---
title: Annotation Queues
description: Manage your annotation tasks with ease using our new workflow tooling. Create queues, add traces to them, and get a simple UI to review and label LLM application traces in Langfuse.
---

# Annotation Queues [#annotation-queues]

Annotation Queues are a manual [evaluation method](/docs/evaluation/core-concepts#evaluation-methods) which is built for domain experts to add [scores](/docs/evaluation/scores/overview) and comments to traces, observations or sessions.

## Why use Annotation Queues?

- Manually explore application results and add scores and comments to them
- Allow domain experts to add scores and comments to a subset of traces
- Add [corrected outputs](/docs/observability/features/corrections) to capture what the model should have generated
- Align your LLM-as-a-Judge evaluation with human annotation

## Set up step-by-step

<Steps>

### Create a new Annotation Queue

- Click on `New Queue` to create a new queue.
- Select the [`Score Configs`](/docs/evaluation/scores/data-model#score-config) you want to use for this queue.
- Set the `Queue name` and `Description` (optional).
- Assign users to the queue (optional).

An Annotation Queue requires a score config that defines the scoring dimensions for the annotation tasks. See [how to create and manage Score Configs](/faq/all/manage-score-configs#create-a-score-config) for details.

### Add Traces, Observations or Sessions to the Queue

Once you have created annotation queues, you can assign traces, observations or sessions to them.

<Tabs items={["Bulk Selection", "Single Item"]}>
<Tab>
To add multiple traces, sessions or observations to a queue:

1. Select Traces, Observations or Sessions via the checkboxes.
2. Click on the "Actions" dropdown menu
3. Click on `Add to queue` to add the selected traces, sessions or observations to the queue.
4. Select the queue you want to add the traces, sessions or observations to.

  ![Annotate](/images/docs/add_multiple_items_to_queue.png)

</Tab>
<Tab>

To add single traces, sessions or observations:

1. Click on the `Annotate` dropdown
2. Select the queue you want to add the trace, session or observation to

![Annotate](/images/docs/add_to_queue.png)

</Tab>
</Tabs>

### Process Annotation Queue

You will see an annotation task for each item in the queue.

1. On the `Annotate` Card add scores on the defined dimensions
2. Click on `Complete + next` to move to the next annotation task or finish the queue

</Steps>

## Keyboard shortcuts [#keyboard-shortcuts]

Processing a queue is fully keyboard-driven, so you can score items without reaching for the mouse. The shortcuts follow a navigate-then-edit model and are suppressed while you are typing in a text field or while a dialog or dropdown is open. Press `?` in the queue to open the in-app cheatsheet.

| Key                    | Action                                                  |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| `→` / `←`              | Next / previous item in the queue                       |
| `↑` / `↓`              | Move between score fields (wraps at the ends)           |
| `1`–`9`                | Select the Nth option on a categorical or boolean field |
| `Enter`                | Commit the current value, or open a dropdown            |
| `Esc`                  | Leave a text field and return to field navigation       |
| `Cmd`/`Ctrl` + `Enter` | Complete the item and advance to the next               |
| `?`                    | Open the keyboard shortcuts cheatsheet                  |

Number badges appear on categorical options when a field is focused, and the `⌘↵` / `Ctrl↵` hint is shown on the **Mark Completed** button. The score-field shortcuts (`↑`/`↓`, `1`–`9`, `Enter`, `Esc`) also work in the inline **Annotate** drawer on trace, observation, and session pages; the queue navigation keys (`→`/`←`, `Cmd`/`Ctrl` + `Enter`) apply when processing a queue.

## Manage Annotation Queues via API

You can manage annotation queues via the [API](https://api.reference.langfuse.com/#tag/annotationqueues/GET/api/public/annotation-queues). This allows for scaling and automating your annotation workflows or using Langfuse as the backbone for a [custom vibe coded annotation tool](/blog/2025-11-25-vibe-coding-custom-annotation-ui).

<!-- agent-instructions -->

---

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  ```

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- **Read [What does a good trace look like?](https://langfuse.com/docs/observability/best-practices.md)** before instrumenting an application.
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