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Method: projects.thumbnails.create
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Creates an ID that can be used to render a "thumbnail" image.
This is used in conjunction with thumbnails.getPixels. 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 thumbnails.getPixels 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 thumbnails.getPixels. 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 thumbnails.getPixels 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 thumbnails.getPixels 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/thumbnails.getPixels. 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/*}/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.
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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 an expression and output options, usable with \u003ccode\u003ethumbnails.getPixels\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003ethumbnails.getPixels\u003c/code\u003e retrieves image data using the ID from \u003ccode\u003ethumbnails.create\u003c/code\u003e, offering broader usage than \u003ccode\u003eComputePixels\u003c/code\u003e due to API key accessibility.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe resulting image must adhere to format requirements (e.g., JPEG/PNG need 1-3 bands, values within 0-255).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhile called "thumbnail", image size is subject to the same limits as \u003ccode\u003eComputePixels\u003c/code\u003e, with restrictions on dimensions, bands, and data size to prevent errors.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe process involves a POST request to \u003ccode\u003ethumbnails.create\u003c/code\u003e to provide the expression, followed by a GET request to \u003ccode\u003ethumbnails.getPixels\u003c/code\u003e to fetch the image.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Method: projects.thumbnails.create\n\nCreates an ID that can be used to render a \"thumbnail\" image.\n\nThis is used in conjunction with `thumbnails.getPixels`. 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 `thumbnails.getPixels` 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 `thumbnails.getPixels`. 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 `thumbnails.getPixels` 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 `thumbnails.getPixels` 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`/`thumbnails.getPixels`. 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/*}/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)."]]