John Gordon

Assistant Professor, David Eccles School of Business

Associate Instructor, College of Humanities

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Tech Guide: Get Started with Google Colab

A step-by-step guide for opening Google Colab, creating a notebook, running Python code, and sharing the notebook.

Programming Beginner Updated June 2026

Disclaimer & Important Cautions

These Tech Guides and instructions are provided in good faith as a general educational guide. Technology changes over time, and settings, software versions, installation steps, and security practices may vary by system.

I cannot guarantee that these steps will work in every environment, and I am not responsible for data loss, configuration problems, system errors, security issues, downtime, or other problems that may result from following this guide.

  • Back up important files before making system or software changes.
  • Document your current settings before changing them.
  • Use administrator privileges carefully.
  • Do not perform these steps on a production system unless you understand the risks.
  • Be careful when sharing notebooks, since shared notebooks may reveal code, text, outputs, and comments.
  • When in doubt, consult official documentation or a qualified technician.

Overview

Google Colaboratory, also known as Google Colab, is a cloud-based notebook environment from Google. It lets you write and run Python code in a web browser without installing Python, Visual Studio Code, or other local development tools.

This guide shows how to sign in with a Google account, open Google Colab, create a new notebook, run a simple Python program, add a text cell, run the notebook, and share it with others.

Main idea: Google Colab lets you start writing and running Python code quickly because the notebook runs in the browser.

Requirements

  • A web browser.
  • An internet connection.
  • A Google account.
  • Basic ability to sign in to a website and create a new document.

Important Notes

  • Google Colab runs in the cloud, so you need internet access.
  • Your notebook interface may look different depending on browser, theme, and Google interface updates.
  • If you share a notebook, review its contents first.
  • For classroom work, use the notebook name and sharing settings required by your instructor.

Part 1: Getting Started with Google Colab

Follow these steps to open Google Colab for the first time.

Step 1.1: Open Google and sign in

  1. Go to the Google main page.
  2. Click the Sign In button.
  3. If you do not have a Google account, click Create account and follow the on-screen instructions.
  4. Sign in to your Google account.

Step 1.2: Open Google Colab

After signing in to Google, go to the Google Colab site.

If everything worked correctly, you should see either a welcome page or an empty Jupyter notebook page.

Google Colab welcome page
Figure 1: Colab welcome page.
New empty Colab notebook
Figure 2: New empty Jupyter notebook in Colab.

Your pages may look different. For example, the screenshots may show dark mode, while your browser may show a light background.

Part 2: Test Your Colab Setup

Follow these steps to create a simple notebook and confirm that your Google Colab setup works.

Step 2.1: Create a new notebook

  1. If you see the welcome page, click File, then New notebook.
  2. If an empty notebook is already open, continue to the next step.

Step 2.2: Review the notebook interface

A Colab notebook is made of cells. Code cells run Python code. Text cells contain notes, headings, instructions, explanations, or other written content.

Jupyter notebook interface labels
Figure 3: Basic notebook interface elements.

Step 2.3: Rename the notebook

Double-click the notebook filename, such as Untitled0, and change it to: 

FirstNotebook
Renamed notebook in Google Colab
Figure 4: Notebook renamed to FirstNotebook.

Step 2.4: Write and run a Python print statement

In the editing pane, type the following Python code. You may replace the name with your own. 

print("Hello, my name is John.")

Then click the Run button.

Running a Python print statement in Google Colab
Figure 5: Running a simple Python statement.

The code tells Python to print the sentence inside the quotation marks. When you click the Run button, the output appears below the code cell.

Step 2.5: Add a text cell

Click the Text cell button. A new text cell should appear below the existing code cell.

Adding a text cell in Google Colab
Figure 6: New text cell.

In the text cell, type Author: followed by your name and Date: followed by the date you created the notebook.

Author and date in a text cell
Figure 7: Author and date in the text cell.

Step 2.6: Move the text cell above the code cell

Click the up arrow on the right side of the text cell.

Moving a text cell in Google Colab
Figure 8: Move the text cell up.

The text cell moves above the code cell.

Text cell above code cell
Figure 9: Text cell moved above the code cell.

Step 2.7: Run the whole notebook

Click the Runtime menu and choose Run all. This confirms that the notebook runs correctly from top to bottom.

Run all in Google Colab
Figure 10: Run all notebook cells.

Step 2.8: Share the notebook

Use the Share button to share your notebook with others. This works like sharing other Google documents. You can share with specific people by email address or create a shareable link.

Sharing caution: Before sharing, check the notebook for private notes, accidental outputs, file paths, or other information you do not want others to see.
Final Notes:
  • Google Colab lets you run Python code in a browser.
  • A notebook can contain both code cells and text cells.
  • Use Runtime > Run all to test the notebook from top to bottom.
  • Use the Share button carefully and review the notebook before sharing it.
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