jupyter notebook /path/to/notebook not working when ServerApp.use_redirect_file=false

[randomir]

Description

With notebook~=6.0, this:

jupyter notebook --NotebookApp.use_redirect_file=false /path/to/notebook

opens the specified notebook in browser, skipping the /tree view.

Now, with notebook~=7.0 (and after changing NotebookApp --> ServerApp), this:

jupyter notebook --ServerApp.use_redirect_file=false /path/to/notebook

does not open the expected notebook, but instead opens the /tree path.

Note: both commands need token and password set to an empty string for the open to work smoothly (assuming safe environment here).

Reproduce

1. Install notebook~=7.0
2. Run:

jupyter notebook --ServerApp.use_redirect_file=false --ServerApp.token='' --ServerApp.password='' /path/to/notebook

3. A tree view is launched in the browser (e.g. http://localhost:8888/tree), instead of the notebook asked, on e.g. http://localhost:8888/notebooks/path/to/notebook.

Expected behavior

According to docs, opening a specific notebook from the CLI should still work.

It turns out it doesn't work just when the redirect file is not used, i.e. it does work when use_redirect_file=true.

For some use cases, use of local redirect files is not an option (e.g. an online IDE, like GitPod or Codespaces).

Now, my question is, is this really the expected/desired behavior?

A workaround

jupyter notebook --JupyterNotebookApp.default_url='notebooks/<path/to/notebook>'

Opens the specified notebook, but it has a few drawbacks.

Context

• Operating System and version: any linux
• Browser and version: any browser
• Jupyter versions:

IPython          : 8.15.0
ipykernel        : 6.25.2
ipywidgets       : not installed
jupyter_client   : 7.4.9
jupyter_core     : 5.3.1
jupyter_server   : 2.7.3
jupyterlab       : 4.0.5
nbclient         : 0.8.0
nbconvert        : 7.8.0
nbformat         : 5.9.2
notebook         : 7.0.3
qtconsole        : not installed
traitlets        : 5.9.0

[krassowski]

It might be an omission rather than intentional behaviour. I would suggest enquiring over on https://github.com/jupyter-server/jupyter_server/ repository, looking at more recent related pull requests jupyter-server/jupyter_server#415 and maybe opening your own pull request if you are able to figure out a solution.

[randomir]

Thanks, @krassowski! This indeed seems to be a jupyter-server issue. Notebook 7 compatibility break led me astray.

[randomir]

Migrated this issue jupyter-server/jupyter_server#1325.