diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 4ff5f87d..7d579cf9 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 language: python
 python:
     - 3.4
-    - 2.7
+    - 3.3
 before_install:
     # workaround for https://github.com/travis-ci/travis-cookbooks/issues/155
     - sudo rm -rf /dev/shm && sudo ln -s /run/shm /dev/shm
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fbe3a7ba..35ae63a7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ Basic principles:
 
 ## Dependencies
 
+JupyterHub requires IPython >= 3.0 (current master) and Python >= 3.3.
+
 You will need nodejs/npm, which you can get from your package manager:
 
     sudo apt-get install npm nodejs-legacy
diff --git a/dev-requirements.txt b/dev-requirements.txt
index 93253de9..26b77f68 100644
--- a/dev-requirements.txt
+++ b/dev-requirements.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-mock
+-r requirements.txt
 pytest
diff --git a/jupyterhub/__init__.py b/jupyterhub/__init__.py
index 0eea61cc..48af2d06 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/__init__.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/__init__.py
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 from .version import *
+
diff --git a/jupyterhub/apihandlers/base.py b/jupyterhub/apihandlers/base.py
index 8aa0046a..c55e2e8a 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/apihandlers/base.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/apihandlers/base.py
@@ -4,11 +4,7 @@
 
 import json
 
-try:
-    # py3
-    from http.client import responses
-except ImportError:
-    from httplib import responses
+from http.client import responses
 
 from tornado import web
 
@@ -19,7 +15,7 @@ class APIHandler(BaseHandler):
         """Return the body of the request as JSON data."""
         if not self.request.body:
             return None
-        body = self.request.body.strip().decode(u'utf-8')
+        body = self.request.body.strip().decode('utf-8')
         try:
             model = json.loads(body)
         except Exception:
diff --git a/jupyterhub/apihandlers/users.py b/jupyterhub/apihandlers/users.py
index 2e65bb75..0464474a 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/apihandlers/users.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/apihandlers/users.py
@@ -11,11 +11,6 @@ from .. import orm
 from ..utils import admin_only, authenticated_403
 from .base import APIHandler
 
-try:
-    basestring
-except NameError:
-    basestring = str # py3
-
 class BaseUserHandler(APIHandler):
     
     def user_model(self, user):
@@ -26,7 +21,7 @@ class BaseUserHandler(APIHandler):
         }
     
     _model_types = {
-        'name': basestring,
+        'name': str,
         'admin': bool,
     }
     
diff --git a/jupyterhub/app.py b/jupyterhub/app.py
index f331d0d3..74ce26a8 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/app.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/app.py
@@ -5,20 +5,18 @@
 # Distributed under the terms of the Modified BSD License.
 
 import binascii
-import io
 import logging
 import os
 import socket
+import sys
 from datetime import datetime
+from distutils.version import LooseVersion as V
+from getpass import getuser
 from subprocess import Popen
 
-try:
-    raw_input
-except NameError:
-    # py3
-    raw_input = input
+if sys.version_info[:2] < (3,3):
+    raise ValueError("Python < 3.3 not supported: %s" % sys.version)
 
-from six import text_type
 from jinja2 import Environment, FileSystemLoader
 
 from sqlalchemy.exc import OperationalError
@@ -30,6 +28,10 @@ from tornado.ioloop import IOLoop, PeriodicCallback
 from tornado.log import LogFormatter, app_log, access_log, gen_log
 from tornado import gen, web
 
