Data Group automation

Suggest, estimate, and create Data Groups from a folder with explicit grouping configuration.

The product state this automation creates

Auto-Groups custom layout editor

The SDK grouping configuration controls the same grouping keys, completeness rules, tile identities, and saved Grid, List, or Custom layout exposed by the Auto-Groups wizard.

Outcome: Suggest, estimate, and create Data Groups from a folder with explicit grouping configuration.

folder = client.assets.folder("FOLDER_ID")
suggestion = folder.suggest_grouping()

config = {
    "group_by": "study_id",
    "layout": {"columns": 2, "rows": 2},
}
print(folder.estimate_grouping(config))
result = folder.auto_group(config)
print(result.group_count, result.grouped_folder().id)

Use suggest_grouping() to inspect a proposed strategy and estimate_grouping(config) to preview its effect. auto_group() creates groups and returns a GroupingResult. Validate incomplete and ambiguous groups before attaching the result to production work. tiles_from_template(...) is exported for constructing template-based tile definitions.

Operating contract

Concern	Required behavior
Execution surface	Pinned unitlab==3.0.0 application environment on Python 3.10+.
Identity	Least-privilege API key supplied through approved configuration.
Target resolution	Stable resource IDs and an explicitly bounded target set.
Success evidence	Typed return fields, server-side state, and downstream acceptance of the result.

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.

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.

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