Inline Annotations
Annotate traces, spans, sessions, and prototypes directly from their detail views without using queues.
What it is
Inline annotations let you score any trace, session, or prototype execution directly from its detail view — no queue setup required. The InlineAnnotator component appears in the right sidebar of every detail drawer, so you can leave feedback the moment you spot something interesting.
Best for one-off feedback, quick quality checks, or ad-hoc labeling during debugging.
How to annotate inline from Observe
Open a trace
Go to your Observe project and click any trace to open the detail drawer.
Open the Annotations tab
Click the Annotations tab in the right panel.
Enter edit mode
Click the Annotate button to enter edit mode.
Select labels and provide values
Select labels and provide values. The input types are the same as queue-based annotation — categorical, numeric, text, star, or thumbs up/down.
Add optional notes
Optionally add free-text notes to provide extra context for your annotation.
Save
Click Save to store your annotations. They are immediately visible to your team and available via the API.
From Sessions
Same flow — open a session, switch to the Annotations tab, and click Annotate. Session-level annotations are tracked separately from individual trace annotations within the session.
From Prototyping
Open a prototype execution, then click into the trace detail drawer. The Annotations tab is available in the right panel — click Annotate to score the execution.
From Simulation Call Logs
Open a call log detail. The Annotations tab appears in the right section of the detail view — click Annotate to score the call.
Adding new labels inline
You can create labels without leaving the annotation sidebar:
- Click the Add Label button in the annotation sidebar.
- Create a new label or select from your existing labels.
- The label immediately appears in the annotation form, ready to use.
Inline vs Queue-based
| Feature | Inline | Queue-based |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Quick one-off annotations | Structured campaigns |
| Setup required | None | Create queue, add items |
| Assignment | Self-serve | Manual, Round Robin, Load Balanced |
| Progress tracking | Per-score only | Full queue progress + analytics |
| Multi-annotator | Manual coordination | Built-in agreement metrics |
| Export | Individual scores | Bulk export to dataset |
| Keyboard shortcuts | No | Yes (full shortcut support) |
Tip
Use inline annotations for quick feedback during debugging. Switch to queues when you need structured annotation campaigns with progress tracking and inter-annotator agreement.