+import IPython
+if V(IPython.__version__) < V('3.0'):
+    raise ImportError("JupyterHub Requires IPython >= 3.0, found %s" % IPython.__version__)
+
 from IPython.utils.traitlets import (
     Unicode, Integer, Dict, TraitError, List, Bool, Any,
     Type, Set, Instance, Bytes,
@@ -43,8 +45,8 @@ from . import handlers, apihandlers
 from . import orm
 from ._data import DATA_FILES_PATH
 from .utils import (
-    url_path_join, TimeoutError,
-    ISO8601_ms, ISO8601_s, getuser_unicode,
+    url_path_join,
+    ISO8601_ms, ISO8601_s,
 )
 # classes for config
 from .auth import Authenticator, PAMAuthenticator
@@ -299,18 +301,11 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
     def _log_datefmt_default(self):
         """Exclude date from default date format"""
         return "%H:%M:%S"
-    
+
     def _log_format_default(self):
         """override default log format to include time"""
-        return u"%(color)s[%(levelname)1.1s %(asctime)s.%(msecs).03d %(name)s]%(end_color)s %(message)s"
-    
-    def _log_format_changed(self, name, old, new):
-        """Change the log formatter when log_format is set."""
-        # FIXME: IPython < 3 compat
-        _log_handler = self.log.handlers[0]
-        _log_formatter = self._log_formatter_cls(fmt=new, datefmt=self.log_datefmt)
-        _log_handler.setFormatter(_log_formatter)
-    
+        return "%(color)s[%(levelname)1.1s %(asctime)s.%(msecs).03d %(name)s]%(end_color)s %(message)s"
+
     def init_logging(self):
         # This prevents double log messages because tornado use a root logger that
         # self.log is a child of. The logging module dipatches log messages to a log
@@ -325,8 +320,6 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
         logger.propagate = True
         logger.parent = self.log
         logger.setLevel(self.log.level)
-        # FIXME: IPython < 3 compat
-        self._log_format_changed('', '', self.log_format)
     
     def init_ports(self):
         if self.hub_port == self.port:
@@ -370,7 +363,7 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
         """More informative log messages for failed filesystem access"""
         path = os.path.abspath(path)
         parent, fname = os.path.split(path)
-        user = getuser_unicode()
+        user = getuser()
         if not os.path.isdir(parent):
             self.log.error("Directory %s does not exist", parent)
         if os.path.exists(parent) and not os.access(parent, os.W_OK):
@@ -399,7 +392,7 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
                 self.log.error("Bad permissions on %s", secret_file)
             else:
                 self.log.info("Loading %s from %s", trait_name, secret_file)
-                with io.open(secret_file) as f:
+                with open(secret_file) as f:
                     b64_secret = f.read()
                 try:
                     secret = binascii.a2b_base64(b64_secret)
@@ -413,8 +406,8 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
         if secret_file and secret_from == 'new':
             # if we generated a new secret, store it in the secret_file
             self.log.info("Writing %s to %s", trait_name, secret_file)
-            b64_secret = text_type(binascii.b2a_base64(secret))
-            with io.open(secret_file, 'w', encoding='utf8') as f:
+            b64_secret = binascii.b2a_base64(secret).decode('ascii')
+            with open(secret_file, 'w') as f:
                 f.write(b64_secret)
             try:
                 os.chmod(secret_file, 0o600)
@@ -450,7 +443,7 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
                     ip=self.hub_ip,
                     port=self.hub_port,
                     base_url=self.hub_prefix,
-                    cookie_name=u'jupyter-hub-token',
+                    cookie_name='jupyter-hub-token',
                 )
             )
             self.db.add(self.hub)
@@ -470,7 +463,7 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
             # add current user as admin if there aren't any others
             admins = db.query(orm.User).filter(orm.User.admin==True)
             if admins.first() is None:
-                self.admin_users.add(getuser_unicode())
+                self.admin_users.add(getuser())
 
         for name in self.admin_users:
             # ensure anyone specified as admin in config is admin in db
@@ -576,7 +569,7 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
         self.proxy.public_server.port = self.port
         self.proxy.api_server.ip = self.proxy_api_ip
         self.proxy.api_server.port = self.proxy_api_port
-        self.proxy.api_server.base_url = u'/api/routes/'
+        self.proxy.api_server.base_url = '/api/routes/'
         self.db.commit()
     
     @gen.coroutine
@@ -694,8 +687,8 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
         pid = os.getpid()
         if self.pid_file:
             self.log.debug("Writing PID %i to %s", pid, self.pid_file)
-            with io.open(self.pid_file, 'w') as f:
-                f.write(u'%i' % pid)
+            with open(self.pid_file, 'w') as f:
+                f.write('%i' % pid)
     
