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Import image annotations

How to import annotations on image data and sample import formats.

Open this Colab for an interactive tutorial on importing annotations on image data.

Supported annotations

To import annotations in Labelbox, you need to create an annotations payload. In this section, we provide this payload for every supported annotation type.

Labelbox supports two formats for the annotations payload:

  • Python annotation types (recommended)
  • NDJSON

Both are described below.

Classification: Radio (single-choice)

radio_annotation = lb_types.ClassificationAnnotation(
    name="radio_question",
    value=lb_types.Radio(answer=lb_types.ClassificationAnswer(
        name="second_radio_answer")))


radio_annotation_ndjson = {
    "name": "radio_question",
    "answer": {
        "name": "second_radio_answer"
    }
}

Classification: Checklist (multi-choice)

checklist_annotation = lb_types.ClassificationAnnotation(
    name="checklist_question",  # must match your ontology feature's name
    value=lb_types.Checklist(answer=[
        lb_types.ClassificationAnswer(name="first_checklist_answer"),
        lb_types.ClassificationAnswer(name="second_checklist_answer")
    ]))

checklist_annotation_ndjson = {
    "name": "checklist_question",
    "answer": [{
        "name": "first_checklist_answer"
    }, {
        "name": "second_checklist_answer"
    }]
}

Classification: Nested radio

nested_radio_annotation = lb_types.ClassificationAnnotation(
  name="nested_radio_question",
  value=lb_types.Radio(
    answer=lb_types.ClassificationAnswer(
      name="first_radio_answer",
      classifications=[
        lb_types.ClassificationAnnotation(
          name="sub_radio_question",
          value=lb_types.Radio(
            answer=lb_types.ClassificationAnswer(
              name="first_sub_radio_answer"
            )
          )
        )
      ]
    )
  )
)

nested_radio_annotation_ndjson = {
    "name": "nested_radio_question",
    "answer": {
        "name": "first_radio_answer"
    },
    "classifications": [{
        "name": "sub_radio_question",
        "answer": {
            "name": "first_sub_radio_answer"
        }
    }]
}

Classification: Nested checklist

nested_checklist_annotation = lb_types.ClassificationAnnotation(
  name="nested_checklist_question",
  value=lb_types.Checklist(
    answer=[lb_types.ClassificationAnswer(
      name="first_checklist_answer",
      classifications=[
        lb_types.ClassificationAnnotation(
          name="sub_checklist_question",
          value=lb_types.Checklist(
            answer=[lb_types.ClassificationAnswer(
            name="first_sub_checklist_answer"
          )]
        ))
      ]
    )]
  )
)

nested_checklist_annotation_ndjson = {
    "name": "nested_checklist_question",
    "answer": [{
        "name": "first_checklist_answer",
        "classifications": [{
            "name": "sub_checklist_question",
            "answer": {
                "name": "first_sub_checklist_answer"
            }
        }]
    }]
}

Classification: Free-form text

text_annotation = lb_types.ClassificationAnnotation(
    name="free_text",  # must match your ontology feature's name
    value=lb_types.Text(answer="sample text"))

text_annotation_ndjson = {
    "name": "free_text",
    "answer": "sample text",
}

Relationship with bounding box

Relationship annotations are only supported for MAL imports.

bbox_source = lb_types.ObjectAnnotation(
    name="bounding_box", 
    value=lb_types.Rectangle(
        start=lb_types.Point(x=2096, y=1264),
        end=lb_types.Point(x=2240, y=1689),
    ),
)

bbox_target = lb_types.ObjectAnnotation(
    name="bounding_box",
    value=lb_types.Rectangle(
        start=lb_types.Point(x=2272, y=1346),
        end=lb_types.Point(x=2416, y=1704),
    ),
)

relationship = lb_types.RelationshipAnnotation(
    name="relationship",
    value=lb_types.Relationship(
        source=bbox_source, # Python annotations do not required a UUID reference
        target=bbox_target, # Python annotations do not required a UUID reference
        type=lb_types.Relationship.Type.UNIDIRECTIONAL,
    ))

