LaunchBot is a system for helping you discover, build, and run Docker-enabled content, such as Jupyter Notebooks. It replaces the command line-based process for installing and running complex applications (like Jupyter Notebooks) with a desktop GUI, enabling a streamlined, point-and-click process for discovering and running complex applications and tools.
To run LaunchBot, you must:
Once you do, you’ll be able to clone projects, build and launch them onto your local Docker engine, and manage the projects within git.
Before you can use LaunchBot, you’ll need to install two Docker Engine](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-engine)
Docker allows you “containerize” applications. Launchbot uses it to build and run the underlying environment required for your application to function.
IMPORTANT: Docker must be running to use LaunchBot, so you’ll need to make sure it’s started each time you want to use LaunchBot. On a Mac, you’ll see the Docker “whale” icon in the Menubar.
You will get the following error in launchbot if Docker is not running:
Cannot connect to the docker engine endpoint
Download and unzip LaunchBot from https://launchbot.io
Once the Launchbot app is running, you download projects in a variety of ways, such as:
IMPORTANT: LaunchBot only works with the https git protocol. The ssh protocol is not supported.
Use the “Projects” tab to build and launch the projects you’ve downloaded. You can also click “Show Dockerfile” to review and edit the Dockerfile for the project.
IMPORTANT: The first time you build a project, Launchbot must download and build the entire image. Since these images are often quite large, this can take several minutes.
Once the project starts, you will see links to the various services you can use:
LaunchBot enables you to easily manage Git with your projects. Before you can use git to make commits, you’ll need to provide your name and email address in the “Git Settings” section of the Config page:
A typical git workflow is:
Each of these functions is available in the left nav bar of the projects page.
LaunchBot is free for cloning and launching public projects. However, to access a private repository, or push to any repository, you much have a paid plan.
To get a paid plan, create an account at https://launchbot.io and create a subscription. You’ll be prompted for your credit card information (or signup code). Once the transaction is approved, you’ll see your key(s) appear in the main page.