     @catch_config_error
     def initialize(self, *args, **kwargs):
@@ -756,7 +749,7 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
             def ask():
                 prompt = "Overwrite %s with default config? [y/N]" % self.config_file
                 try:
-                    return raw_input(prompt).lower() or 'n'
+                    return input(prompt).lower() or 'n'
                 except KeyboardInterrupt:
                     print('') # empty line
                     return 'n'
@@ -771,7 +764,7 @@ class JupyterHubApp(Application):
         if isinstance(config_text, bytes):
             config_text = config_text.decode('utf8')
         print("Writing default config to: %s" % self.config_file)
-        with io.open(self.config_file, encoding='utf8', mode='w') as f:
+        with open(self.config_file, mode='w') as f:
             f.write(config_text)
     
     @gen.coroutine
diff --git a/jupyterhub/auth.py b/jupyterhub/auth.py
index 5556f2e5..5461e8b0 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/auth.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/auth.py
@@ -153,5 +153,5 @@ class PAMAuthenticator(LocalAuthenticator):
         busername = username.encode(self.encoding)
         bpassword = data['password'].encode(self.encoding)
         if simplepam.authenticate(busername, bpassword, service=self.service):
-            raise gen.Return(username)
+            return username
     
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/jupyterhub/handlers/base.py b/jupyterhub/handlers/base.py
index ef308b96..8215563b 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/handlers/base.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/handlers/base.py
@@ -5,11 +5,7 @@
 
 import re
 from datetime import datetime
-try:
-    # py3
-    from http.client import responses
-except ImportError:
-    from httplib import responses
+from http.client import responses
 
 from jinja2 import TemplateNotFound
 
@@ -156,7 +152,7 @@ class BaseHandler(RequestHandler):
         auth = self.authenticator
         if auth is not None:
             result = yield auth.authenticate(self, data)
-            raise gen.Return(result)
+            return result
         else:
             self.log.error("No authentication function, login is impossible!")
 
@@ -179,7 +175,7 @@ class BaseHandler(RequestHandler):
         )
         yield self.proxy.add_user(user)
         user.spawner.add_poll_callback(self.user_stopped, user)
-        raise gen.Return(user)
+        return user
     
     @gen.coroutine
     def user_stopped(self, user):
diff --git a/jupyterhub/orm.py b/jupyterhub/orm.py
index 69a183a2..5abbc04c 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/orm.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/orm.py
@@ -63,11 +63,11 @@ class Server(Base):
     """
     __tablename__ = 'servers'
     id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
-    proto = Column(Unicode, default=u'http')
-    ip = Column(Unicode, default=u'localhost')
+    proto = Column(Unicode, default='http')
+    ip = Column(Unicode, default='localhost')
     port = Column(Integer, default=random_port)
-    base_url = Column(Unicode, default=u'/')
-    cookie_name = Column(Unicode, default=u'cookie')
+    base_url = Column(Unicode, default='/')
+    cookie_name = Column(Unicode, default='cookie')
     
     def __repr__(self):
         return "<Server(%s:%s)>" % (self.ip, self.port)
diff --git a/jupyterhub/singleuser.py b/jupyterhub/singleuser.py
index 1ac4c58b..e99c5a52 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/singleuser.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/singleuser.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import os
 import requests
 
 from tornado import ioloop
-from tornado import web
 
 from IPython.utils.traitlets import Unicode
 
@@ -21,8 +20,8 @@ from IPython.html.utils import url_path_join
 from distutils.version import LooseVersion as V
 
 import IPython
-if V(IPython.__version__) < V('2.2'):
-    raise ImportError("JupyterHub Requires IPython >= 2.2, found %s" % IPython.__version__)
+if V(IPython.__version__) < V('3.0'):
+    raise ImportError("JupyterHub Requires IPython >= 3.0, found %s" % IPython.__version__)
 