uuid_source = str(uuid.uuid4())
uuid_target = str(uuid.uuid4())

bbox_source_ndjson = {
    "uuid": uuid_source,
    "name": "bounding_box",
    "bbox": {
        "top": 1264.0,
        "left": 2096.0,
        "height": 425.0,
        "width": 144.0
    }
}

bbox_target_ndjson = {
    "uuid": uuid_target,
    "name": "bounding_box",
    "bbox": {
        "top": 1346.0,
        "left": 2272.0,
        "height": 358.0,
        "width": 144.0
    }
}

relationship_ndjson = {
    "name": "relationship",
    "relationship": {
        "source": uuid_source, # UUID reference to the source annotation 
        "target": uuid_target, # UUID reference to the target annotation
        "type": "unidirectional"
    }
}

Bounding Box

bbox_annotation = lb_types.ObjectAnnotation(
    name="bounding_box",  # must match your ontology feature's name
    value=lb_types.Rectangle(
        start=lb_types.Point(x=1690, y=977),  # x = left, y = top 
        end=lb_types.Point(x=1915, y=1307),  # x= left + width , y = top + height
    ))

bbox_annotation_ndjson = {
    "name": "bounding_box",
    "bbox": {
        "top": 977,
        "left": 1690,
        "height": 330,
        "width": 225
    }
}

Bounding Box with nested classification

bbox_with_radio_subclass_annotation = lb_types.ObjectAnnotation(
    name="bbox_with_radio_subclass",
    value=lb_types.Rectangle(
        start=lb_types.Point(x=541, y=933),  # x = left, y = top 
        end=lb_types.Point(x=871, y=1124),  # x= left + width , y = top + height
    ),
    classifications=[
        lb_types.ClassificationAnnotation(
            name="sub_radio_question",
            value=lb_types.Radio(answer=lb_types.ClassificationAnswer(
                name="first_sub_radio_answer")))
    ])

bbox_with_radio_subclass_ndjson = {
    "name": "bbox_with_radio_subclass",
    "classifications": [{
        "name": "sub_radio_question",
        "answer": {
            "name": "first_sub_radio_answer"
        }
    }],
    "bbox": {
        "top": 933,
        "left": 541,
        "height": 191,
        "width": 330
    }
}

Polygon

polygon_annotation = lb_types.ObjectAnnotation(
    name="polygon",  # must match your ontology feature's name 
    value=lb_types.Polygon(  # Coordinates for the vertices of your polygon
        points=[
            lb_types.Point(x=1489.581, y=183.934),
            lb_types.Point(x=2278.306, y=256.885),
            lb_types.Point(x=2428.197, y=200.437),
            lb_types.Point(x=2560.0, y=335.419),
            lb_types.Point(x=2557.386, y=503.165),
            lb_types.Point(x=2320.596, y=503.103),
            lb_types.Point(x=2156.083, y=628.943),
            lb_types.Point(x=2161.111, y=785.519),
            lb_types.Point(x=2002.115, y=894.647),
            lb_types.Point(x=1838.456, y=877.874),
            lb_types.Point(x=1436.53, y=874.636),
            lb_types.Point(x=1411.403, y=758.579),
            lb_types.Point(x=1353.853, y=751.74),
            lb_types.Point(x=1345.264, y=453.461),
            lb_types.Point(x=1426.011, y=421.129)
        ]))

polygon_annotation_ndjson = {
  "name": "polygon",
  "polygon": [
    {"x": 1489.581, "y": 183.934},
    {"x": 2278.306, "y": 256.885},
    {"x": 2428.197, "y": 200.437},
    {"x": 2560.0, "y": 335.419},
    {"x": 2557.386, "y": 503.165},
    {"x": 2320.596, "y": 503.103},
    {"x": 2156.083, "y": 628.943},
    {"x": 2161.111, "y": 785.519},
    {"x": 2002.115, "y": 894.647},
    {"x": 1838.456, "y": 877.874},
    {"x": 1436.53, "y": 874.636},
    {"x": 1411.403, "y": 758.579},
    {"x": 1353.853, "y": 751.74},
    {"x": 1345.264, "y": 453.461},
    {"x": 1426.011, "y": 421.129},
    {"x": 1489.581, "y": 183.934}
  ]
}

Segmentation mask

MaskData is mask data in a uint8 array of [H, W, 3]. You can also convert a polygon annotation or a 2D array to MaskData. You can also specify a URL to a cloud-hosted mask (it can be hosted on any cloud provider).

