# Binder hang at launching

**URL:** <https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/binder-hang-at-launching/25594>\
**Category:** Binder\
**Tags:** help-wanted\
**Created:** [May 8, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/binder-hang-at-launching/25594 "2024-05-08T16:14:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![changliao1025](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/changliao1025/32/7245_2.png) [@changliao1025](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/changliao1025)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/binder-hang-at-launching/25594/1 "2024-05-08T16:14:03Z")

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Hi,  
We recently adopted a binder for a modeling clinic session. For the last two days, we have been experiencing issues launching the binder notebook.  
Started container notebook  
Spawn failed: Timeout  
Launch attempt 2 failed, retrying…

> **[GitHub: changliao1025/pyflowline\_tutorial/HEAD](https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/changliao1025/pyflowline_tutorial/HEAD?labpath=notebooks%2Fyukon%2Fdggrid_example.ipynb)**
>
> Click to run this interactive environment. From the Binder Project: Reproducible, sharable, interactive computing environments.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![manics](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/manics/32/85_2.png) [@manics](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/manics)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/binder-hang-at-launching/25594/2 "2024-05-08T20:43:16Z")

</div>

You’ve created a `start` file

> <https://github.com/changliao1025/pyflowline_tutorial/blob/e884339b62e2112185912532069546b6b49718cc/start>

But it doesn’t run anything. It needs to end with `exec "$@"` or equivalent, see the docs

> **[Configuration Files](https://repo2docker.readthedocs.io/en/latest/config_files.html#start-run-code-before-the-user-sessions-starts)**
>
> repo2docker looks for configuration files in the repository being built to determine how to build it. In general, repo2docker uses the same configuration files as other software installation tools,...

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![changliao1025](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/changliao1025/32/7245_2.png) [@changliao1025](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/changliao1025)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/binder-hang-at-launching/25594/3 "2024-05-08T23:03:10Z")

</div>

Thanks for catching that (maybe the log could be more informative). After fixing this, we got a different error?

# 404 : Not Found

You are requesting a page that does not exist!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![changliao1025](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/changliao1025/32/7245_2.png) [@changliao1025](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/changliao1025)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 2:13am UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/binder-hang-at-launching/25594/4 "2024-05-09T02:13:00Z")

</div>

The problem was resolved; the file path was incorrect. However, the documentation and UI are confusing as well. I now point to the head to avoid confusion.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fomightez](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/discourse.jupyter.org/fomightez/32/495_2.png) [@fomightez](https://discourse.jupyter.org/u/fomightez)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/binder-hang-at-launching/25594/5 "2024-05-09T02:42:27Z")

</div>

You posted the link above in your original post in this thread as:

```plaintext
https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/changliao1025/pyflowline_tutorial/HEAD?labpath=notebooks%2Fyukon%2Fdggrid_example.ipynb

```

That gives you a 404 because your `environment.yml` messes up JupyterLab and so it is present.  
Notice the Binder conda example’s [environment.yml here](https://github.com/binder-examples/conda/blob/f00a783146e9c6a2ed9726f01fc09fbfbad2f89e/environment.yml) doesn’t include Jupyterlab.

So you can use the following links to use Jupyter Notebook instead:

- `https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/changliao1025/pyflowline_tutorial/main?filepath=notebooks%2Fyukon%2Fdggrid_example.ipynb`

- `https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/changliao1025/pyflowline_tutorial/HEAD?filepath=notebooks%2Fyukon%2Fdggrid_example.ipynb`

> [@changliao1025](#):
>
> I now point to the head to avoid confusion.

Either of those will work. Notice `HEAD` vs. `main` doesn’t matter despite what you imply in your last post where that quote is from and you say the problem is resolved. (Or may you meant to say you point to `root`/default/no notebook which was what the link for the launch badge you had in [the README of the repo](https://github.com/changliao1025/pyflowline_tutorial/tree/1294d4757ab1439e66a3a18965d2cc13fe968621) was set to do?)  
The big thing is that `labpath` in your original URL has been replaced by `filepath`, as discussed [here](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/using-jupyter-notebook-in-binder/15595/3).

#### Alternatively, or if you prefer JupyterLab as the interface (or because this was closer to the original URL you posted in this thread)

I haven’t test it yet, but I suspect if you remove JupyterLab from your `environment.yml` file and let MyBinder infrastructure handle JupyterLab installation by default as it wants to, the original link you posted that uses `labpath` will work again to go directly to the notebook.  
**The only reason it didn’t work with the `labpath`-involved URL before is because you messed up the JupyterLab that MyBinder infrastructure wanted to include.**  
And so the UI makes a correct link if examples are adhered to closely.