jupyter-http-over-ws

What it is and what it does

jupyter-http-over-ws is a Jupyter server extension that works around browser same-origin policy restrictions by proxying HTTP traffic through WebSocket connections. Browsers block cross-domain HTTP requests to localhost but permit WebSocket communication to the same origin, making this extension useful for scenarios like Google Colab where a frontend needs to communicate with a local Jupyter server.

The extension adds a /http_over_websocket endpoint to the Tornado-based notebook server and requires explicit trust configuration via the allow_origin flag. It depends on notebook, tornado, six, and enum34, and operates as a pure Python wheel with low installation friction. However, the project is archived and abandoned since late 2022, with the last release in March 2020, meaning it receives no maintenance or updates.

Use it for:

• Enable Google Colab or other hosted Jupyter frontends to communicate with a local Jupyter notebook server via WebSocket tunneling.
• Proxy HTTP requests from a browser-based notebook interface to localhost when cross-origin policies would normally block direct HTTP.
• Set up development environments where a remote or sandboxed notebook UI needs controlled access to a local kernel.
• Work around browser security restrictions in custom Jupyter deployments that require cross-domain communication.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Adds a WebSocket-based HTTP proxy endpoint to Jupyter notebook servers, enabling cross-domain HTTP communication from browsers to localhost that would otherwise be blocked.

No. The package is abandoned (archived repository, no commits since 2022-11-09, last release March 2020) and its dependencies (six, enum34, tornado, notebook) have evolved significantly since then. Unless you are maintaining legacy code that already uses it, the lack of maintenance creates compatibility and security risks with modern Jupyter and Python versions. Consider alternatives or evaluate whether the underlying use case still applies to current Jupyter architecture.

Install

jupyter-http-over-ws on PyPI

pip install jupyter-http-over-ws

uv add jupyter-http-over-ws

poetry add jupyter-http-over-ws

Installing jupyter-http-over-ws

Before you install

Installation is straightforward with low friction, but the package is abandoned as of 2022-11-09 with no maintenance since the latest release on 2020-03-12. The repository is archived and no updates are planned.

License in practice

Licensed under Apache 2.0 (permissive), which allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, though you assume responsibility for any issues since the project is no longer maintained.

Quickstart

pip install jupyter_http_over_ws
jupyter serverextension enable --py jupyter_http_over_ws
jupyter notebook --NotebookApp.allow_origin='https://www.example.com' --port=8081

Requires an active browser session with a valid auth cookie before WebSocket connections will be accepted; see documentation on security setup.

Verify before relying

• Compatibility with current Jupyter and notebook versions (last release was 2020-03-12)
• Whether enum34 dependency is still necessary for modern Python versions
• Current state of tornado and six compatibility with modern releases

Package facts

Evidence: jupyter_http_over_ws-0.0.8-py2.py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: google, colab, ipython, jupyter, http_over_ws

Tags

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