 # Define two methods to attach to AuthenticatedHandler,
 # which authenticate via the central auth server.
@@ -97,11 +96,6 @@ class SingleUserNotebookApp(NotebookApp):
         # disable the exit confirmation for background notebook processes
         ioloop.IOLoop.instance().stop()
     
-    def init_kernel_argv(self):
-        """construct the kernel arguments"""
-        # FIXME: This is 2.x-compat, remove when 3.x is requred
-        self.kernel_argv = ["--profile-dir", self.profile_dir.location]
-    
     def init_webapp(self):
         # monkeypatch authentication to use the hub
         from IPython.html.base.handlers import AuthenticatedHandler
@@ -120,10 +114,7 @@ class SingleUserNotebookApp(NotebookApp):
         
         # load the hub related settings into the tornado settings dict
         env = os.environ
-        # FIXME: IPython < 3 compat
-        s = getattr(self, 'tornado_settings',
-                getattr(self, 'webapp_settings')
-        )
+        s = self.webapp_settings
         s['cookie_cache'] = {}
         s['user'] = self.user
         s['hub_api_key'] = env.pop('JPY_API_TOKEN')
diff --git a/jupyterhub/spawner.py b/jupyterhub/spawner.py
index c55872e0..faec7034 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/spawner.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/spawner.py
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ class Spawner(LoggingConfigurable):
         
         Subclasses should call super, to ensure that state is properly cleared.
         """
-        self.api_token = u''
+        self.api_token = ''
     
     def get_args(self):
         """Return the arguments to be passed after self.cmd"""
@@ -339,13 +339,13 @@ class LocalProcessSpawner(Spawner):
                 break
             pids = self._get_pg_pids(ppid)
             if pids:
-                raise gen.Return(pids[0])
+                return pids[0]
             else:
                 yield gen.Task(loop.add_timeout, loop.time() + 0.1)
         self.log.error("Failed to get single-user PID")
         # return sudo pid if we can't get the real PID
         # this shouldn't happen
-        raise gen.Return(ppid)
+        return ppid
     
     @gen.coroutine
     def start(self):
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ class LocalProcessSpawner(Spawner):
             if status is not None:
                 # clear state if the process is done
                 self.clear_state()
-            raise gen.Return(status)
+            return status
         
         # if we resumed from stored state,
         # we don't have the Popen handle anymore, so rely on self.pid
@@ -386,16 +386,16 @@ class LocalProcessSpawner(Spawner):
         if not self.pid:
             # no pid, not running
             self.clear_state()
-            raise gen.Return(0)
+            return 0
         
         # send signal 0 to check if PID exists
         # this doesn't work on Windows, but that's okay because we don't support Windows.
         alive = yield self._signal(0)
         if not alive:
             self.clear_state()
-            raise gen.Return(0)
+            return 0
         else:
-            raise gen.Return(None)
+            return None
     
     @gen.coroutine
     def _signal(self, sig):
@@ -405,9 +405,9 @@ class LocalProcessSpawner(Spawner):
         """
         if self.set_user == 'sudo':
             rc = yield self._signal_sudo(sig)
-            raise gen.Return(rc)
+            return rc
         else:
-            raise gen.Return(self._signal_setuid(sig))
+            return self._signal_setuid(sig)
     
     def _signal_setuid(self, sig):
         """simple implementation of signal, which we can use when we are using setuid (we are root)"""
@@ -427,10 +427,10 @@ class LocalProcessSpawner(Spawner):
         try:
             check_output(['ps', '-p', str(self.pid)], stderr=PIPE)
         except CalledProcessError:
-            raise gen.Return(False) # process is gone
+            return False # process is gone
         else:
             if sig == 0:
-                raise gen.Return(True) # process exists
+                return True # process exists
         
         # build sudo -u user kill -SIG PID
         cmd = self.sudo_cmd(self.user)
@@ -441,7 +441,7 @@ class LocalProcessSpawner(Spawner):
         check_output(cmd,
             preexec_fn=self.make_preexec_fn(self.user.name),
         )
-        raise gen.Return(True) # process exists
+        return True # process exists
     
