Nitrogen - A rough prototype

Screencast: https://twitter.com/CrunchingData/status/1533123923423834113

nitro run URL fetches a .py file from a gist, sets up a local virtual env, downloads additional datasets or files, and finally launches the app. A Dockerfile-like spec is required somewhere in the comments. No Docker involved. Just need Python.

A single-command app runner like this makes it easy to share, clone, remix, run data apps without someone's cloud-hosting thingy in between. Creating git repos and readmes for each app is time-consuming and avoidable. Github gists and Gitlab snippets are low-friction.

nitro run isn't limited to Nitro apps (Nitro is a lib, not a server). The screencast above is simply launching a bog standard Flask app with Nitro and Bokeh in it, with the Palmer penguins CSV fetched on the fly. You could just as well run Tornado, Starlette, or Django.

The new nitro command is a zero-dependency executable written in Go. Planning to replace the built-in Nitro wheel's CLI with this one. Makes it easier to add support for other languages, including starter apps and templates.