How to install packages from PyPI mirror on Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) workbenches in disconnected environment

Resolution

You can resolve the issue in any of the following ways:

Method 1: Specify the PyPI server URL directly in the notebook cell

Specify the Python package index (PyPI) server URL directly in the pip install commands in the notebook cell, as follows:
pip install -i <private-pypi-server-url> --trusted-host <private-pypi-server-domain> python-pypi-mirror

Example:
pip install -i https://pypi-notebook.example.com --trusted-host pypi-notebook.example.com python-pypi-mirror

Method 2: Use environment variables to specify the PyPI server
Set the PIP_INDEX_URL and PIP_TRUSTED_HOST environment variables as follows:

1. Ensure that the workbench is stopped.

2. Edit the workbench as described in Updating a project workbench, and add the following Config Map environment variables:

   PIP_INDEX_URL: https://pypi-notebook.example.com/simple
   PIP_TRUSTED_HOST: pypi-notebook.example.com
   

3. Restart the workbench.

4. In the workbench terminal, run the following command and verify that the variables are set correctly.

   pip config debug
   

   Example output:

   env_var:
     PIP_INDEX_URL='https://pypi-notebook.example.com/simple'
     PIP_NO_CACHE_DIR='off'
     PIP_TRUSTED_HOST='pypi-notebook.example.com'
   env:
     global:
       /etc/xdg/pip/pip.conf, exists: False
       /etc/pip.conf, exists: False
     site:
       /opt/app-root/pip.conf, exists: False
     user:
       /opt/app-root/src/.pip/pip.conf, exists: False
       /opt/app-root/src/.config/pip/pip.conf, exists: False
   

Method 3: Create a temporary pip.conf file in the workbench
Create a temporary pip.conf file in the workbench by adding the following commands to a notebook cell:

mkdir -p /opt/app-root/src/.pip

cat <<EOF > /opt/app-root/src/.pip/pip.conf
[global]
index-url = https://pypi-notebook.example.com/simple
trusted-host = pypi-notebook.example.com
EOF

Note that this workaround is valid only during the current session of the notebook.

Method 4: Create the pip.conf file in the Notebook Custom Resource (CR)

1. Create a config map that contains the pip.conf specification, as shown in the following example:

   kind: ConfigMap
   apiVersion: v1
   metadata:
     name: pip-config
   data:
     pip.conf: |-
       [global]
       index-url = https://pypi-notebook.example.com/simple
       trusted-host = pypi-notebook.example.com
   

2. Use the oc client to edit the Notebook CR as follows:
   oc edit notebook <notebook-name> -n <data-science-project>

3. In the Notebook CR, find the container specification of the Notebook CR, and add the following updates:

   • In the spec > container > notebook section:

   env:  
     - name: PIP_CONFIG_FILE
       value: /opt/app-root/pip/pip.conf
   volumeMounts:
     - mountPath: /opt/app-root/pip/
       name: pip-config
   

   • In the spec > volumes section:

   volumes:
     - name: pip-config
       configMap:
         name: pip-config
         items:
           - key: pip.conf
             path: pip.conf
   

When you use any of these methods to configure the workbench with a connection to a private PyPI mirror, the pip install commands can contact the private server.

See also:
- How to execute a pipeline from a Jupyter notebook in a disconnected environment
- Workbench workaround for an object storage connection with a self-signed certificate
- Data Science Pipelines workaround for an object storage connection with a self-signed certificate