Pending Kernels

Added in 7.1.0

In scenarios where an kernel takes a long time to start (e.g. kernels running remotely), it can be advantageous to immediately return the kernel’s model and ID from key methods like .start_kernel() and .shutdown_kernel(). The kernel will continue its task without blocking other managerial actions.

This intermediate state is called a “pending kernel”.

How they work

When .start_kernel() or .shutdown_kernel() is called, a Future is created under the KernelManager.ready property. This property can be awaited anytime to ensure that the kernel moves out of its pending state, e.g.:

# await a Kernel Manager's `.ready` property to
# block further action until the kernel is out
# of its pending state.
await kernel_manager.ready

Once the kernel is finished pending, .ready.done() will be True and either 1) .ready.result() will return None or 2) .ready.exception() will return a raised exception

Using pending kernels

The most common way to interact with pending kernels is through the `` MultiKernelManager``—the object that manages a collection of kernels—by setting its use_pending_kernels trait to True. Pending kernels are “opt-in”; they are not used by default in the MultiKernelManager.

When use_pending_kernels is True, the following changes are made to the MultiKernelManager:

1. start_kernel and stop_kernel return immediately while running the

   pending task in a background thread.

2. The following methods raise a RuntimeError if a kernel is pending:

   • restart_kernel

   • interrupt_kernel

   • shutdown_kernel

3. shutdown_all will wait for all pending kernels to become ready before

   attempting to shut them down.