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Open Studio

Earth Engine Studio guide

Tasks & exports

Review and submit Earth Engine exports or stream high-volume raster and table results to local folders and ZIP files.

Create a cloud export task

Studio exposes Export.* and ee.batch.Export.* in JavaScript and Python. The implemented factories cover image, table, video, map, video-map, FeatureView, BigQuery, and classifier destinations.

An export call creates an unsubmitted task row. It does not immediately consume a batch slot or write a destination artifact.

var terrain = ee.Image("NASA/NASADEM_HGT/001");

Export.image.toDrive({
  image: terrain,
  description: "alpine_terrain_sample",
  region: ee.Geometry.Rectangle([10.8, 46.4, 12.4, 47.4]),
  scale: 90,
  maxPixels: 1e9
});

Open Tasks, choose Run on the new row, review the destination and parameters, then submit. Command/Ctrl-click can submit a valid stored task directly when no configuration review is needed.

Calling task.start() from Studio code is an intentional no-op. Console reminds you to submit from Tasks so a script cannot silently launch expensive batch work. This is a deliberate difference from some client-library workflows.

Monitor submitted operations

Submitted task rows show state, progress when available, operation identifiers, timing, retries, quota information, and source or asset actions. You can request cancellation for a compatible running operation; cancellation itself is asynchronous and may take time to reach the service.

Unsubmitted tasks belong to the page that created them. A submitted operation belongs to Earth Engine and can continue after the browser closes. Google’s export guide explains destination behavior, scale, projections, regions, and service limits.

Download directly to your computer

Studio adds two local task factories:

  • Export.image.toFolder() for chunked raster output;
  • Export.table.toFolder() for paginated GeoJSON table output.

They are also available through ee.batch.Export. Local tasks use an isolated high-volume Earth Engine Worker with token refresh, bounded retries, and one active job at a time. Other script work can continue while a download runs.

Raster configuration includes bands, projection, output pixel type, manual chunk dimensions, and bounded concurrency. Projection-aligned GeoTIFF chunks and a manifest make folder output resumable.

Choose folder or ZIP output

Folder output writes directly through the File System Access API. It works in compatible Chromium-family browsers and requires a user gesture to choose a writable directory. Existing manifests can resume compatible work.

ZIP output uses a normal browser download and does not require the directory picker. The archive is assembled in memory, so it is best for smaller results and cannot resume an interrupted job. The interface shows this tradeoff before starting.

Plan before downloading

Estimate the region, scale, bands, pixel type, and chunk count before starting. Local delivery does not bypass Earth Engine quotas, computation cost, or result size constraints.

Control local task lifecycle

Tasks can be cancelled, retried when compatible, removed after completion, or cleared in groups. Only one local job runs at once; additional jobs wait without blocking cloud task monitoring.

Keep the Studio page open during folder or ZIP production. A browser crash, worker reset, permission revocation, or authentication change can interrupt local work even though submitted Earth Engine cloud operations remain active.

Task exports and public App publishing have different security models. To publish an anonymous interactive App with managed or self-managed credentials, continue with the Public Apps guide.