     @gen.coroutine
     def stop(self, now=False):
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/conftest.py b/jupyterhub/tests/conftest.py
index 948b36f8..26270702 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/conftest.py
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@
 # Distributed under the terms of the Modified BSD License.
 
 import logging
+from getpass import getuser
 
 from pytest import fixture
 from tornado import ioloop
 
 from .. import orm
-from ..utils import getuser_unicode
 
 from .mocking import MockHubApp
 
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ def db():
     if _db is None:
         _db = orm.new_session_factory('sqlite:///:memory:', echo=True)()
         user = orm.User(
-            name=getuser_unicode(),
+            name=getuser(),
             server=orm.Server(),
         )
         hub = orm.Hub(
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/mocking.py b/jupyterhub/tests/mocking.py
index 21b42483..bb56df53 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/mocking.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/mocking.py
@@ -1,29 +1,23 @@
 """mock utilities for testing"""
 
-import os
 import sys
 from tempfile import NamedTemporaryFile
 import threading
 
-try:
-    from unittest import mock
-except ImportError:
-    import mock
+from unittest import mock
 
 from tornado.ioloop import IOLoop
 
-from six import text_type
-
 from ..spawner import LocalProcessSpawner
 from ..app import JupyterHubApp
-from ..auth import PAMAuthenticator, Authenticator
+from ..auth import PAMAuthenticator
 from .. import orm
 
 def mock_authenticate(username, password, service='login'):
     # mimic simplepam's failure to handle unicode
-    if isinstance(username, text_type):
+    if isinstance(username, str):
         return False
-    if isinstance(password, text_type):
+    if isinstance(password, str):
         return False
     
     # just use equality for testing
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/test_app.py b/jupyterhub/tests/test_app.py
index ed31b701..a8894e14 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/test_app.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/test_app.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 """Test the JupyterHubApp entry point"""
 
-import io
 import os
 import sys
 from subprocess import check_output
@@ -8,8 +7,8 @@ from tempfile import NamedTemporaryFile
 
 def test_help_all():
     out = check_output([sys.executable, '-m', 'jupyterhub', '--help-all']).decode('utf8', 'replace')
-    assert u'--ip' in out
-    assert u'--JupyterHubApp.ip' in out
+    assert '--ip' in out
+    assert '--JupyterHubApp.ip' in out
 
 def test_generate_config():
     with NamedTemporaryFile(prefix='jupyter_hub_config', suffix='.py') as tf:
@@ -19,7 +18,7 @@ def test_generate_config():
         '--generate-config', '-f', cfg_file]
     ).decode('utf8', 'replace')
     assert os.path.exists(cfg_file)
-    with io.open(cfg_file) as f:
+    with open(cfg_file) as f:
         cfg_text = f.read()
     os.remove(cfg_file)
     assert cfg_file in out
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/test_auth.py b/jupyterhub/tests/test_auth.py
index a4d4d459..8e5103c7 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/test_auth.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/test_auth.py
@@ -9,33 +9,33 @@ from .mocking import MockPAMAuthenticator
 def test_pam_auth(io_loop):
     authenticator = MockPAMAuthenticator()
     authorized = io_loop.run_sync(lambda : authenticator.authenticate(None, {
-        u'username': u'match',
-        u'password': u'match',
+        'username': 'match',
+        'password': 'match',
     }))
-    assert authorized == u'match'
+    assert authorized == 'match'
     
     authorized = io_loop.run_sync(lambda : authenticator.authenticate(None, {
-        u'username': u'match',
-        u'password': u'nomatch',
+        'username': 'match',
+        'password': 'nomatch',
     }))
     assert authorized is None
 
 def test_pam_auth_whitelist(io_loop):
     authenticator = MockPAMAuthenticator(whitelist={'wash', 'kaylee'})
     authorized = io_loop.run_sync(lambda : authenticator.authenticate(None, {
-        u'username': u'kaylee',
-        u'password': u'kaylee',
+        'username': 'kaylee',
+        'password': 'kaylee',
     }))
-    assert authorized == u'kaylee'
+    assert authorized == 'kaylee'
     
