Jupyter Lab
Last Updated: July 29, 2026 | By Mihail Sebastian | AI Dictionary
A web-based development environment from Project Jupyter that arranges notebooks, terminals, editors, and data files in one multi-panel workspace.
What is JupyterLab?
JupyterLab is an open-source, web-based development environment from Project Jupyter that arranges notebooks, terminals, text editors, and data-file viewers in one multi-panel workspace. It is the successor to the classic Jupyter Notebook interface and opens the same notebook files.
Where the classic interface shows one document at a time, JupyterLab works like an IDE for data work: everything a project needs sits in a single browser window.
How JupyterLab Works
The workspace is built from panels you arrange freely. Open a notebook next to a CSV viewer, drag a terminal below them, and keep a script open in the text editor; all of it runs on the same Jupyter server and kernels as the classic interface.
An extension system adds what the core leaves out: debuggers, version control integration, themes, and viewers for new file formats. A collaboration extension lets several people edit the same notebook at once.
JupyterLab vs Jupyter Notebook
JupyterLab is the multi-panel, IDE-style interface; Jupyter Notebook is the classic single-document one from the same project. Both run the same kernels and open the same .ipynb files, so the choice is about interface, not capability.
| Criterion | JupyterLab | Jupyter Notebook |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Multi-panel workspace with tabs and split views | One document per browser tab |
| Scope | Notebooks plus terminals, editors, and a file browser | The notebook itself |
| Best for | Larger projects mixing notebooks, scripts, and data files | Focused, linear analyses and teaching |
| File format | Same .ipynb; opens in either | Same .ipynb; opens in either |
Example of JupyterLab
A data scientist cleaning a messy dataset splits her JupyterLab window three ways. The notebook with her pandas code sits on the left; the raw CSV is open on the right, so she checks suspect values against the source without leaving the browser.
Below both, a terminal handles git commits, and a text editor holds the utils.py module her notebook imports. When a cleaning step becomes reusable, she moves it from the notebook into the module – one window, the whole project.
Related AI terms: Jupyter Notebook · Pandas · NumPy · Version Control · Data Science · Visual Studio Code
Did you like the Jupyter Lab gist?
Learn about 250+ need-to-know artificial intelligence terms in the AI Dictionary.
Mihail Sebastian — Writes about AI governance, regulation, and the technology behind them. Placeholder bio — replace with a real credential line. About