Arize Annotation

Arize Annotation Skill

`SPACE` — All --space flags and the ARIZE_SPACE env var accept a space name (e.g., my-workspace) or a base64 space ID (e.g., U3BhY2U6...). Find yours with ax spaces list.

This skill covers annotation configs (the label schema) and annotation queues (human review workflows), as well as programmatically annotating project spans via the Python SDK.

Direction: Human labeling in Arize attaches values defined by configs to spans, dataset examples, experiment-related records, and queue items in the product UI. This skill covers: ax annotation-configs, ax annotation-queues, and bulk span updates with ArizeClient.spans.update_annotations.

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Prerequisites

Proceed directly with the task — run the ax command you need. Do NOT check versions, env vars, or profiles upfront.

If an ax command fails, troubleshoot based on the error:

• command not found or version error → see references/ax-setup.md
• 401 Unauthorized / missing API key → run ax profiles show to inspect the current profile. If the profile is missing or the API key is wrong, follow references/ax-profiles.md to create/update it. If the user doesn't have their key, direct them to https://app.arize.com/admin > API Keys
• Space unknown → run ax spaces list to pick by name, or ask the user
• Security: Never read .env files or search the filesystem for credentials. Use ax profiles for Arize credentials and ax ai-integrations for LLM provider keys. If credentials are not available through these channels, ask the user.

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Concepts

What is an Annotation Config?

An annotation config defines the schema for a single type of human feedback label. Before anyone can annotate a span, dataset record, experiment output, or queue item, a config must exist for that label in the space.

Where labels get applied (surfaces)

Always ensure the relevant annotation config exists in the space before expecting labels to persist.

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Basic CRUD: Annotation Configs

List

ax annotation-configs list --space SPACE
ax annotation-configs list --space SPACE -o json
ax annotation-configs list --space SPACE --limit 20

Create — Categorical

Categorical configs present a fixed set of labels for reviewers to choose from.

ax annotation-configs create \
  --name "Correctness" \
  --space SPACE \
  --type categorical \
  --value correct \
  --value incorrect \
  --optimization-direction maximize

Common binary label pairs:

• correct / incorrect
• helpful / unhelpful
• safe / unsafe
• relevant / irrelevant
• pass / fail

Create — Continuous

Continuous configs let reviewers enter a numeric score within a defined range.

ax annotation-configs create \
  --name "Quality Score" \
  --space SPACE \
  --type continuous \
  --min-score 0 \
  --max-score 10 \
  --optimization-direction maximize

Create — Freeform

Freeform configs collect open-ended text feedback. No additional flags needed beyond name, space, and type.

ax annotation-configs create \
  --name "Reviewer Notes" \
  --space SPACE \
  --type freeform

Get

ax annotation-configs get NAME_OR_ID
ax annotation-configs get NAME_OR_ID -o json
ax annotation-configs get NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE   # required when using name instead of ID

Delete

ax annotation-configs delete NAME_OR_ID
ax annotation-configs delete NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE   # required when using name instead of ID
ax annotation-configs delete NAME_OR_ID --force   # skip confirmation

Note: Deletion is irreversible. Any annotation queue associations to this config are also removed in the product (queues may remain; fix associations in the Arize UI if needed).

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Annotation Queues: ax annotation-queues

Annotation queues route records (spans, dataset examples, experiment runs) to human reviewers. Each queue is linked to one or more annotation configs that define what labels reviewers can apply.

List / Get

ax annotation-queues list --space SPACE
ax annotation-queues list --space SPACE -o json

ax annotation-queues get NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE
ax annotation-queues get NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE -o json

Create

At least one --annotation-config-id is required.

ax annotation-queues create \
  --name "Correctness Review" \
  --space SPACE \
  --annotation-config-id CONFIG_ID \
  --annotator-email reviewer@example.com \
  --instructions "Label each response as correct or incorrect." \
  --assignment-method all   # or: random

Repeat --annotation-config-id and --annotator-email to attach multiple configs or reviewers.