🚧

Mask limits

To be valid for import, masks must be smaller than:

  • height: 9000 px
  • width: 9000 px
# Identify what values in the numpy array correspond to the mask annotation
color = (0, 0, 0)

# convert a polygon to mask
im_height, im_width = 100,100 # need to provide the height and width of image
mask_data = lb_types.MaskData(arr=
                     polygon_annotation.value.draw(height=im_height,width=im_width,color=color))

# convert a 2D array to 3D array
arr_2d = np.zeros((100,100), dtype="uint8")
mask_data = lb_types.MaskData.from_2D_arr(arr_2d)

# a 3D array where 3rd axis is RGB values
mask_data = lb_types.MaskData(arr=np.zeros([400,450,3],dtype="uint8"))

# Python annotation
mask_annotation = lb_types.ObjectAnnotation(
  name = "mask", # must match your ontology feature's name
  value=lb_types.Mask(mask=mask_data, color=color),
)

mask_annotation_ndjson = {
  "name": "mask",
  "classifications": [],
  "mask": {"instanceURI": "https://storage.labelbox.com/cjhfn5y6s0pk507024nz1ocys%2F1d60856c-59b7-3060-2754-83f7e93e0d01-1?Expires=1666901963361&KeyName=labelbox-assets-key-3&Signature=t-2s2DB4YjFuWEFak0wxYqfBfZA",
  "colorRGB": (0, 0, 0)}
}

Point

point_annotation = lb_types.ObjectAnnotation(
    name="point",  # must match your ontology feature's name
    value=lb_types.Point(x=1166.606, y=1441.768),
)


point_annotation_ndjson = {
    "name": "point",
    "classifications": [],
    "point": {
        "x": 1166.606,
        "y": 1441.768
    }
}

Polyline

polyline_annotation = lb_types.ObjectAnnotation(
    name="polyline",  # must match your ontology feature's name
    value=lb_types.Line(  # Coordinates for the keypoints in your polyline
        points=[
            lb_types.Point(x=2534.353, y=249.471),
            lb_types.Point(x=2429.492, y=182.092),
            lb_types.Point(x=2294.322, y=221.962),
            lb_types.Point(x=2224.491, y=180.463),
            lb_types.Point(x=2136.123, y=204.716),
            lb_types.Point(x=1712.247, y=173.949),
            lb_types.Point(x=1703.838, y=84.438),
            lb_types.Point(x=1579.772, y=82.61),
            lb_types.Point(x=1583.442, y=167.552),
            lb_types.Point(x=1478.869, y=164.903),
            lb_types.Point(x=1418.941, y=318.149),
            lb_types.Point(x=1243.128, y=400.815),
            lb_types.Point(x=1022.067, y=319.007),
            lb_types.Point(x=892.367, y=379.216),
            lb_types.Point(x=670.273, y=364.408),
            lb_types.Point(x=613.114, y=288.16),
            lb_types.Point(x=377.559, y=238.251),
            lb_types.Point(x=368.087, y=185.064),
            lb_types.Point(x=246.557, y=167.286),
            lb_types.Point(x=236.648, y=285.61),
            lb_types.Point(x=90.929, y=326.412)
        ]),
)

