1. Sign in as a teacher
Open the personal sign-in link you got from the server owner. It looks like https://your-server/admin/k/… and opens the teacher panel. No password or email confirmation is needed.
If you are setting up your own server for the first time, open the /admin/t/… link: until the server has an owner, it prints this link to the log on every start. You can also open /admin and paste the setup token by hand. The token is stored in DATA_DIR/setup-token: /var/lib/colloq/data/setup-token in a standard k3s install, ~/.colloq/data/setup-token after pip install colloq. Enter your name and email and click “Claim this instance”. The same token lets you recover access later.
Button names in this guide are given for the English interface. The owner can choose English or Russian for the whole server.
2. Create a class
In the panel, open Classes and click “New class”. Give the class a title, then choose a Python environment, a starting notebook (“Blank”, “From a file” or “From GitHub”, public repositories only) and a format. Under “Resources” you can set the memory and the number of processor cores for the room's kernel. You can also raise the memory during class from “Settings” in the class menu; the kernel does not restart, whether rooms run in Docker or on k3s. See Memory and CPU for a class.
| Format | Starting rules | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | The group edits the shared notebook and runs code. | Practice and working through problems together. |
| Lecture | Editing, running code, notebook structure and files stay with the teacher, who opens individual cells to the group. | Explaining with a live demo. |
| Council | Lecture rules; opening a cell gives everyone their own sheet. | A task followed by a discussion of the answers. |
These are starting sets of rules, and you can change them during class. Oracle access (“As set for the instance”, “Off”, “Hints only” or “Full answers”) is chosen when you create the class, within the limits of the server's mode; it cannot be changed afterwards.
3. Prepare the workspace
- Add code and notes to the notebook; upload a notebook and data if you need them.
- Run the setup cells. Make sure the libraries you need are available in the chosen environment.
- Check what students are allowed to do: editing, running code, files, the oracle and the shared screen.
- Open the class link in a separate private window and join as a student. Check this exact view before class starts.
For a lecture, upload the PDF in advance and check the projector and console. For a Council, run the shared setup code before you open the task.
4. Invite your group
Copy the class link from the panel and post it in your group chat. Students just open it in a browser and enter a name. There is no need to install Python on students' computers: code runs on the server.
If the link contains localhost, fix the server's public address first. On your own computer, colloq start --share gives the class a public address and prints the link to send (one link). Check that the link opens from another network, not only from your own laptop.
5. End the class
In the room, click the lock button, “What you can do in this room”, then End class; in the panel, the same action is End the class in the class menu. Students can still reread the materials, files, terminal history and oracle answers, but only the teacher can act. Resume class in the room, or Reopen the class in the panel, brings the original rules back.
For a separate reading page, use publishing. Ending a class, publishing it and deleting the room are three different actions.
Access for other teachers
The owner adds teachers under Who can teach: click “Add a teacher”, enter a name and email, and confirm with “Add teacher”. The name and email only identify the person; Colloq sends no email. Hand the new sign-in link to the teacher privately. If a link is lost or has leaked, click “Rotate sign-in link” in that teacher's row: the old link and every session opened with it stop working.