The Architecture Behind Deploying Livebook Apps with Livebook Teams

I gave this talk at AlchemyConf 2025

In this talk, we’ll explore the architecture that powers the seamless deployment of Livebook apps with just a click of a button. This system combines a hybrid approach with an app running on localhost, a SaaS layer, and an on-premises app. We’ll examine how these distributed system components interact, the challenges they address, and how Elixir’s OTP is leveraged to make it all work.

Transcript

1. The Architecture Behind Deploying Livebook Apps with Livebook Teams By Hugo Baraúna (@hugobarauna)
2. the story of a button click
4. Apps
5. A Livebook app is a way to run a Livebook notebook as an application
6. Demo deploying a Livebok app
7. Hugo Baraúna Dev advocate @ Livebook 🥑 Elixir Radar newsletter 📩 Elixir Patterns book with @akoutmos 📕 From Brazil 🇧🇷
8. Architecture Overview
9. Livebook (e.g. localhost) Livebook app server (your own infrastructure ) Livebook Teams (SaaS)
10. Livebook (e.g. localhost) Livebook app server (your own infrastructure ) Livebook Teams (SaaS)
11. Livebook (e.g. localhost) Livebook app server (your own infrastructure ) Livebook Teams (SaaS)
12. Communication architecture
13. Livebook Teams Livebook HTTP REST API (for sync comms) protobuf messages WebSocket (for async comms) internet
14. Application Teams.Connection TeamClient connect_hub start_link :gen_statem.start_link UserSocket WebSocket.connect connection established protobuf message (Connected) start Livebook (app server) Livebook Teams
15. Show me the code establishing the websocket connection
16. Real-time updates in a geo-distributed system
17. Demo realtime updates
18. Livebook Livebook Teams Teams.Connection UserSocket Phoenix.PubSub LiveView Phoenix.PubSub LiveView subscribe(“org:1”) WebSocket.connect(“org:1”) connection established subscribe(“org:1”) broadcast( “org:1”, %LivebookProto.Event{} ) save env var send({ %LivebookProto.Event{} }) push(<<10, 17, 10, …>>) send broadcast handle_info
19. Show me the code realtime updates
20. Deployment with Livebook Teams
21. Livebook App Server Livebook Livebook Teams deploy app HTTP POST start app deployment upload encrypted zipped app websocket noti fi cation: app deployment started download app presigned URL of the app GET app object app object run the app record app deployment zip and encrypt app deployment Decrypt app deployment
22. Livebook App Server Livebook Livebook Teams deploy app HTTP POST start app deployment upload encrypted zipped app websocket noti fi cation: app deployment started download app presigned URL of the app GET app object app object run the app record app deployment zip and encrypt app deployment Decrypt app deployment
23. TeamClient Apps.Manager Apps.Deployer Apps.AppSpec Sessions PubSub deploy(app_spec) sync_apps list_deployers deployers_pids deploy(pid, app_spec) load(app_spec) notebook App create_session send(:deploy_resullt) start(notebook) broadcast(:apps_manager_status) send(:apps_manager_status) send_message(%AppDeploymentStatusReport{})
24. Apps.Manager Apps.Deployer list_deployers deployers_pids deploy(pid, app_spec) TeamClient Apps.AppSpec Sessions PubSub deploy(app_spec) sync_apps load(app_spec) notebook App create_session send(:deploy_resullt) start(notebook) broadcast(:apps_manager_status) send(:apps_manager_status) send_message(%AppDeploymentStatusReport{})
25. Automatic redeployment when app server node goes down
26. Livebook app server (your own infrastructure ) Livebook Teams (SaaS) internet internet internet local network WebSocket Livebook app server (your own infrastructure ) Erlang distributed WebSocket
27. Demo Automatic redeploy when node goes down
28. Next steps
29. Using Livebook to build and deploy internal tools https://youtu.be/VIbVKO9CW5E
30. livebook-dev/livebook Code diving @ WebSocket client using gen_statem lib/livebook/teams/connection.ex Protobuf message de fi nitions proto/* Livebook app deployment orchestration lib/livebook/apps/manager.ex lib/livebook/apps/deployer.ex
31. demos source code https://github.com/hugobarauna/livebook-notebooks/tree/main/talks/alchemyconf
32. thank you / obrigado livebook-dev/livebook livebook.dev @hugobarauna.com @hugobarauna