# Mybinder fails to launch, returns an internal server error : How to debug this?

**URL:** <https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/mybinder-fails-to-launch-returns-an-internal-server-error-how-to-debug-this/5335>\
**Category:** mybinder.org ops\
**Created:** [July 23, 2020, 12:28pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/mybinder-fails-to-launch-returns-an-internal-server-error-how-to-debug-this/5335 "2020-07-23T12:28:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

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**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:** [July 23, 2020, 1:57pm UTC](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/mybinder-fails-to-launch-returns-an-internal-server-error-how-to-debug-this/5335/2 "2020-07-23T13:57:52Z")

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Debugging launching using the public Binder system is limited because you cannot get those logs. However, I believe your issue in this case is fairly straightforward and you don’t need to start pursuing local efforts to get things working.

The issue seems to be you are using a custom dockerfile that hasn’t been edited to be compatible with Binder. See [here](https://discourse.jupyter.org/t/building-using-a-custom-dockerfile/4152/2) and follow the guides linked there if you absolutely want to continue using a Dockerfile.

I’d advise against that route though for two reasons: 1) Dockerfiles are only meant to be used in complex cases as they are harder make work and keep working with Binder; & 2) since you seem to want this repo to work with a number of different avenues it will be easier to distinguish the binder route. So I’d suggest you make a `binder` directory in the root of your repo and make a `requirements.txt` file, see [here](https://mybinder.readthedocs.io/en/latest/config_files.html#requirements-txt-install-a-python-environment), where you list the pip installable packages you seem to be installing with your Dockerfile. (See [here](https://mybinder.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html#can-i-put-my-configuration-files-outside-the-root-of-my-repository) for information about that `binder` folder.) For the other steps in your Dockerfile, you would do them in a `postBuild` file, see [here](https://mybinder.readthedocs.io/en/latest/config_files.html#postbuild-run-code-after-installing-the-environment).

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