If you’re unable to open a folder named “checkpoints” in JupyterLab, this is a known issue where JupyterLab treats “checkpoints” as a reserved keyword.

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The issue

JupyterLab cannot open any directory named exactly “checkpoints”. When you try to click on it, nothing happens because the system triggers its internal listCheckpoints function instead of opening the directory. This commonly affects ML model directories and ComfyUI installations.

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Solutions

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Option 1: Temporarily rename via terminal

Access the terminal in JupyterLab or through SSH and rename the folder:
Rename to access
# Rename to make it accessible
mv checkpoints checkpoint

# After working with the files, rename back
mv checkpoint checkpoints
The mv command only renames the folder, it doesn’t delete any data.

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Option 2: Drag and drop method

Download your files to a different directory, then use JupyterLab’s interface to drag and drop files into the checkpoints folder. The folder won’t open, but it will accept dropped files.

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Option 3: Use the terminal for file operations

Work with the checkpoints folder entirely through the terminal:
Access checkpoints via terminal
# List contents
ls -la checkpoints/

# Copy files in
cp /path/to/model.safetensors checkpoints/

# Move files in
mv ~/downloaded-model.ckpt checkpoints/
This issue has been reported in multiple GitHub issues and affects both JupyterLab and classic Jupyter Notebook. The folder name “checkpoints” conflicts with Jupyter’s internal checkpoint system for notebook files.