Installing multiple Python 3 kernels in iPython/Jupyter Notebooks

Question

I have Python 3.7 and 3.8 on my system.

I have run pip install on both 3.7 and 3.8 for jupyter notebook, however when trying to create a new notebook, the kernel list only shows one value for "Python 3"

How do I get both Python 3.7 and 3.8 to show up here?

Answer 1

You have to install the kernel on jupyter. You can do this in command prompt/bash terminal:

jupyter kernelspec list

This will return all the currently installed kernels for jupyter notebooks.

It's best to run a virtual environment for each project you have. Activate your venv, and then you can install the Python kernel for use within a jupyter notebook with this bash command:

ipython kernel install --user --name=projectname

Note this installed kernel will also be available to jupyter when from outside the venv.

You can uninstall kernels with the following:

jupyter kernelspec uninstall <name of kernel>

See here for more details: https://ipython.readthedocs.io/en/stable/install/kernel_install.html

There are also instructions in there for installing multiple python kernels without using a virtual environment.