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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.

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Queue Layout by Role

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Agent Stages

When viewing an Agent stage, the Queue displays additional controls and status information for Workflow agents. Agent Status Banner For Agent stages, a status banner appears above the task list showing the agent name and icon (click to view detailed agent configuration), a status indicator showing whether the agent is Live (green) or Paused (orange), and control buttons that Admins and Team Managers can use to pause/resume agents or view agent settings. Agent Controls
Only Workspace and Project Admins and Team Managers can control agent execution.
Click Pause to stop the agent from automatically processing new tasks, or Go live to resume automatic processing. Paused agents allow for manual task execution and troubleshooting. When an agent is paused, you can manually trigger execution for specific tasks by navigating to the paused Agent stage, finding tasks with Pending status, and clicking the Run button next to individual tasks. To retry tasks that failed during agent execution, locate tasks showing a Failed status and 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.
Agent Execution Status For Projects using Agents in their Workflow, tasks display execution status badges showing the current state of automated processing:
StatusDescription
PendingThe agent execution is queued and waiting to start.
DispatchedThe agent execution has been assigned to a worker.
RunningThe agent is currently processing the task.
SucceededThe agent execution completed successfully.
FailedThe agent execution encountered an error and failed to complete.
Timed outThe agent execution exceeded the maximum allowed time and was terminated.
CanceledThe agent execution was manually canceled before completion.
Retry Failed Tasks You can retry tasks that failed or timed out by selecting one or more affected tasks in the Queue, then clicking Retry failed to re-run the agent on those tasks. The system will attempt 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 moving tasks that are not actively being processed. A confirmation dialog will show how many tasks are moved and how many are skipped.
Tasks that are currently running or dispatched cannot be moved and remain in their current stage until execution completes.

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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
  • Grid view — A visual grid layout for browsing tasks and labels (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.

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Filters and Sorting

Filters
FilterDescription
DatasetShow only data units belonging to the selected Dataset(s).
AssigneesShow tasks assigned to a specific user.
Last Actioned ByShow tasks last actioned by the selected user.
Data TypeShow data units of a specific type (image, video, audio, etc.).
Issue StatusShow tasks with Resolved or Unresolved issues.
Execution StatusShow 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.
Use the keyboard shortcut S to open the sort dropdown, or Ctrl + O to quickly toggle between ascending and descending order.

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Task Status

The task Status indicates what actions have previously been taken on a task.
StatusDescription
NewThe task has not been worked on since being added to the Project.
ReopenedThe task was rejected during Review and has been returned for re-labeling.
SkippedThe 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.

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Task Actions

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Starting Annotation or Review

To begin working on tasks directly from the Queue:
  1. Navigate to the relevant Workflow stage using the stage list on the left.
  2. Click Start task to pick up the next available task, or click Initiate next to a specific task to open it directly.
  3. 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.