How to change the default browser used by the ipython/jupyter notebook in Linux?

You can create jupyter_notebook_config.py by:

jupyter notebook --generate-config

Then you go to

~/.jupyter/jupyter_notebook_config.py

and change

# c.NotebookApp.browser = ''

to for example:

c.NotebookApp.browser = '/usr/bin/google-chrome %s'

You can choose which ever browser is installed. You'll find the path for example by typing which firefox Do not forget to delete the #

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The accepted answer is great, here is a solution if you want to change it one time:

jupyter-notebook --browser=firefox

Of course you could make a bash wrapper script with this command or create a .desktop file that would let you launch it in your preferred browser every time you use that launcher.

An example wrapper script could look like this:

#!/bin/bash
jupyter-notebook --browser=firefox

You could then place it in your PATH, e.g. $HOME/bin/jnbff.sh, so you can easily launch it from any directory by simply typing its name.

Sidenote: the dash in jupyter-notebook allows for tab-completion, the usually recommended way with space (i.e. jupyter notebook) doesn't.

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Update for notebooks running in the JupyterLab interface

As JupyterLab is increasingly replacing Jupyter Notebook, here is an update to customize the default browser in which JupyterLab is launched. The solution is extremely similar to the accepted answer from @Christof:

jupyter-lab --generate-config

will create ~/.jupyter/jupyter_lab_config.py in which the line:

# c.ServerApp.browser = ''

can be uncommented and edited with the default browser of choice. For instance:

c.ServerApp.browser = '/usr/bin/qutebrowser %s'

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The following worked for me on win10. For firefox: c.NotebookApp.browser = u'c:/Program Files/Mozilla Firefox/firefox.exe %s'

For chrome c.NotebookApp.browser = u'C:/Program Files (x86)/Google/Chrome/Application/chrome.exe %s'

note the 1) "" vs "/" 2) the u and %s

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I tried the accepted answer in Ubuntu 22.04 answer, but it didn't work for me which I discovered was because Firefox is packaged as a snap package in Ubuntu 22.04. I circumvented this obstacle by installing Web (Web browser for GNOME) with this command:

sudo apt install epiphany 

The results of which epiphany are /usr/bin/epiphany which you will need to know when you get to the second to last paragraph of the accepted answer. It still won't work though, so you have to do one more step. Change the ownership of the ~/.local/share/jupyter directory from root to user. Instead of user in the below command replace it with your own username that you login with.

sudo chown -R user:user ~/.local/share/jupyter 

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Chrome Browser > Settings (Scroll all the way to the bottom) > Change Default browser to Chrome > New window would pop up. Change the default browser there!

Worked for me! (Windows 10 User)

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