Recipe Instructions and Validations 📋

Welcome to the guide on recipe instructions and validations in Dataloop! Let's explore how to set up instructions and validation rules for your annotation tasks.

PDF Instructions 📄

Dataloop allows you to provide clear guidance to your annotation team through PDF instructions:

import dtlpy as dl

# Get your recipe
recipe = dataset.recipes.get(recipe_id='your-recipe-id')

# Upload annotation instructions
recipe.add_instruction(annotation_instruction_file='/path/to/instructions.pdf')

When creating tasks, you can specify which pages from these PDFs should be shown to annotators.

📚 Learn more about PDF Instructions

Annotation Validation with JavaScript 🔍

Add validation rules to ensure annotation quality using JavaScript. Here's a simple example:

function validateAnnotations(annotationsArr) {
    let result = {
        ok: true,
        errorMessage: "",
        errors: {}
    }
    
    // Example: Ensure at least one annotation exists
    if (annotationsArr.length === 0) {
        result.ok = false;
        result.errorMessage = "Item must have at least one annotation";
    }
    
    return result;
}

Adding a JS validation script to a recipe:

recipe.upload_annotations_verification_file(local_path='/path/to/validation_script.js')

Common Validation Use Cases:

🎯 Label Coexistence

// Example: Only one person per image
if (annotations.filter(a => a.label === 'person').length > 1) {
    result.ok = false;
    result.errorMessage = "Only one person allowed per image";
}

📐 Geometry Rules

// Example: Ensure polygon has minimum points
if (a.type === 'segment' && a._def[0].length < 4) {
    result.ok = false;
    result.errors[a.clientId] = "Polygon must have at least 4 points";
}

Key Points:

Validation runs when annotators click the "Complete" button
Scripts must follow the required format with validateAnnotations function
Can validate label combinations, geometry, attributes, and more
Supports detailed error messages per annotation

📚 Learn more about Annotation Validation

Best Practices 💡

📝 Keep instructions clear and concise
🎯 Include visual examples in PDF instructions
🔍 Test validation rules thoroughly
⚡ Keep validation logic simple and efficient
🐛 Use console.log for debugging validation scripts

Need More Help? 🤔

Happy validating! 🚀