     authorized = io_loop.run_sync(lambda : authenticator.authenticate(None, {
-        u'username': u'wash',
-        u'password': u'nomatch',
+        'username': 'wash',
+        'password': 'nomatch',
     }))
     assert authorized is None
     
     authorized = io_loop.run_sync(lambda : authenticator.authenticate(None, {
-        u'username': u'mal',
-        u'password': u'mal',
+        'username': 'mal',
+        'password': 'mal',
     }))
     assert authorized is None
diff --git a/jupyterhub/tests/test_orm.py b/jupyterhub/tests/test_orm.py
index 738406aa..bb789baa 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/tests/test_orm.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/tests/test_orm.py
@@ -5,48 +5,42 @@
 
 from .. import orm
 
-try:
-    unicode
-except NameError:
-    # py3
-    unicode = str
-
 
 def test_server(db):
     server = orm.Server()
     db.add(server)
     db.commit()
-    assert server.ip == u'localhost'
+    assert server.ip == 'localhost'
     assert server.base_url == '/'
     assert server.proto == 'http'
     assert isinstance(server.port, int)
-    assert isinstance(server.cookie_name, unicode)
+    assert isinstance(server.cookie_name, str)
     assert server.url == 'http://localhost:%i/' % server.port
 
 
 def test_proxy(db):
     proxy = orm.Proxy(
-        auth_token=u'abc-123',
+        auth_token='abc-123',
         public_server=orm.Server(
-            ip=u'192.168.1.1',
+            ip='192.168.1.1',
             port=8000,
         ),
         api_server=orm.Server(
-            ip=u'127.0.0.1',
+            ip='127.0.0.1',
             port=8001,
         ),
     )
     db.add(proxy)
     db.commit()
-    assert proxy.public_server.ip == u'192.168.1.1'
-    assert proxy.api_server.ip == u'127.0.0.1'
-    assert proxy.auth_token == u'abc-123'
+    assert proxy.public_server.ip == '192.168.1.1'
+    assert proxy.api_server.ip == '127.0.0.1'
+    assert proxy.auth_token == 'abc-123'
 
 
 def test_hub(db):
     hub = orm.Hub(
         server=orm.Server(
-            ip = u'1.2.3.4',
+            ip = '1.2.3.4',
             port = 1234,
             base_url='/hubtest/',
         ),
@@ -54,30 +48,30 @@ def test_hub(db):
     )
     db.add(hub)
     db.commit()
-    assert hub.server.ip == u'1.2.3.4'
+    assert hub.server.ip == '1.2.3.4'
     hub.server.port == 1234
-    assert hub.api_url == u'http://1.2.3.4:1234/hubtest/api'
+    assert hub.api_url == 'http://1.2.3.4:1234/hubtest/api'
 
 
 def test_user(db):
-    user = orm.User(name=u'kaylee',
+    user = orm.User(name='kaylee',
         server=orm.Server(),
         state={'pid': 4234},
     )
     db.add(user)
     db.commit()
-    assert user.name == u'kaylee'
-    assert user.server.ip == u'localhost'
+    assert user.name == 'kaylee'
+    assert user.server.ip == 'localhost'
     assert user.state == {'pid': 4234}
 
-    found = orm.User.find(db, u'kaylee')
+    found = orm.User.find(db, 'kaylee')
     assert found.name == user.name
-    found = orm.User.find(db, u'badger')
+    found = orm.User.find(db, 'badger')
     assert found is None
 
 
 def test_tokens(db):
-    user = orm.User(name=u'inara')
+    user = orm.User(name='inara')
     db.add(user)
     db.commit()
     token = user.new_api_token()
diff --git a/jupyterhub/utils.py b/jupyterhub/utils.py
index 3a8750d0..a0aab211 100644
--- a/jupyterhub/utils.py
+++ b/jupyterhub/utils.py
@@ -5,34 +5,17 @@
 
 from binascii import b2a_hex
 import errno
-import getpass
 import hashlib
 import os
 import socket
 import uuid
 
