

Once properly configured above, a JupyterLite site can be git pushed to GitHub Pages, where a URL is far less obfuscated.

https://example.github.io/my-repo/lab?JVC-PUBLIC=a-very-long-and-well-thought-key

probably don't click on links shorter than about ten characters

Uninstall

pip uninstall jupyter-videochat

conda uninstall jupyter-videochat

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jupyterlab-contrib / jupyter-videochat

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