Quick-Start¶

Welcome to Carto-Lab Docker! Choose the path that matches your situation:

Path 1: Using a Hosted Instance (Institutional Web Access)¶

Follow this path if your institution, instructor, or lab has already deployed an instance for you.

Accessing Your Instance

You should have been provided with:

A web address (URL), e.g. https://cartolab-xyz.my-institution.de
A password or login token

Simply open the URL in your browser and log in. You are in a fully configured spatial lab with no local installation required.

Next Step: Proceed to our JupyterLab Guide to learn how to navigate the tools and start your work.

Path 2: Running on Your Own Computer (Local Laptop or Server)¶

Follow this path if you want to run Carto-Lab Docker directly on your laptop, workstation, or virtual machine.

Prerequisites: Docker Desktop / Engine and Git. (On Windows, we strongly recommend using WSL2).

1. Clone & Enter Repository

git clone https://github.com/ioer-dresden/carto-lab-docker.git
cd carto-lab-docker

2. Create Configuration

Copy the default settings:

cp .env.example .env

(Optional: Open .env to set your custom JUPYTER_PASSWORD or leave default eX4mP13p455w0Rd).

3. Launch Create the internal network (one-time step) and start the container:

docker network create lbsn-network
docker compose up -d

4. Open JupyterLab

Open your browser at http://localhost:8888. Your local ~/notebooks directory is automatically mounted and ready.

Team Hosting? If you are an IT administrator looking to deploy multi-user instances with rootless security across a server, see our Ansible Deployment Guide.