Task Queue

The Queue tab in an Encord Annotate Project gives you a centralized view of all tasks across every Workflow stage. Use it to assign tasks to annotators and reviewers, set priorities, apply filters, and start labeling or reviewing work — all without leaving the Project dashboard.

The order of data units (tasks) with the same priority in the Task Queue is completely random. However, each user sees the same random order of tasks.

Queue Layout by Role

The Queue tab adapts based on the logged-in user’s role.

Queue (Admin, Team Manager)

A — The list of Workflow stages shows the number of data units currently in each stage. Click a stage to view its task queue.
B — Shows the task’s priority number. Tasks are listed in descending order of priority by default.
C — Search, sort, and filter the list of data units by Dataset, Assignee, Data Type, Status, or Issue Status.
D — Shows the task’s Status (New, Reopened, Skipped).
E — Task Actions. Assign or release selected tasks, adjust priority, or move tasks to a different Workflow stage.
F — Switch between List and Explorer view.
G — Use the Start task button to begin labeling or reviewing a task.
H — Click the Initiate button to open a specific task in the Label Editor.

The Queue tab lists tasks in the same order they appear in the Label Editor.

Queue (Annotator)

Annotators only see tasks in the Annotate stage that are assigned to them. They cannot view tasks in the Review stage or tasks assigned to other users.

Queue (Reviewer)

Reviewers only see tasks in the Review stage that are assigned to them. They cannot view tasks in the Annotate stage or tasks assigned to other users.

Queue (Annotator + Reviewer)

Users with the Annotator + Reviewer role can see both the Annotate and Review tabs in the Queue. They are limited to tasks assigned to them in each respective stage.

Agent Stages

When viewing an Agent stage (Task Agent), the Queue displays additional controls and status information for managing automated processing. For Task Agent stages, a status banner appears above the task list showing:

Agent name and icon — Click to view detailed agent configuration
Status indicator — Shows whether the agent is Live (green) or Paused (orange)
Control buttons — Admins and Team Managers can pause/resume agents or view agent settings

Agent Controls

Only Workspace and Project Admins and Team Managers can control agent execution.

Pause/Resume Agents

Click Pause to stop the agent from automatically processing new tasks
Click Go live to resume automatic processing
Paused agents allow for manual task execution and troubleshooting

Manual Task Execution When an agent is paused, you can manually trigger execution for specific tasks:

Navigate to the paused Agent stage
Find tasks with Pending status
Click the Run button next to individual tasks to execute them manually

Retry Failed Tasks For tasks that failed during agent execution:

Locate tasks showing a Failed status
Click the Retry button to re-run the agent on those specific tasks

Use manual execution when testing agent configurations or troubleshooting specific data units before resuming live processing.

Queue View Options

The Queue offers different view modes to help you work with tasks more effectively. The available view options depend on your Project’s configuration:

List view — The default tabular view showing tasks in a structured list format
Explorer view — A visual grid layout for browsing tasks (when available)
Visual Queue — An enhanced visual interface for task management (when available)

Use the view switcher in the top-right corner of the Queue to change between available options.

View availability varies based on your project settings and enabled features. Some Projects may only show the List view option.

Filters and Sorting

Filters

Filter	Description
Dataset	Show only data units belonging to the selected Dataset(s).
Assignees	Show tasks assigned to a specific user.
Last Actioned By	Show tasks last actioned by the selected user.
Data Type	Show data units of a specific type (image, video, audio, etc.).
Issue Status	Show tasks with Resolved or Unresolved issues.
Execution Status	Show agent tasks by their execution status (Pending, Running, Failed, etc.). Available only in Agent stages with catalog agents.

Sort by Click Sort by next to the filter button to sort the queue by:

Task priority, or alphabetically by data unit name
Ascending or descending order

The default sort is descending order of task priority.

Task Status

The task Status indicates what actions have previously been taken on a task.

Status	Description
New	The task has not been worked on since being added to the Project.
Reopened	The task was rejected during Review and has been returned for re-labeling.
Skipped	The task was skipped by one or more annotators.
Pending	(Agent stages only) The task is queued for agent processing.
Failed	(Agent stages only) Agent execution failed and the task needs to be retried.

Task Agent Execution Status

For Projects using Task Agents, tasks display execution status badges that show the current state of automated processing:

Status	Description
Pending	The agent execution is queued and waiting to start.
Dispatched	The agent execution has been assigned to a worker.
Running	The agent is currently processing the task.
Succeeded	The agent execution completed successfully.
Failed	The agent execution encountered an error and failed to complete.
Timed out	The agent execution exceeded the maximum allowed time and was terminated.
Canceled	The agent execution was manually canceled before completion.

Agent Task Management

For Agent stages that use catalog agents, the Queue provides enhanced task management capabilities:

Agent Execution Status

Agent tasks display their current execution status with color-coded badges:

Pending — Task is queued for agent execution
Dispatched — Task has been sent to the agent
Running — Agent is currently processing the task
Succeeded — Agent completed successfully
Failed — Agent execution failed (hover for error details)
Timed out — Agent execution exceeded time limit

Retry Failed Tasks

You can retry tasks that failed or timed out:

Select one or more failed or timed-out tasks in the Queue.
Click Retry failed to re-run the agent on those tasks.
The system attempts to execute the Agent again on the selected tasks.

The Retry failed button is only available for Agent stages with catalog agents and only appears when you have selected tasks that failed or timed out.

Moving Agent Tasks

When moving agent tasks to the next stage, the system:

Skips tasks that are currently running or dispatched (they remain in the current stage)
Only moves tasks that are not actively being processed
Displays a confirmation dialog showing how many tasks are moved and how many are skipped

Tasks that are currently running or dispatched cannot be moved and will remain in their current stage until execution completes.

Task Actions

View a Task

You can open any task from the Queue in view-only mode without assigning it to yourself.

To edit labels while viewing a task, click Edit or use Ctrl + E. When finished, click Save and return to view to return to view mode.

View Mode
Edit Mode

Assign Tasks

Only Workspace and Project Admins and Team Managers can assign tasks.

Select one or more tasks in the Queue and use the Task Actions menu to assign them to a specific annotator or reviewer. Assigned tasks appear in the assignee’s personal Queue view. To release an assignment, select the tasks and choose Release from the Task Actions menu.

Move Tasks

Only Workspace and Project Admins and Team Managers can move tasks.

You can move selected tasks from their current stage directly to any other stage in the Workflow.

Moving tasks skips all intermediate Workflow stages, placing them immediately into the selected stage.
All labels (objects and classifications) are automatically approved when tasks move to a COMPLETE stage.
Webhooks do not fire when tasks are moved this way.
Tasks cannot be moved into Consensus stages.
Tasks in a Consensus Annotate block cannot be moved to Consensus Review blocks.
The following analytics do not apply to moved tasks: Labels created, Approved labels, Rejected labels.

Set Task Priority

Only Workspace and Project Admins and Team Managers can set task priority.

Select tasks in the Queue and use the Task Actions menu to assign a priority number. Higher priority numbers cause tasks to appear earlier in the queue. Tasks with the same priority are displayed in random order.

Starting Annotation or Review

To begin working on tasks directly from the Queue:

Navigate to the relevant Workflow stage using the stage list on the left.
Click Start task to pick up the next available task, or click Initiate next to a specific task to open it directly.
The task opens in the Label Editor.

Use the Start task button for a faster, queue-driven workflow. Use Initiate when you need to open a specific task by name.

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