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Method: projects.locations.thumbnails.create
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Creates an ID that can be used to render a "thumbnail" image.
This is used in conjunction with GetThumbnailPixels. A call to thumbnails.create provides an expression and some output options. The result of thumbnails.create is an ID that represents an image that is the result of evaluating that expression and applying those options. Subsequently, calls to GetThumbnailPixels can be made to get the image data for the entire resulting image. The ID will be valid for a moderate period (a few hours).
The most common use case for this pair of endpoints is to provide a complex expression via a POST to thumbnails.create, and then fetch the computed image via a GET to GetThumbnailPixels. This two-part process allows for use in more situations than ComputePixels. In particular: - the result of ComputePixels needs to be unwrapped to get the encoded image bytes. The result of GetThumbnailPixels can be displayed directly by a browser. - ComputePixels can only be called by an authorised user, using a properly-scoped OAuth token. thumbnails.create has the same restriction, but GetThumbnailPixels can be invoked with a URL containing an API key, so URLs invoking it can be used more broadly.
The result of evaluating the expression has to meet some reasonable requirements for the requested image format. In particular, JPEG or PNG format requires that there be one or three output bands, and clips values that are outside the 0-255 range.
The description "thumbnail" does not imply a restriction on the size of the computed image: the same restrictions as ComputePixels apply to thumbnails.create/GetThumbnailPixels. Requests are limited to 48MB in uncompressed data per request, computed as the product of the request dimensions in pixels, the number of image bands requested, and the number of bytes per pixel for each band. Requests are also limited to at most 32K pixels in either dimension and at most 1024 bands. Requests exceeding these limits will result in an error code of 400 (BAD_REQUEST).
HTTP request
POST https://earthengine.googleapis.com/v1alpha/{parent=projects/*/locations/*}/thumbnails
The URL uses gRPC Transcoding syntax.
Path parameters
| Parameters |
parent |
string
Required. The parent of the thumbnail collection (e.g., "projects/*").
Authorization requires the following IAM permission on the specified resource parent:
earthengine.thumbnails.create
|
Query parameters
| Parameters |
workloadTag |
string
User supplied tag to track this computation.
|
Request body
The request body contains an instance of Thumbnail.
Response body
If successful, the response body contains a newly created instance of Thumbnail.
Authorization scopes
Requires one of the following OAuth scopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/earthengine
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/earthengine.readonly
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform.read-only
For more information, see the OAuth 2.0 Overview.
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-03-06 UTC.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-03-06 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003ethumbnails.create\u003c/code\u003e generates an ID representing an image created from a provided expression and output options, which can then be used with \u003ccode\u003eGetThumbnailPixels\u003c/code\u003e to retrieve the image data.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis two-step process offers advantages over \u003ccode\u003eComputePixels\u003c/code\u003e, such as direct browser display and broader usage with API keys for \u003ccode\u003eGetThumbnailPixels\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhile called "thumbnail," there's no inherent size limitation; the same size restrictions as \u003ccode\u003eComputePixels\u003c/code\u003e apply, including data, dimension, and band limits.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe resulting image format must meet specific requirements, like having 1-3 bands for JPEG/PNG and clipping values to 0-255.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAuthorization is needed for \u003ccode\u003ethumbnails.create\u003c/code\u003e similar to \u003ccode\u003eComputePixels\u003c/code\u003e, requiring specific IAM permissions or OAuth scopes.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["`thumbnails.create` generates an ID from an expression and output options, representing a computed image. `GetThumbnailPixels` uses this ID to retrieve the image data. This two-step process offers broader use than `ComputePixels`, enabling direct browser display and access via API keys. The output image can be in JPEG or PNG format, and it is limited to 48MB uncompressed data, a max of 32K pixels per dimension and a maximum of 1024 bands. A POST request is sent to the `thumbnails.create` endpoint with an instance of a `Thumbnail` and the created instance is returned.\n"],null,["# Method: projects.locations.thumbnails.create\n\nCreates an ID that can be used to render a \"thumbnail\" image.\n\nThis is used in conjunction with `GetThumbnailPixels`. A call to `thumbnails.create` provides an expression and some output options. The result of `thumbnails.create` is an ID that represents an image that is the result of evaluating that expression and applying those options. Subsequently, calls to `GetThumbnailPixels` can be made to get the image data for the entire resulting image. The ID will be valid for a moderate period (a few hours).\n\nThe most common use case for this pair of endpoints is to provide a complex expression via a POST to `thumbnails.create`, and then fetch the computed image via a GET to `GetThumbnailPixels`. This two-part process allows for use in more situations than `ComputePixels`. In particular: - the result of `ComputePixels` needs to be unwrapped to get the encoded image bytes. The result of `GetThumbnailPixels` can be displayed directly by a browser. - `ComputePixels` can only be called by an authorised user, using a properly-scoped OAuth token. `thumbnails.create` has the same restriction, but `GetThumbnailPixels` can be invoked with a URL containing an API key, so URLs invoking it can be used more broadly.\n\nThe result of evaluating the expression has to meet some reasonable requirements for the requested image format. In particular, JPEG or PNG format requires that there be one or three output bands, and clips values that are outside the 0-255 range.\n\nThe description \"thumbnail\" does not imply a restriction on the size of the computed image: the same restrictions as `ComputePixels` apply to `thumbnails.create`/`GetThumbnailPixels`. Requests are limited to 48MB in uncompressed data per request, computed as the product of the request dimensions in pixels, the number of image bands requested, and the number of bytes per pixel for each band. Requests are also limited to at most 32K pixels in either dimension and at most 1024 bands. Requests exceeding these limits will result in an error code of 400 (BAD_REQUEST).\n\n### HTTP request\n\n`POST https://earthengine.googleapis.com/v1alpha/{parent=projects/*/locations/*}/thumbnails`\n\nThe URL uses [gRPC Transcoding](https://google.aip.dev/127) syntax.\n\n### Path parameters\n\n| Parameters ||\n|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| `parent` | `string` Required. The parent of the thumbnail collection (e.g., \"projects/\\*\"). Authorization requires the following [IAM](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/) permission on the specified resource `parent`: - `earthengine.thumbnails.create` |\n\n### Query parameters\n\n| Parameters ||\n|---------------|-------------------------------------------------------|\n| `workloadTag` | `string` User supplied tag to track this computation. |\n\n### Request body\n\nThe request body contains an instance of [Thumbnail](/earth-engine/reference/rest/v1alpha/projects.locations.thumbnails#Thumbnail).\n\n### Response body\n\nIf successful, the response body contains a newly created instance of [Thumbnail](/earth-engine/reference/rest/v1alpha/projects.locations.thumbnails#Thumbnail).\n\n### Authorization scopes\n\nRequires one of the following OAuth scopes:\n\n- `https://www.googleapis.com/auth/earthengine`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/earthengine.readonly`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform`\n- `\n https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform.read-only`\n\nFor more information, see the [OAuth 2.0 Overview](/identity/protocols/OAuth2)."]]