help with PlutoSliderServer

[adannenberg]

I already have a github repo that works when I follow the simple test

using PlutoSliderServer
path=download("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adannenberg/myRepo/myNotebook.jl")
PlutoSliderServer.run_notebook(path)

As I understand the README, the next step is to set up a server locally. So I do a git clone of myRepo to (for example) /home/alex/PlutoServer/ Question: Should the directory pluto-slider-server-environment (which I create as per the README and to which I add a PlutoDeployment.toml file) be under /home/alex/PlutoServer/ or under /home/alex/PlutoServer/.git/ ? I put it under PlutoServer and ran

julia --project="pluto-slider-server-environment" -e "import PlutoSliderServer; PlutoSliderServer.run_git_directory(\".\")"

It ran without bugging but the page at localhost:2345 didn't list any of my notebooks...

However, by putting the pluto-slider-server-environment directory directly under .git AND running

julia --project="pluto-slider-server-environment" -e "import PlutoSliderServer; PlutoSliderServer.run_git_directory(\".\")"

from the top of the cloned directory structure (i.e. the parent directory of the .git directory) it seems to "work".

Unfortunately, "work" is an odd state of affairs. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not - but for reasons that are obviously specific to my code and not to the instructions in README.

Before I provide error messages or more detail, is there anything obviously wrong with the process I described above?

[adannenberg]

I've identified my problem, I think. After cloning my repo into /home/alex/PlutoServer, creating /home/alex/PlutoServer/myRepo.jl/ and contents, I forgot to activate the myRepo.jl environment in Julia and add the necessary packages. This creates the Project and Manifest .toml files and they were missing. I guess the need to do that should be obvious, but it wouldn't hurt to make it explicit in the Readme for the non-native speakers of Julia among us :D

I would also change the configuration section of the Readme a bit. It currently reads "Create a configuration file in the same folder as Project.toml, see the section about PlutoDeployment.toml above." But there are now two Project.toml files, one in the same directory as the notebook files and another one level down in the pluto-slider-server-environment directory. The PlutoDeployment.toml file (apparently) needs to go in the pluto-slider-server-environment directory. I'm sure that level of precision is not necessary for those who truly understand what's happening in detail, but for those who are just looking for a detailed recipe to follow it will be helpful.

[fonsp]

Hey @adannenberg ! Thanks for the feedback!

Could you say a bit more about your setup?

Two folders

You cloned your repo into /home/alex/PlutoServer. Is this the repo that contains your notebook files? Like `/home/alex/PlutoServer/myNotebook.jl?

You said that you "created /home/alex/PlutoServer/myRepo.jl/ and contents", what do you mean? Did you clone the repo a second time into itself? :)

Two Project.tomls

Normally there is just one Project.toml. An example in my folders: I clone https://github.com/fonsp/probability-playground into /home/fons/probability-playground. Now I have my notebook files, like /home/fons/probability-playground/parameter estimation 1.jl.

Then I create the folder pluto-slider-server-environment in this repo, so /home/fons/probability-playground/pluto-slider-server-environment. I activate that directory, creating /home/fons/probability-playground/pluto-slider-server-environment/Project.toml, and now I just have one Project.toml.

Was this example helpful? Where do you have a second Project.toml?

[adannenberg]

Hi @fonsp. Thanks again for your help with this. Answers inline below...

Two folders

You cloned your repo into /home/alex/PlutoServer. Is this the repo that contains your notebook files? Like /home/alex/PlutoServer/myNotebook.jl?

Yes

You said that you "created /home/alex/PlutoServer/myRepo.jl/ and contents", what do you mean? Did you clone the repo a second time into itself? :)

No. I was just stating the obvious, i.e. that cloning my repo created the myRepo.jl subdirectory and files.

Two Project.tomls

Normally there is just one Project.toml. An example in my folders: I clone https://github.com/fonsp/probability-playground into /home/fons/probability-playground. Now I have my notebook files, like /home/fons/probability-playground/parameter estimation 1.jl.

Then I create the folder pluto-slider-server-environment in this repo, so /home/fons/probability-playground/pluto-slider-server-environment. I activate that directory, creating /home/fons/probability-playground/pluto-slider-server-environment/Project.toml, and now I just have one Project.toml.

Was this example helpful? Where do you have a second Project.toml?

I have /home/alex/PlutoServer/Project.toml (and /home/alex/PlutoServer/Manifest.toml) because /home/alex/PlutoServer/myNotebook.jl imports /home/alex/PlutoServer/myFuncs.jl and myFuncs.jl depends on using a bunch of packages. So I activate a Julia environment at /home/alex/PlutoServer/ and add those packages, creating the Manifest.toml and Project.toml files in /home/alex/PlutoServer/.

So a more basic installation that didn't require my adding those packages wouldn't have generated the 2nd Project.toml file in the same directory as my notebooks and your instructions would have been unambiguous. Maybe the Configuration file part of the README should read "Create a configuration file in the pluto-slider-server-environment directory" rather than "Create a configuration file in the same folder as Project.toml"?

[fonsp]

Ah I see! I like your suggestion, can you make a PR?

[fonsp]

Or both? Something like

Create a configuration file in the `pluto-slider-server-environment` directory, which also contains the `Project.toml` file.

[adannenberg]

I created a PR