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Shared labs

A lab host can have one folder that belongs to everyone. Anyone signed in to that host can open, edit, deploy, and destroy the labs in it.

# Diagram only: personal and shared lab folders on one API server.
name: shared-labs
 
topology:
  nodes:
    alice: {kind: linux}
    bob: {kind: linux}
    clab-api-server: {kind: linux}
    alice-lab: {kind: linux}
    team-lab: {kind: linux}
    bob-lab: {kind: linux}
Alice and Bob each keep personal labs. Both work on the labs in the shared folder.

Shared labs are a desktop and web app feature. An administrator turns them on once with CLAB_SHARED_LABS_ROOT.

Create a shared lab

When you create a topology, choose Shared under Location and give it a normal file name like my-lab.clab.yml. Starting from the Shared labs folder in the explorer selects Shared for you.

You can also create subfolders and upload files from the folder's menu.

What is shared

Shared Personal
The topology and annotation files Terminal sessions
Deploying, applying, and destroying Packet captures
Seeing and operating the running lab Your personal labs and templates

Shared labs carry a Shared badge in the explorer and stay visible when you hide other users' labs. A running lab shows who deployed it.

Editing together

When someone else saves the file you have open, your canvas updates. If you save on top of a change you have not seen yet, the save is refused and your text stays in the editor, so you can copy it before you reload.

Good to know

  • Destroying a shared lab keeps its files for the next person.
  • Deleting a shared file or folder deletes it for everyone.
  • The Shared labs folder itself cannot be renamed or deleted.
  • Files cannot be moved between personal and shared.
  • Everyone on the host has access. There are no per-group permissions.