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As a Jupyter Server Extension

1. Start JupyterLab and the MCP Server​

Environment setup​

Make sure you have the following packages installed in your environment. The collaboration package is needed as the modifications made on the notebook can be seen thanks to Jupyter Real Time Collaboration.

pip install "jupyter-mcp-server>=0.15.0" "jupyterlab==4.4.1" "jupyter-collaboration==4.0.2" "ipykernel"
pip uninstall -y pycrdt datalayer_pycrdt
pip install datalayer_pycrdt==0.12.17 jupyter_mcp_tools
tip

To confirm your environment is correctly configured:

  1. Open a notebook in JupyterLab
  2. Type some content in any cell (code or markdown)
  3. Observe the tab indicator: you should see an "×" appear next to the notebook name, indicating unsaved changes
  4. Wait a few seconds—the "×" should automatically change to a "●" without manually saving

This automatic saving behavior confirms that the real-time collaboration features are working properly, which is essential for MCP server integration.

Start JupyterLab with MCP Extension​

Start JupyterLab with the MCP server extension:

jupyter lab --port 4040

This starts JupyterLab at http://127.0.0.1:4040 with the MCP server integrated.

For complete configuration options, see the server configuration guide.

2. Configure your MCP Client​

Use the following configuration to connect to the integrated MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jupyter": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://127.0.0.1:4040/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting​

Common Issues​

Extension not loading:

  • Verify jupyter-mcp-server is installed: pip list | grep jupyter-mcp-server
  • Check JupyterLab logs for extension errors

MCP endpoint not accessible:

  • Verify server is running at: curl http://localhost:4040/mcp
  • Check that port 4040 is not blocked

For detailed configuration and troubleshooting, see the configuration guide.