Update

List flags (--annotation-config-id, --annotator-email) fully replace existing values when provided — pass all desired values, not just the new ones.

ax annotation-queues update NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE --name "New Name"
ax annotation-queues update NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE --instructions "Updated instructions"
ax annotation-queues update NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE \
  --annotation-config-id CONFIG_ID_A \
  --annotation-config-id CONFIG_ID_B

Delete

ax annotation-queues delete NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE
ax annotation-queues delete NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE --force   # skip confirmation

List Records

ax annotation-queues list-records NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE
ax annotation-queues list-records NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE --limit 50 -o json

Submit an Annotation for a Record

Annotations are upserted by config name — call once per annotation config. Supply at least one of --score, --label, or --text.

ax annotation-queues annotate-record NAME_OR_ID RECORD_ID \
  --annotation-name "Correctness" \
  --label "correct" \
  --space SPACE

ax annotation-queues annotate-record NAME_OR_ID RECORD_ID \
  --annotation-name "Quality Score" \
  --score 8.5 \
  --text "Response was accurate but slightly verbose." \
  --space SPACE

Assign a Record

Assign users to review a specific record:

ax annotation-queues assign-record NAME_OR_ID RECORD_ID --space SPACE

Delete Records

ax annotation-queues delete-records NAME_OR_ID --space SPACE

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Applying Annotations to Spans (Python SDK)

Use the Python SDK to bulk-apply annotations to project spans when you already have labels (e.g., from a review export or an external labeling tool).

import pandas as pd
from arize import ArizeClient

import os

client = ArizeClient(api_key=os.environ["ARIZE_API_KEY"])

# Build a DataFrame with annotation columns
# Required: context.span_id + at least one annotation.<name>.label or annotation.<name>.score
annotations_df = pd.DataFrame([
    {
        "context.span_id": "span_001",
        "annotation.Correctness.label": "correct",
        "annotation.Correctness.updated_by": "reviewer@example.com",
    },
    {
        "context.span_id": "span_002",
        "annotation.Correctness.label": "incorrect",
        "annotation.Correctness.updated_by": "reviewer@example.com",
    },
])

response = client.spans.update_annotations(
    space_id=os.environ["ARIZE_SPACE"],
    project_name="your-project",
    dataframe=annotations_df,
    validate=True,
)

DataFrame column schema:

Limitation: Annotations apply only to spans within 31 days prior to submission.

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Troubleshooting

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Related Skills

• arize-trace: Export spans to find span IDs and time ranges
• arize-dataset: Find dataset IDs and example IDs
• arize-evaluator: Automated LLM-as-judge alongside human annotation
• arize-experiment: Experiments tied to datasets and evaluation workflows
• arize-link: Deep links to annotation configs and queues in the Arize UI

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Save Credentials for Future Use

See references/ax-profiles.md § Save Credentials for Future Use.

ax Profile Setup

Consult this when authentication fails (401, missing profile, missing API key). Do NOT run these checks proactively.

Use this when there is no profile, or a profile has incorrect settings (wrong API key, wrong region, etc.).

1. Inspect the current state

ax profiles show

Look at the output to understand what's configured:

• API Key: (not set) or missing → key needs to be created/updated
• No profile output or "No profiles found" → no profile exists yet
• Connected but getting 401 Unauthorized → key is wrong or expired
• Connected but wrong endpoint/region → region needs to be updated

2. Fix a misconfigured profile

If a profile exists but one or more settings are wrong, patch only what's broken.

Never pass a raw API key value as a flag. Always reference it via the ARIZE_API_KEY environment variable. If the variable is not already set in the shell, instruct the user to set it first, then run the command:

# If ARIZE_API_KEY is already exported in the shell:
ax profiles update --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY

# Fix the region (no secret involved — safe to run directly)
ax profiles update --region us-east-1b

# Fix both at once
ax profiles update --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY --region us-east-1b

update only changes the fields you specify — all other settings are preserved. If no profile name is given, the active profile is updated.