polyline_annotation_ndjson = {
  "name": "polyline",
  "classifications": [],
  "line": [
    {"x": 2534.353, "y": 249.471},
    {"x": 2429.492, "y": 182.092},
    {"x": 2294.322, "y": 221.962},
    {"x": 2224.491, "y": 180.463},
    {"x": 2136.123, "y": 204.716},
    {"x": 1712.247, "y": 173.949},
    {"x": 1703.838, "y": 84.438},
    {"x": 1579.772, "y": 82.61},
    {"x": 1583.442, "y": 167.552},
    {"x": 1478.869, "y": 164.903},
    {"x": 1418.941, "y": 318.149},
    {"x": 1243.128, "y": 400.815},
    {"x": 1022.067, "y": 319.007},
    {"x": 892.367, "y": 379.216},
    {"x": 670.273, "y": 364.408},
    {"x": 613.114, "y": 288.16},
    {"x": 377.559, "y": 238.251},
    {"x": 368.087, "y": 185.064},
    {"x": 246.557, "y": 167.286},
    {"x": 236.648, "y": 285.61},
    {"x": 90.929, "y": 326.412}
  ]
}

End-to-end example: Import pre-labels or ground truth

Whether you are importing annotations as pre-labels or as ground truth, the steps are very similar. Steps 5 and 6 (creating and importing the annotation payload) are where the process becomes slightly different and is explained below in detail.

Before you start

You will need to import these libraries to use the code examples in this section.

import labelbox as lb
import labelbox.data.annotation_types as lb_types
import uuid
import numpy as np

Replace with your API key

API_KEY = ""
client = lb.Client(API_KEY)

Step 1: Import data rows

To attach annotations to a data row, it must first be uploaded to Catalog. Here we create an example image data row in Catalog. 

# send a sample image as batch to the project
global_key = "2560px-Kitano_Street_Kobe01s5s41102.jpeg"

test_img_url = {
    "row_data": "https://storage.googleapis.com/labelbox-datasets/image_sample_data/2560px-Kitano_Street_Kobe01s5s4110.jpeg",
    "global_key": global_key
}

dataset = client.create_dataset(name="image-demo-dataset")
task = dataset.create_data_rows([test_img_url])
task.wait_till_done()

print(f"Errors: {task.errors}")
print(f"Failed data rows: {task.failed_data_rows}")

Step 2: Create an ontology

Your project should have the correct ontology set up with all the tools and classifications supported for your annotations. The value for the name parameter should match the name field in your annotations to ensure the correct feature schemas are matched.

Here is an example of creating an ontology programmatically for all the sample annotations above.

ontology_builder = lb.OntologyBuilder(
    classifications=[  # list of classification objects
        lb.Classification(class_type=lb.Classification.Type.RADIO,
                          name="radio_question",
                          options=[
                              lb.Option(value="first_radio_answer"),
                              lb.Option(value="second_radio_answer")
                          ]),
        lb.Classification(class_type=lb.Classification.Type.CHECKLIST,
                          name="checklist_question",
                          options=[
                              lb.Option(value="first_checklist_answer"),
                              lb.Option(value="second_checklist_answer")
                          ]),
        lb.Classification(class_type=lb.Classification.Type.TEXT,
                          name="free_text"),
        lb.Classification(
            class_type=lb.Classification.Type.RADIO,
            name="nested_radio_question",
            options=[
                lb.Option("first_radio_answer",
                          options=[
                              lb.Classification(
                                  class_type=lb.Classification.Type.RADIO,
                                  name="sub_radio_question",
                                  options=[lb.Option("first_sub_radio_answer")])
                          ])
            ]),
        lb.Classification(
            class_type=lb.Classification.Type.CHECKLIST,
            name="nested_checklist_question",
            options=[
                lb.Option(
                    "first_checklist_answer",
                    options=[
                        lb.Classification(
                            class_type=lb.Classification.Type.CHECKLIST,
                            name="sub_checklist_question",
                            options=[lb.Option("first_sub_checklist_answer")])
                    ])
            ]),
    ],
    tools=[  # List of Tool objects
        lb.Tool(tool=lb.Tool.Type.BBOX, name="bounding_box"),
        lb.Tool(tool=lb.Tool.Type.BBOX,
                name="bbox_with_radio_subclass",
                classifications=[
                    lb.Classification(
                        class_type=lb.Classification.Type.RADIO,
                        name="sub_radio_question",
                        options=[lb.Option(value="first_sub_radio_answer")]),
                ]),
        lb.Tool(tool=lb.Tool.Type.POLYGON, name="polygon"),
        lb.Tool(tool=lb.Tool.Type.SEGMENTATION, name="mask"),
        lb.Tool(tool=lb.Tool.Type.POINT, name="point"),
        lb.Tool(tool=lb.Tool.Type.LINE, name="polyline"),
        lb.Tool(tool=lb.Tool.Type.RELATIONSHIP, name="relationship")
    ])

