diff --git a/src/py/kaleido/__init__.py b/src/py/kaleido/__init__.py
index 900e40b9..40288c21 100644
--- a/src/py/kaleido/__init__.py
+++ b/src/py/kaleido/__init__.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
     "calc_fig_sync",
     "get_chrome",
     "get_chrome_sync",
+    "sync_server_is_running",
     "start_sync_server",
     "stop_sync_server",
     "write_fig",
@@ -44,6 +45,13 @@
 _global_server = _sync_server.GlobalKaleidoServer()
 
 
+def sync_server_is_running():
+    """
+    Returns whether the kaleido sync server is running.
+    """
+    return _global_server.is_running()
+
+
 def start_sync_server(*args: Any, silence_warnings: bool = False, **kwargs: Any):
     """
     Start a kaleido server which will process all sync generation requests.