Change the default start directory for Jupyter Notebook

Summary

By default, the start directory for Jupyter Notebook used in ArcGIS API for Python is set to the following folder:

C:\Users\<User>

However, it is possible to start the Jupyter Notebook with a different directory through the Python Command Prompt or by modifying the Jupyter Notebook .py configuration file.

Procedure

Use one of the solutions provided to start Jupyter Notebook in a different directory.

Temporarily start Jupyter Notebook in a different directory using the Python Command Prompt

1. Start the Python Command Prompt. Click Start > ArcGIS > Python Command Prompt.
2. Run the following command. The command opens Jupyter Notebook with the defined directory.

jupyter notebook --notebook-dir [LOCATION]

Change the default directory by generating a config file

1. Start the Python Command Prompt by clicking Start > ArcGIS > Python Command Prompt.
2. Type the command below to create a config folder.

jupyter notebook --generate-config

3. Navigate to the following folder location:

C:\Users\[USER]\.jupyter

4. Open the jupyter_notebook_config.py file using a text editor, for example, Notepad++.
5. Search for the comment, The directory to use for notebooks and kernels.
6. Uncomment the line below it by removing the # symbol, and insert the desired directory. For example:

## The directory to use for notebooks and kernels.
c.NotebookApp.notebook_dir = r'C:\Users\User\Desktop\Work\test'

7. Run Jupyter Notebook using the Python Command Prompt using the jupyter notebook command.