# Allow Users to Create Kernels on Littlelist JuypterHub?

**URL:** <https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/allow-users-to-create-kernels-on-littlelist-juypterhub/36222>\
**Category:** The Littlest JupyterHub\
**Created:** [June 20, 2025, 10:21am UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/allow-users-to-create-kernels-on-littlelist-juypterhub/36222 "2025-06-20T10:21:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nick\_England](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/nick_england/32/17117_2.png) [@Nick\_England](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/Nick_England)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2025, 10:21am UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/allow-users-to-create-kernels-on-littlelist-juypterhub/36222/1 "2025-06-20T10:21:45Z")

</div>

Hello,

I am looking at setting up a Littliest JuypterHub on a single powerful server which would serve ~30 people. However, we would want to allow users to create their own conda environments as it wouldn’t work to have everyone share a single environment.

Can this be done? Or do I need to setup JuypterHub using the Zero-to-Kubernetes even though we’ll only be running it on a single machine? Or can I setup JuypterHub another way?

I would rather not have to give everyone sudo rights to allow them to create their own environments.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![consideRatio](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/consideratio/32/1033_2.png) [@consideRatio](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/consideRatio)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2025, 12:42pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/allow-users-to-create-kernels-on-littlelist-juypterhub/36222/2 "2025-06-20T12:42:01Z")

</div>

I think so:

1. Use nb-conda-kernel extension to help identify kernels in conda environments
2. Help users create conda kernels in their home directories, maybe with configuration of conda/mamba

Can’t verify things further from my mobile atm, but something along those lines may very well work – you centralize some key plugins and config in the environment starting the jupyter server, ans they create stuff in their home dirs

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nick\_England](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/nick_england/32/17117_2.png) [@Nick\_England](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/Nick_England)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2025, 1:15pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/allow-users-to-create-kernels-on-littlelist-juypterhub/36222/3 "2025-06-20T13:15:19Z")

</div>

Ah great, so If I install nb-conda-kernel in the server’s conda environment, then the users should be able to use conda kernels from their home directories? I’ll have to have a play around when I get access to the server.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![consideRatio](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/consideratio/32/1033_2.png) [@consideRatio](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/consideRatio)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2025, 6:52pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/allow-users-to-create-kernels-on-littlelist-juypterhub/36222/4 "2025-06-20T18:52:38Z")

</div>

Relevant config of nb-conda-kernels will be where to look for kernels - inte the users home dirs somewhere, which is also why you want to help users configure some default destination for the kernels to be within there home dirs

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rafali.azz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d6d6ee/32.png) [@rafali.azz](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/rafali.azz)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 11:14am UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/allow-users-to-create-kernels-on-littlelist-juypterhub/36222/5 "2026-07-15T11:14:45Z")

</div>

Hi, did any of you manage to actually test this out for yourselves?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nick\_England](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/nick_england/32/17117_2.png) [@Nick\_England](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/Nick_England)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/allow-users-to-create-kernels-on-littlelist-juypterhub/36222/6 "2026-07-15T22:47:40Z")

</div>

I ended up using the [GitHub - jupyterhub/jupyterhub-the-hard-way: Understanding JupyterHub by deploying it step by step · GitHub](https://github.com/jupyterhub/jupyterhub-the-hard-way) tutorial as then my jhub accounts match the Linux user accounts and I understand how to change things and set it to properly.