# Create or open an Amazon SageMaker Studio Lab notebook
<a name="studio-lab-use-create"></a>

When you create a notebook in Amazon SageMaker Studio Lab or open a notebook in Studio Lab, you must select a kernel for the notebook. The following topics describe how to create and open notebooks in Studio Lab.

For information about shutting down the notebook, see [Shut down Studio Lab resources](studio-lab-use-shutdown.md).

**Topics**
+ [Open a Studio Lab notebook](#studio-lab-use-create-open)
+ [Create a notebook from the file menu](#studio-lab-use-create-file)
+ [Create a notebook from the Launcher](#studio-lab-use-create-launcher)

## Open a Studio Lab notebook
<a name="studio-lab-use-create-open"></a>

Studio Lab can only open notebooks listed in the Studio Lab file browser. To clone a notebook into your file browser from an external repository, see [Use external resources in Amazon SageMaker Studio Lab](studio-lab-use-external.md).

**To open a notebook**

1. In the left sidebar, choose the **File Browser** icon (![\[Dark blue square icon with a white outline of a cloud and an arrow pointing upward.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/sagemaker/latest/dg/images/icons/File_browser_squid.png)) to display the file browser.

1. Browse to a notebook file and double-click it to open the notebook in a new tab.

## Create a notebook from the file menu
<a name="studio-lab-use-create-file"></a>

**To create a notebook from the File menu**

1. From the Studio Lab menu, choose **File**, choose **New**, and then choose **Notebook**.

1. To use the default kernel, in the **Select Kernel** dialog box, choose **Select**. Otherwise, to select a different kernel, use the dropdown menu.

## Create a notebook from the Launcher
<a name="studio-lab-use-create-launcher"></a>

**To create a notebook from the Launcher**

1. Open the Launcher by using the keyboard shortcut `Ctrl + Shift + L`.

   Alternatively, you can open Launcher from the left sidebar: Choose the **File Browser** icon, and then choose the plus (**\$1**) icon.

1. To use the default kernel from the Launcher, under **Notebook**, choose **default:Python**. Otherwise, select a different kernel.

After you choose the kernel, your notebook launches and opens in a new Studio Lab tab. 

To view the notebook's kernel session, in the left sidebar, choose the **Running Terminals and Kernels** icon (![\[Square icon with a white outline of a cloud on a dark blue background.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/sagemaker/latest/dg/images/icons/Running_squid.png)). You can stop the notebook's kernel session from this view.