How can I get an interactive shell inside a Google datalab container?

Question

I need to install additional software in a Google datalab container that runs with docker. It is possible to run bash commands with %%bash .... However, this does not allow interactivity. So, I need an interactive shell within the container.

Answer 1

If you need to modify the Datalab image you can write a new Dockerfile based on it like @Rambler suggested, or you can fork your own version, Datalab is open source.

Answer 2

You can try running the container in interactive mode in the following way :

docker run -it --name=<container_name> <image>:<tag> /bin/bash

If the container is already running , you can leverage docker exec :

docker exec -it <container_name> /bin/bash