How to set a Jupyter Notebook password

A Jupyter Notebook server can use a saved password instead of asking for the one-time token URL printed at startup. This fits a single-user Notebook session that is opened repeatedly from the same browser, a remote workstation, or a managed service account where copying tokenized URLs from the terminal is awkward.

Notebook 7 is served by Jupyter Server, so the password command is jupyter server password even when the interface is started with jupyter notebook. Jupyter prompts twice, stores an Argon2 hash in /~/.jupyter/jupyter_server_config.json, and does not write the cleartext password to the configuration file.

Password authentication does not replace transport security or access control. Use HTTPS before sending the login form across a network, bind the server only to the intended address, and keep token URLs, config files, and command transcripts out of shared tickets or screenshots unless secrets are masked.

1. Choose a unique password for this Notebook server.

   Store the password in a password manager and avoid reusing a shell, database, or account password.
   Tool: Secure Password Generator

2. Run the Jupyter Server password command.

   $ jupyter server password
   Enter password:
   Verify password:
   [JupyterPasswordApp] Wrote hashed password to /home/analyst/.jupyter/jupyter_server_config.json

   The prompt does not echo typed characters. Re-run the same command later to replace a lost or exposed password.

3. Show the active Jupyter configuration directory.

   $ jupyter --config-dir
   /home/analyst/.jupyter

4. Confirm the saved password hash in the generated JSON config file.

   $ python -m json.tool ~/.jupyter/jupyter_server_config.json
   {
       "IdentityProvider": {
           "hashed_password": "argon2:$argon2id$v=19$m=10240,t=10,p=8$##### snipped #####"
       }
   }

   Current Jupyter Server writes IdentityProvider.hashed_password. Older examples may show ServerApp.password or a manual setting in /~/.jupyter/jupyter_server_config.py.

5. Start Jupyter Notebook without opening a browser automatically.

   $ jupyter notebook --no-browser --port=8899
   [I ServerApp] Serving notebooks from local directory: /srv/notebooks
   [I ServerApp] Jupyter Server is running at:
   [I ServerApp] http://localhost:8899/tree

   The startup URL no longer includes a ?token= query string after the password hash is active.

6. List the running server URL.

   $ jupyter server list
   Currently running servers:
   http://localhost:8899/ :: /srv/notebooks

   A listed URL without ?token= means the normal login path is the password form for this server.
   Related: How to stop a running Jupyter Server