Using a Workshop Session

You’re here to use a workshop — an RStudio or JupyterLab environment that someone set up for a course or conference. Orchestra runs it for you in the cloud; there’s nothing to install.

Launch and connect

1. Open the Orchestra dashboard (your instructor will give you the link) and sign in.

2. Pick a workshop from the catalog and choose Launch. It takes a moment to start — the status moves from Pending to Starting to Ready.

3. When it’s Ready, choose Open (or Connect) to enter your session in a new tab.

Your session is temporary

Every session has a time limit, shown as a countdown on its card. This keeps the cluster available for everyone — but it means:

Save your work before the timer runs out

When a session expires (or you end it), everything in it is removed — including files you created. Download anything you want to keep — notebooks, scripts, results — before it expires. There is no way to recover a session after it’s gone.

Get more time

If you’re running low, use +1h on the session card to extend it. You’ll see a warning as the deadline approaches, and again when it’s close.

Something went wrong?

• Stuck on Starting for a while — some images are large and take a few minutes on first launch. If it never reaches Ready, tell your instructor.
• Session disappeared — it likely expired. Launch a fresh one; remember to save your work this time.
• Can’t open it — your workshop may still be starting, or the session ended. Check the status on the dashboard.