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.

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.

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.

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

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