3. Create a new profile

If no profile exists, or if the existing profile needs to point to a completely different setup (different org, different region):

Always reference the key via `$ARIZE_API_KEY`, never inline a raw value.

# Requires ARIZE_API_KEY to be exported in the shell first
ax profiles create --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY

# Create with a region
ax profiles create --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY --region us-east-1b

# Create a named profile
ax profiles create work --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY --region us-east-1b

To use a named profile with any ax command, add -p NAME:

ax spans export PROJECT -p work

4. Getting the API key

Never ask the user to paste their API key into the chat. Never log, echo, or display an API key value.

If ARIZE_API_KEY is not already set, instruct the user to export it in their shell:

export ARIZE_API_KEY="..."   # user pastes their key here in their own terminal

They can find their key at https://app.arize.com/admin > API Keys. Recommend they create a scoped service key (not a personal user key) — service keys are not tied to an individual account and are safer for programmatic use. Keys are space-scoped — make sure they copy the key for the correct space.

Once the user confirms the variable is set, proceed with ax profiles create --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY or ax profiles update --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY as described above.

5. Verify

After any create or update:

ax profiles show

Confirm the API key and region are correct, then retry the original command.

Space

There is no profile flag for space. Save it as an environment variable — accepts a space name (e.g., my-workspace) or a base64 space ID (e.g., U3BhY2U6...). Find yours with ax spaces list -o json.

macOS/Linux — add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

export ARIZE_SPACE="my-workspace"    # name or base64 ID

Then source ~/.zshrc (or restart terminal).

Windows (PowerShell):

[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('ARIZE_SPACE', 'my-workspace', 'User')

Restart terminal for it to take effect.

Save Credentials for Future Use

At the end of the session, if the user manually provided any credentials during this conversation and those values were NOT already loaded from a saved profile or environment variable, offer to save them.

Skip this entirely if:

• The API key was already loaded from an existing profile or ARIZE_API_KEY env var
• The space was already set via ARIZE_SPACE env var
• The user only used base64 project IDs (no space was needed)

How to offer: Use AskQuestion: "Would you like to save your Arize credentials so you don't have to enter them next time?" with options "Yes, save them" / "No thanks".

If the user says yes:

1. API key — Run ax profiles show to check the current state. Then run ax profiles create --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY or ax profiles update --api-key $ARIZE_API_KEY (the key must already be exported as an env var — never pass a raw key value).

2. Space — See the Space section above to persist it as an environment variable.

ax CLI — Troubleshooting

Consult this only when an ax command fails. Do NOT run these checks proactively.

Check version first

If ax is installed (not command not found), always run ax --version before investigating further. The version must be 0.14.0 or higher — many errors are caused by an outdated install. If the version is too old, see Version too old below.

ax: command not found

macOS/Linux: 1. Check common locations: ~/.local/bin/ax, ~/Library/Python/*/bin/ax 2. Install: uv tool install arize-ax-cli (preferred), pipx install arize-ax-cli, or pip install arize-ax-cli 3. Add to PATH if needed: export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Windows (PowerShell): 1. Check: Get-Command ax or where.exe ax 2. Common locations: %APPDATA%\Python\Scripts\ax.exe, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Python\Python*\Scripts\ax.exe 3. Install: pip install arize-ax-cli 4. Add to PATH: $env:PATH = "$env:APPDATA\Python\Scripts;$env:PATH"

Version too old (below 0.14.0)

Upgrade: uv tool install --force --reinstall arize-ax-cli, pipx upgrade arize-ax-cli, or pip install --upgrade arize-ax-cli

SSL/certificate error

• macOS: export SSL_CERT_FILE=/etc/ssl/cert.pem
• Linux: export SSL_CERT_FILE=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
• Fallback: export SSL_CERT_FILE=$(python -c "import certifi; print(certifi.where())")

Subcommand not recognized

Upgrade ax (see above) or use the closest available alternative.

Still failing

Stop and ask the user for help.