Creating a session
Click New session in the top-right of the sessions list. The wizard has three steps.
Step 1 — Preset and image
Pick a preset to start from. The preset determines which IDE, images, and compute sizes are available. Then choose an image from the preset's catalog.
| Field | Required | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Preset | required | Select a WorkspaceKind preset. This sets the IDE type (JupyterLab, VS Code, or RStudio) and filters the available images and pod sizes. |
| Image | required | Container image from the preset's catalog (e.g. PyTorch, TensorFlow). Each preset offers its own curated list. |
You can also launch a session directly from a preset's detail page — click Launch session and the wizard opens with that preset already selected.
Step 2 — Compute
Choose a pod size from the preset's catalog. Each pod size specifies CPU, memory, and optional GPU.
| Field | Required | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Pod size | required | Compute shape from the preset's catalog (e.g. "Small — 2 CPU / 8 GiB", "1× A100 GPU"). The preset's default is pre-selected. |
| Compute pool | optional | Target a specific compute pool. Defaults to the workspace's default pool. |
| Slurm cluster | optional | Attach a Slurm cluster for hybrid workloads. Only visible when Slurm integration is enabled. |
Step 3 — Storage
Configure persistent volumes. Your home directory and any data volumes persist across pause/resume cycles.
| Field | Required | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Home volume | optional | Your home directory. Either create a new persistent volume (default 5 GiB) or mount an existing claim. The preset may provide a default. |
| Data volumes | optional | Additional mounts — datasets, scratch space, shared team caches. Each can be read-only. The preset may pre-mount some volumes. |
| Configurations | optional | Pre-defined "pod defaults" your admin set up — env vars, secrets, init scripts. Toggle the ones you need. |
| Environment variables | optional | Inline key/value pairs for things like HF_TOKEN or WANDB_API_KEY. |
Sessions inherit your workspace's secrets bundle automatically. Don't paste tokens into Environment variables if there's already a managed secret for it — your admin can show you the list.
After creation
The session enters the Pending phase while compute is provisioned, the image is pulled, and storage is mounted. When it flips to Running, click Open to launch the notebook in a new browser tab.
Storage persists across pause/resume cycles. Pausing a session releases compute but keeps your home volume and data volumes attached — resuming reattaches them automatically.