Migrating from ADE to Hub

In 2026, MAAP is rolling out a new code editing environment for developing algorithms. The new system referred to as the MAAP Hub is similar to the pre-existing ADE, in that it’s based around JupyterHub, however it has a few differences we want to highlight. This guide is intended for existing users who need help understanding the differences in the environments. It will not comprehensively cover all new features of the Hub as the rest of the documentation will be updated to cover general usage.

Why are we changing the ADE to Hub

  • New features. A few highlights

    • Code Editors: VSCode, Rstudio, etc.. are launchable from within Workspaces

    • R environments are no longer conda based, should be much easier to install packages, Shiny apps work.

    • Custom Environments are self service so you can boot directly into custom images defined in github

    • GPU Support

    • Public Binder links to notebooks+environments: you can send a url to non-maap users with interactive code on a limited read-only instance.

    • QGIS Desktop image with web browser

  • More efficient resource usage

    • Users can pick instance size at workspace launch, every time

    • We will turn off idle instance more frequently to save costs

    • User based limits on instance types

  • Ease of software maintenance

    • The new services use the same software as many other NASA – VEDA, CryoCloud, GHG, Disasters, etc… – and Non NASA hubs – e.g. NOAA. This leads to collaboration and faster development of new features while working from a more standard JupyterHub base that is widely used.

    • Images are lightly customized from Pangeo Notebook and Rocker/py-rocket-geospatial community projects.

Transition Notes

During the transitional, beta testing phase, you will be able to use both the original https://ade.maap-project.org and the new https://hub.maap-project.org.

We are aware that not everything will be the same and encourage you to ask questions and provide feedback while we adjust the new system to better meet the needs of users. To start use whichever one meets your needs for the current task.

Examples of some parameters we plan to adjust based on user needs:

  • Home Directory Quotas: the default is 150 GB , you still have access to Buckets for more storage.

    • At this time we are not moving your home directory data, see Data Transition

    • If you run out of space, we can grant temporary exceptions on a case by case basis. (TODO: Link Disk Usage Guide)

  • Workspace Timeouts: by default an idle workspace automatically turns off after and hour.

  • Hot nodes: having already running machines to put workspaces on saves boot time but costs more, we need to tune this based on actual usage. See Tips about right-sizing your instance.

Getting Started

Want to try the new Hub, reach out to the MAAP support team via Slack or email to activate your account.

Tips

  • Starting a new task or project, give the Hub a try, you can always switch to the ADE if you find a feature missing or not working.

  • Make sure to login with the same EarthDataLogin account you used in the ADE, otherwise you won’t see files in your Buckets.

  • Pick the smallest RAM/CPU allocation you need when booting a workspace. Smaller instance boot faster and cost less, so we can redirect that spend towards more compute.

  • Want to learn how to create a custom image, ssh, or other advanced usage check out the VEDA docs

  • Have a general usage question

Data Transition

Due to the new Quota system, and existing directory sizes, we are not planning on moving Home Directory data across the platforms at this time, however your buckets will remain the same. At the time of writing this MAAP has over 50 TB of files in home directories, but only 2 TB of that has been accessed in the last 60 days.

  • Code: reclone repos in the new Hub as needed, we always recommend that you keep code in version control (e.g. github, gitlab, etc…)

  • Data: move data you need to keep into my-private-bucket or my-public-bucket , this is identical across the platform, any files in these location will be visible from the ADE and Hub.