-from six import text_type
 from tornado import web, gen, ioloop
 from tornado.httpclient import AsyncHTTPClient, HTTPError
 from tornado.log import app_log
 
 from IPython.html.utils import url_path_join
 
-try:
-    # make TimeoutError importable on Python >= 3.3
-    TimeoutError = TimeoutError
-except NameError:
-    # python < 3.3
-    class TimeoutError(Exception):
-        pass
-
-
-def getuser_unicode():
-    """
-    Call getpass.getuser, ensuring that the output is returned as unicode.
-    """
-    return text_type(getpass.getuser())
-
 
 def random_port():
     """get a single random port"""
@@ -147,7 +130,7 @@ def new_token(*args, **kwargs):
     
     For now, just UUIDs.
     """
-    return text_type(uuid.uuid4().hex)
+    return uuid.uuid4().hex
 
 
 def hash_token(token, salt=8, rounds=16384, algorithm='sha512'):
@@ -169,7 +152,7 @@ def hash_token(token, salt=8, rounds=16384, algorithm='sha512'):
         h.update(btoken)
     digest = h.hexdigest()
     
-    return u"{algorithm}:{rounds}:{salt}:{digest}".format(**locals())
+    return "{algorithm}:{rounds}:{salt}:{digest}".format(**locals())
 
 
 def compare_token(compare, token):
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 063f082d..19e55f0b 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
-ipython[notebook]>=2.2
-tornado>=3.2
+-e git+https://github.com/ipython/ipython.git#egg=ipython[notebook]
+tornado>=4
 jinja2
 simplepam
 sqlalchemy
 requests
-six
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 0a61fe64..14b5f364 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -14,12 +14,11 @@ import os
 import sys
 
 v = sys.version_info
-if v[:2] < (2,7) or (v[0] >= 3 and v[:2] < (3,3)):
-    error = "ERROR: IPython requires Python version 2.7 or 3.3 or above."
+if v[:2] < (3,3):
+    error = "ERROR: Jupyter Hub requires Python version 3.3 or above."
     print(error, file=sys.stderr)
     sys.exit(1)
 
-PY3 = (sys.version_info[0] >= 3)
 
 if os.name in ('nt', 'dos'):
     error = "ERROR: Windows is not supported"
@@ -34,14 +33,6 @@ from glob import glob
 from distutils.core import setup
 from subprocess import check_call
 
-try:
-    execfile
-except NameError:
-    # py3
-    def execfile(fname, globs, locs=None):
-        locs = locs or globs
-        exec(compile(open(fname).read(), fname, "exec"), globs, locs)
-
 pjoin = os.path.join
 
 here = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
@@ -67,7 +58,9 @@ def get_data_files():
 
 
 ns = {}
-execfile(pjoin(here, 'jupyterhub', 'version.py'), ns)
+with open(pjoin(here, 'jupyterhub', 'version.py')) as f:
+    exec(f.read(), {}, ns)
+
 
 packages = []
 for d, _, _ in os.walk('jupyterhub'):
@@ -92,13 +85,11 @@ setup_args = dict(
     keywords            = ['Interactive', 'Interpreter', 'Shell', 'Web'],
     classifiers         = [
         'Intended Audience :: Developers',
+        'Intended Audience :: System Administrators',
         'Intended Audience :: Science/Research',
         'License :: OSI Approved :: BSD License',
         'Programming Language :: Python',
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 2',
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7',
         'Programming Language :: Python :: 3',
-        'Topic :: System :: Shells',
     ],
 )
 
@@ -194,11 +185,14 @@ if 'setuptools' in sys.modules:
                 self.distribution.run_command('css')
             develop.run(self)
     setup_args['cmdclass']['develop'] = develop_js_css
-
+    setup_args['install_requires'] = install_requires = []
 
     with open('requirements.txt') as f:
-        install_requires = [ line.strip() for line in f.readlines() ]
-    setup_args['install_requires'] = install_requires
+        for line in f.readlines():
+            req = line.strip()
+            if req.startswith('-e'):
+                req = line.split('#egg=', 1)[1]
+            install_requires.append(req)
 
 #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # setup