> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.unitlab.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.unitlab.ai/api-sdk-cli/clis/cli-assets-and-folders.md).

# CLI: Assets and folders

{% hint style="info" %}
**Outcome:** Upload assets, manage metadata, create and inspect folders, synchronize cloud folders, and create Data Groups.
{% endhint %}

```bash
unitlab assets upload ./images --folder "Raw data" --tag incoming --json
unitlab assets set-metadata ASSET_ID --metadata '{"shift":"night"}' --json
unitlab folders create "2026-07" --parent-id FOLDER_ID --json
unitlab folders list --json
unitlab folders detail FOLDER_ID --json
unitlab folders items FOLDER_ID --json
unitlab folders sync-cloud FOLDER_ID --json
unitlab assets group FOLDER_ID --json
```

Metadata must be a JSON object or `null`. Inline and file-based metadata options are mutually exclusive. Preview grouping when the command options expose estimation and validate the result before project attachment.

### Operating contract

| Concern           | Required behavior                                                           |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Execution surface | Pinned `unitlab==3.0.0` command in the intended Python 3.10+ environment.   |
| Machine contract  | Use `--json`; human-readable output is not an automation interface.         |
| Target resolution | Resolve stable IDs with a read command before a state-changing command.     |
| Success evidence  | Exit status, JSON result, returned IDs, and a read-after-write state check. |

### Failure and recovery boundary

| Condition                                       | Response                                                                                                     |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Authentication or authorization fails           | Stop, correct the service identity or access model, rotate exposed credentials, and rerun a read-only check. |
| Validation or entitlement rejects the operation | Correct the input or entitlement; do not retry an unchanged request.                                         |
| A request times out                             | Inspect remote state before repeating a mutation because the server may have accepted it.                    |
| Asynchronous processing exceeds its deadline    | Preserve the Batch Queue or release ID, continue bounded monitoring, and inspect item-level failures.        |
| Only part of a batch succeeds                   | Keep successful identifiers, isolate failed rows, and retry only the corrected subset.                       |

{% hint style="warning" %}
Pin and test the production SDK version. Use stable IDs, keep secrets out of logs and command history, and record the correlation ID, target IDs, counts, final state, and redacted error details for material state changes.
{% endhint %}