You will no longer be able to use Azure Quantum Credits after June 1st, 2025. If you have a remaining balance of Azure Quantum Credits, be sure to redeem them before this date.
Learn how to run Q# code in a Jupyter Notebook in the Azure Quantum portal. A Jupyter Notebook is a document that contains both rich text and code and can run in your browser using Q# and Python code. Notebooks can be created directly in the Azure Quantum portal, and offer features such as preloaded connection information and a preconfigured Q# and Python development environment.
In this article, you will run a sample notebook in the Azure portal that executes a simple quantum random number generator written in Q# and Python.
To get started, copy a sample notebook from the notebook gallery.
Log in to the Azure portal and select your Azure Quantum workspace.
Select Notebooks.
In the Sample gallery, locate the Hello, world: Q# notebook tile, select either the IonQ, Quantinuum, or Rigetti provider (the sample code is identical) and select Copy to my notebooks.
The sample notebook can be found under My notebooks and you can now run the notebook.
Run the notebook
To run the sample notebook, follow these steps for your selected provider.
Note
Jupyter Notebooks don't display program results by default, so you must use the Message statement. For more information, see Structure of a Q# program.
In My notebooks, select the hello-world-qsharp-ionq notebook.
To run the full program from top to bottom, select Run all.
To walk through the example and run each cell individually from top to bottom, select the cell you want to run and select the run icon.
Stepping through the program on IonQ
The hello world program runs a simple quantum random number generator and displays a histogram of the results.
Some things to note:
1st cell: Preloads your subscription information to connect to the Azure Quantum service.
2nd cell: Retrieves the available targets (quantum computers and simulators) in your workspace.
3rd cell: Imports the qsharp package and sets the base profile for the compiler.
4th cell: The Q# code that defines the program. Note the %%qsharp magic command which allows you to enter Q# code directly into the Python notebook cell.
5th cell: Compiles the qsharp operation using the base profile to submit to Azure Quantum.
6th and 7th cells: Sets the target, submits the job, and plots and displays the result. The results should be roughly split between 0 and 1.
In My notebooks, select the hello-world-qsharp-quantinuum notebook.
To run the full program from top to bottom, select Run all.
To walk through the example and run each cell individually from top to bottom, select the cell you want to run and select the run icon.
Stepping through the program on Quantinuum
The hello world program runs a simple quantum random number generator and displays a histogram of the results.
Some things to note:
1st cell: Preloads your subscription information to connect to the Azure Quantum service.
2nd cell: Retrieves the available targets (quantum computers and simulators) in your workspace.
3rd cell: Imports the qsharp package and sets the base profile for the compiler.
4th cell: The Q# code that defines the program. Note the %%qsharp magic command which allows you to enter Q# code directly into the Python notebook cell.
5th cell: Compiles the qsharp operation using the base profile to submit to Azure Quantum.
6th and 7th cells: Sets the target, submits the job, and plots and displays the result. The results should be roughly split between 0 and 1.
Looking at the histogram, you may notice that the program returned 0 every time, which is not very random. This is because the notebook was pre-populated to use the Quantinuum Syntax Checker, quantinuum.sim.h1-1sc. Using the Syntax Checker ensures that your code will run successfully on Quantinuum hardware, but also returns 0 for every quantum measurement.
To create a true random number generator, modify the code in the 5th cell to use the System Model H1 Emulator target, quantinuum.sim.h1-1e.
Note
Running the program against the System Model H1 Emulator or the System Model H1 computer will use H-System Quantum Credits (HQCs) from your account. A single run of this example program costs approximately 5.3 HQCs.
Python
qsharp.azure.target("quantinuum.sim.h1-1e")
Re-run that cell and the following cells. Now, the results should be roughly split between 0 and 1.
In My notebooks, select the hello-world-qsharp-rigetti notebook.
To run the full program from top to bottom, select Run all.
To walk through the example and run each cell individually from top to bottom, select the cell you want to run and select the run icon.
Stepping through the program on Rigetti
The hello world program runs a simple quantum random number generator and displays a histogram of the results.
Some things to note:
1st cell: Preloads your subscription information to connect to the Azure Quantum service.
2nd cell: Retrieves the available targets (quantum computers and simulators) in your workspace.
3rd cell: Imports the qsharp package and sets the base profile for the compiler.
4th cell: The Q# code that defines the program. Note the %%qsharp magic command which allows you to enter Q# code directly into the Python notebook cell.
5th cell: Compiles the qsharp operation using the base profile to submit to Azure Quantum.
6th and 7th cells: Sets the target, submits the job, and plots and displays the result. The results should be roughly split between 0 and 1.
