Metadata Format

You may specify additional metadata for a dataset by including a metadata.json or metadata.jsonl file in the root of your archive. A metadata.json file contains an array of metadata JSON objects whereas a metadata.jsonl file should contain a metadata JSON object on each line. A metadata JSON object has the following fields:

• path: Absolute path to the image or text file within the compressed file structure; see the example below.

• metadata: An object containing key/value pairs, one for each metadata field/value for the image or text files.

  • Metadata keys must be strings
  • Metadata values may be strings, numbers, or boolean

warning

Some EXIF-specific keys included in the additional metadata file will override the corresponding original values extracted from the datum during upload. These values are GPSDateTime, GPSLatitude, and GPSLongitude. Additional information on image preparation regarding EXIF fields can be found here. Specific field formats and purposes are detailed below.

EXIF Override Fields

The following metadata fields can be provided in your additional metadata file to override EXIF data extracted from the image:

GPSLatitude and GPSLongitude

These fields accept the following formats:

Type	Example	Notes
float	45.123456	Preferred format
string	"45.123456"	Must be parsable as a float

If the value is an empty string or cannot be parsed into a float, it will be ignored. All coordinates are expected to be in decimal degrees (not degrees/minutes/seconds format).

GPSDateTime

This field must be a string in one of the following timestamp formats:

Format	Example	Notes
ISO 8601 with offset	2023-12-01T14:30:00-0500	Local time and UTC offset
RFC 3339	2023-12-01T14:30:00-05:00	Local time and UTC offset
Go time.DateTime	2023-12-01 14:30:00	No time zone info, assumed UTC

If the value is empty or in an unrecognized format, it will be ignored.

Example Metadata File

{
    "metadata": [
        {
            "path": "data_folder/a.jpg",
            "metadata": {
                "Species": "canine",
                "Color": "brown/white"
            }
        },
        {
            "path": "data_folder/b.jpg",
            "metadata": {
                "Species": "feline",
                "Color": "orange tabby"
            }
        }
    ]
}