ontology = client.create_ontology("Image Annotation Import Demo",
                                  ontology_builder.asdict(),
                                  media_type=lb.MediaType.Image)

Step 3: Create a labeling project

Connect the ontology to the labeling project.

# create a project and configure the ontology 
project = client.create_project(name="image-demo-project",
                                media_type=lb.MediaType.Image,
                                queue_mode=lb.QueueMode.Batch)

project.setup_editor(ontology)

Step 4: Send a batch of data rows to the project

batch = project.create_batch(
    "image-demo-batch",  # each batch in a project must have a unique name
    global_keys=[global_key], # paginated collection of data row objects, list of data row ids or global keys
    priority=1  # priority between 1(highest) - 5(lowest)
)

print(f"Batch: {batch}")

Step 5: Create the annotations payload

Create the annotations payload using the snippets of code shown above.

Labelbox supports two formats for the annotations payload: NDJSON and Python annotation types. Both approaches are described below with instructions to compose annotations into Labels attached to the data rows.

The resulting labels and ndjson_labels from each approach will include every annotation (created above) supported by the respective method.

# create a Label

labels = []
annotations = [
    radio_annotation,
    nested_radio_annotation,
    checklist_annotation,
    nested_checklist_annotation,
    text_annotation,
    bbox_annotation,
    bbox_with_radio_subclass_annotation,
    polygon_annotation,
    mask_annotation,
    point_annotation,
    polyline_annotation,
    bbox_source,
    bbox_target,
    relationship,
]
labels.append(
    lb_types.Label(data=lb_types.ImageData(global_key=global_key),
                   annotations=annotations))

ndjson_labels = []
annotations = [
    radio_annotation_ndjson,
    nested_radio_annotation_ndjson,
    nested_checklist_annotation_ndjson,
    checklist_annotation_ndjson,
    text_annotation_ndjson,
    bbox_annotation_ndjson,
    bbox_with_radio_subclass_ndjson,
    polygon_annotation_ndjson,
    mask_annotation_ndjson,
    point_annotation_ndjson,
    polyline_annotation_ndjson,
    bbox_source_ndjson,
    bbox_target_ndjson,
    relationship_ndjson,  ## Only supported for MAL imports 
]
for annotation in annotations:
    annotation.update({
        "dataRow": {
            "globalKey": global_key
        },
    })
    ndjson_labels.append(annotation)

Step 6: Import the annotation payload

For both options, you can pass either the labels or ndjson_labels payload as the value for the predictions or labels parameter.

Option A: Upload to a labeling project as pre-labels (Model-assisted labeling)

# Upload MAL label for this data row in project
upload_job = lb.MALPredictionImport.create_from_objects(
    client = client, 
    project_id = project.uid, 
    name="mal_job"+str(uuid.uuid4()), 
    predictions=labels)

print(f"Errors: {upload_job.errors}", )
print(f"Status of uploads: {upload_job.statuses}")

Option B: Upload to a labeling project as ground truth

📘

Relationship annotations are not supported in label import jobs

# Upload label for this data row in project
upload_job = lb.LabelImport.create_from_objects(
    client = client, 
    project_id = project.uid, 
    name="label_import_job"+str(uuid.uuid4()),  
    labels=labels)

print(f"Errors: {upload_job.errors}", )
print(f"Status of uploads: {upload_job.statuses}")