The Nectar Cloud is now hosting a managed BinderHub service. 


BinderHub allows you to share reproducible computational environments, making them easy to launch and interact with. All you need is a public repository URL where the computational environment is stored. No extra setup required! 


For example, you want to share a Jupyter Notebook with a colleague. You can upload the Notebook into a GitHub repository. Your colleague will then use that Github repository link with BinderHub, which will create a space for them to view and interact with your Notebook. 


When using the Nectar BinderHub service it is important to be aware of and read the Terms of Service.


How do I access it?


You can log in with your University/Institutional credentials to access the BinderHub service.


Are there resource limits?


Yes! The BinderHub service comes with 7.5GB RAM, 4VCPU and 10GB ephemeral storage per instance. 


Is my data kept on the service?


No. Once you close the BinderHub instance, the data is not retained.


Is there a time limit for using this service?


There is no maximum time limit to use the service however your session will be terminated after a period of inactivity.


How do I use it?


Go to the BinderHub homepage here, and click the login with AAF button (this is your University/Institutional login). 


Once you have logged in, you will see the page below.  Add your GitHub repository link where it says GitHub, then you can click launch. A progress bar will appear below the launch text fields.



Once the build is complete, you will be automatically taken to a homepage, where you notebook is listed, alongside any other files which were in your repository. You can then click your notebook file name to launch it.




Note: there are more options beyond the instructions above. We are just providing a basic example to help you get started.


A more detailed guide for creating a Binder project can be found here.


I want to learn more about BinderHub, where can I find resources?


We’ve compiled a list of helpful links within BinderHub’s documentation:


How can I prepare a repository for Binder?

How can I customise my BinderHub environment?

Ensure reproducibility for your Binder Repository

Sample Binder repositories