Sync From Google Cloud Storage

Datature Vi reads images and videos from a Google Cloud Storage bucket using a service account that you authorise inside your GCP project. The service account has the Storage Object Viewer role on the bucket, which lets Vi list and read objects but nothing else. This guide walks through the bucket connection, the IAM binding, and the CORS rules.

1

Open the Explorer tab

In the left sidebar, click the Explorer tab on your dataset. This is where the synced assets will appear after the connection is set up.

Next →

You should see

Synced images appear in the dataset Explorer. The asset count in the header reflects the GCS objects that passed the format checks.

Step 1: Enter the bucket details

Open your dataset, then walk through the wizard.

The Bucket Details tab asks for three fields:

Click Next. Vi shows you a service account email address for the next step.

Step 2: Grant Storage Object Viewer to the Vi service account

Run this command in Cloud Shell or a local terminal where gcloud is signed in. Replace {bucket name} with the bucket from Step 1.

The command grants the Vi service account read access to the bucket. The roles/storage.objectViewer role lets Vi list objects and read their content, but does not allow any write or delete actions.

Step 3: Configure CORS on the bucket

Vi loads thumbnails and previews from the bucket in the browser, so the bucket has to allow cross-origin GETs from the Vi web app.

New buckets

Create a file called CORS_CONFIG_FILE with this content:

[
  {
    "maxAgeSeconds": 3600,
    "method": ["GET"],
    "origin": [
      "https://vi.datature.com"
    ],
    "responseHeader": [
      "Content-Type",
      "Access-Control-Allow-Origin"
    ]
  }
]

Apply the configuration:

Existing buckets

If the bucket already has CORS rules, fetch the current configuration first, merge the vi.datature.com origin into the existing rule, then re-apply with the same gcloud storage buckets update command. Replacing the file wipes any rules that other applications rely on.

Step 4: Sync your assets

Back in the Vi wizard, click Next. Vi tests the connection, then offers Sync Now or Sync Later. If you pick Sync Now, Vi walks through three more screens before the sync starts in earnest.

1. Preview Files to Sync. Vi scans the bucket prefix and shows the file count alongside a sample of object paths. Confirm the preview matches what you expect, then click Sync.
2. Sync Started. A confirmation appears letting you know the job is running in the background. Click I Understand to dismiss the dialog; the sync continues even after you close the wizard or the browser tab.
3. Track progress. Open the Connected Bucket dropdown in the top-right of the Explorer to see the connection name, status, provider, bucket, prefix, asset count, and a live progress bar while assets are retrieved.

The first sync takes 5 to 40 minutes depending on the bucket size.

Asset requirements

Objects in GCS must meet the same format rules as direct uploads.

Annotations are not part of the bucket sync. Vi reads only image and video metadata from GCS. If you have existing labels in COCO, YOLO, Pascal VOC, CSV, or Vi JSONL, upload them directly to Vi once the assets finish syncing.

Troubleshooting

Next steps