Cannot load extensions configurator if using custom jupyter notebook config file

[pybokeh]

Hello, I created a custom jupyter notebook config file and so I launch jupyter notebook with the --config= parameter:
jupyter notebook --config=/path/jupyter_notebook_config_custom.py

In the terminal, I get no errors, but I notice I don't get the message:
Loaded extension jupyter_nbextensions_configurator

and so if I go to http://localhost:8888/nbextensions/ I get the http 404 error. I can still manually install extensions with the enable sub-command:
jupyter nbextension enable <extension>

If I launch jupyter notebook with default config file ("jupyter_notebook_config.py"), I get the message:
Loaded extension jupyter_nbextensions_configurator

and therefore, nbextensions configurator is loaded ok and everything works as expected.

What I did, I just make a copy of the default config file (jupyter_notebook_config.py) and then just rename it to jupyter_notebook_config_custom.py, modify the port #, then do:
jupyter notebook --config=/path/jupyter_notebook_config_custom.py

and the nbextensions configurator does not get loaded. This is very unexpected. So it appears if I am not using a config file exactly called "jupyter_notebook_config.py", the nbextensions configurator doesn't get loaded.

[pybokeh]

Sorry forgot to add that I installed using pip, not conda and using python 3.5.2 and notebook version 4.2.3.

I saw issue #11 but don't think it is related. I am not using jupyterhub.

[jcb91]

Correct, this is unrelated to #11. It is to do with which config files things are in, and specifically where the jupyter_nbextensions_configurator serverextension is enabled.

In brief, to get this working as you hope it to, your simplest option (assuming you want to keep a python config file), would be to add the following line to your jupyter_notebook_config_custom.py file:

c.NotebookApp.set_default('nbserver_extensions', {})['jupyter_nbextensions_configurator'] = True

---

In more detail, the reasons this is happening:

If you used the provided jupyter subcommand to enable the configurator

jupyter nbextensions_configurator enable

then it works by editing a jupyter_notebook_config.json config file in the relevant jupyter config directory (which is dependent on --user, --system or --sys-prefix flags). The same is true if you got the configurator from ipython-contrib/jupyter_contrib_nbextensions, which does the same thing.

This is normally compatible with a jupyter_notebook_config.py file, as both get loaded by the server, as part of the normal config loading process of a jupyter_core.application.JupyterApp instance (which the notebook app is). However, using the --config cli option is causing problems as follows:

• from jupyter_core/application.py#L46, we can see that the --config= command line option will alter the application's config_file trait.
• from jupyter_core/application.py#L190-L191 we can see that setting the config file causes the application to alter what config filename it is looking for, so that instead of looking for jupyter_notebook_config.json, your app will end up looking for jupyter_notebook_config_custom.json, which of course doesn't exist. Since the config file where the serverextension is specified isn't loaded, the servereextension doesn't get loaded.

[pybokeh]

@jcb91 Thanks for the explanation! I was wondering, could I also have copied over the jupyter_notebook_config.json as jupyter_notebook_config_custom.json?

[jcb91]

No problem :)

could I also have copied over the jupyter_notebook_config.json as jupyter_notebook_config_custom.json

Yes, as far as I can tell, that should also work just fine

[doufuxixi123]

i use conda to install nbextensions. like following, and get problem.
conda install -c conda-forge jupyter_nbextensions_configurator

problem describe:
there are not items to check in nbextensions configurable panel. and tell these words:
add an edit-menu item to open the nbextensions configurator page

solving:
1/ uninstall nbextensions:
conda uninstall jupyter_nbextensions_configurator
2/ install nbextensions via pip:
pip install jupyter_contrib_nbextensions
jupyter contrib nbextension install --user
jupyter nbextension enable codefolding/main

may be the problem due to own company jupyter setting. when i download jupyter_contrib_nbextensions via pip. the package download from own company repository, not from website.