diff --git a/{{cookiecutter.github_project_name}}/js/lib/extension.js b/{{cookiecutter.github_project_name}}/js/lib/extension.js
index a39de14..6166fcc 100644
--- a/{{cookiecutter.github_project_name}}/js/lib/extension.js
+++ b/{{cookiecutter.github_project_name}}/js/lib/extension.js
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 // This file contains the javascript that is run when the notebook is loaded.
 // It contains some requirejs configuration and the `load_ipython_extension`
 // which is required for any notebook extension.
+//
+// Some static assets may be required by the custom widget javascript. The base
+// url for the notebook is not known at build time and is therefore computed
+// dynamically.
+__webpack_public_path__ = document.querySelector('body').getAttribute('data-base-url') + 'nbextensions/{{ cookiecutter.npm_package_name }}';
+
 
 // Configure requirejs
 if (window.require) {