COCO export failed error category_id not in categories list

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in COCO by acting on the exact message first: rebuild the categories array from the ontology so every annotation category_id exists in it, remapping stale ids instead of deleting annotations. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one item, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

category_id not in categories list

Use this when

• The operation in COCO fails with this exact message: category_id not in categories list.
• The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
• A review, export or check is blocked until this item completes.

Not for this skill when

• The message is a permission or outage notice from the platform. Resolve that first, then return here if this error remains.
• The operation completes and you only disagree with its output. That is a quality review, not this failure.

Steps

1. Reproduce the failure with the smallest scope that still shows it in COCO, and copy the full message plus the item, user or metric involved into the run notes. Verify: the error is reproduced on demand with a named item, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this error: rebuild the categories array from the ontology so every annotation category_id exists in it, remapping stale ids instead of deleting annotations. Verify: run a COCO validator and confirm zero unknown category references.
3. Check the neighbouring items that share the same config, ontology, baseline or credential, because this class of failure rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Rerun the original operation in COCO on the previously failing scope, watching for the same message rather than assuming success from a quiet log. Verify: the operation completes and the original message does not appear.
5. Compare the result counts, decisions or alerts against the source in COCO so a silent partial success is caught before sign off. Verify: counts match the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the triggering input and the verification result on the item so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the error, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Why it happens

Exporters write category ids from the label map while the categories list comes from the current ontology; editing the ontology between labelling and export desynchronises the two.

Variant phrasings

category_id not in categories list

The verbatim form searchers paste from the terminal or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single item proof, then the full rerun.

How to fix: COCO export failed error "category_id not in categories list"

The how-to phrasing for the same failure in COCO. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

COCO troubleshooting for this failure

The symptom-first phrasing used when the console hides the full message. Surface the full message first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Compatibility: COCO at current versions, plus the platform API or console the query names; no extra tooling beyond a text editor and the source system access needed to verify counts.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_2ZwHPxYzcWXdsELwNtny0g

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_2ZwHPxYzcWXdsELwNtny0g

Thread query: COCO export failed error "category_id not in categories list"

TL;DR: Fix this in COCO by acting on the exact message first: rebuild the categories array from the ontology so every annotation category_id exists in it, remapping stale ids instead of deleting annotations. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one item, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in COCO by acting on the exact message first: reproduce the failure on the smallest single item first, note the exact inputs that trigger it, and change only the input or setting the error names. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one item, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

COCO image_id duplicates found

Use this when

• The operation in COCO fails with this exact message: COCO image_id duplicates found.
• The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
• A review, export or check is blocked until this item completes.

Not for this skill when

• The message is a permission or outage notice from the platform. Resolve that first, then return here if this error remains.
• The operation completes and you only disagree with its output. That is a quality review, not this failure.

Steps

1. Reproduce the failure with the smallest scope that still shows it in COCO, and copy the full message plus the item, user or metric involved into the run notes. Verify: the error is reproduced on demand with a named item, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this error: reproduce the failure on the smallest single item first, note the exact inputs that trigger it, and change only the input or setting the error names. Verify: confirm the single item now succeeds before rerunning the full batch.
3. Check the neighbouring items that share the same config, ontology, baseline or credential, because this class of failure rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Rerun the original operation in COCO on the previously failing scope, watching for the same message rather than assuming success from a quiet log. Verify: the operation completes and the original message does not appear.
5. Compare the result counts, decisions or alerts against the source in COCO so a silent partial success is caught before sign off. Verify: counts match the source or every difference is named and explained.
6. Record the fix, the triggering input and the verification result on the item so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the error, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Why it happens

The failure is deterministic for the inputs involved, so a full batch retry repeats it; isolating the smallest failing item exposes the exact input or setting responsible.

Variant phrasings

COCO image_id duplicates found

The verbatim form searchers paste from the terminal or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single item proof, then the full rerun.

How to fix: annotation export failed error "COCO image_id duplicates found"

The how-to phrasing for the same failure in COCO. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

COCO troubleshooting for this failure

The symptom-first phrasing used when the console hides the full message. Surface the full message first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Compatibility: COCO at current versions, plus the platform API or console the query names; no extra tooling beyond a text editor and the source system access needed to verify counts.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_YbSiw49xhWBPwh3-7gVZWg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_YbSiw49xhWBPwh3-7gVZWg

Thread query: annotation export failed error "COCO image_id duplicates found"

TL;DR: Fix this in COCO by acting on the exact message first: reproduce the failure on the smallest single item first, note the exact inputs that trigger it, and change only the input or setting the error names. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one item, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Fix this in COCO by acting on the exact message first: add the missing bndbox element with xmin, ymin, xmax and ymax for every object, and drop or repair objects that have a box in the source with no coordinates. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one item, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.

agent timed out when agent tried to convert Pascal VOC to COCO and failed with XML error

Use this when

• The operation in COCO fails with this exact message: agent timed out when agent tried to convert Pascal VOC to COCO and failed with XML error.
• The same failure repeats on retry with unchanged inputs.
• A review, export or check is blocked until this item completes.

Not for this skill when

• The message is a permission or outage notice from the platform. Resolve that first, then return here if this error remains.
• The operation completes and you only disagree with its output. That is a quality review, not this failure.

Steps

1. Reproduce the failure with the smallest scope that still shows it in COCO, and copy the full message plus the item, user or metric involved into the run notes. Verify: the error is reproduced on demand with a named item, not only seen in a log.
2. Apply the specific fix for this error: add the missing bndbox element with xmin, ymin, xmax and ymax for every object, and drop or repair objects that have a box in the source with no coordinates. Verify: parse the XML and assert every object has exactly one bndbox with ordered corners.
3. Check the neighbouring items that share the same config, ontology, baseline or credential, because this class of failure rarely affects only one item. Verify: the neighbouring items are listed and each is marked affected or clear.
4. Compare the result counts, decisions or alerts against the source in COCO so a silent partial success is caught before sign off. Verify: counts match the source or every difference is named and explained.
5. Rerun the original operation in COCO on the previously failing scope, watching for the same message rather than assuming success from a quiet log. Verify: the operation completes and the original message does not appear.
6. Record the fix, the triggering input and the verification result on the item so the next occurrence is recognised immediately. Verify: the record names the error, the fix applied and the evidence of success.

Why it happens

Pascal VOC requires a bndbox per object; converters that skip difficult or truncated objects still write the object element and leave the file invalid.

Variant phrasings

agent timed out when agent tried to convert Pascal VOC to COCO and fai

The verbatim form searchers paste from the terminal or console. Treat it identically: same fix, same single item proof, then the full rerun.

How to fix: agent timed out when agent tried to convert Pascal VOC to COCO and fai

The how-to phrasing for the same failure in COCO. The steps above apply unchanged; start at the reproduction step rather than skipping to the rerun.

COCO troubleshooting for this failure

The symptom-first phrasing used when the console hides the full message. Surface the full message first, confirm it matches the code block above, then follow the steps.

Compatibility: COCO at current versions, plus the platform API or console the query names; no extra tooling beyond a text editor and the source system access needed to verify counts.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_JN0BfvgJprKxq-jXRAAVeg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_JN0BfvgJprKxq-jXRAAVeg

Thread query: agent timed out when agent tried to convert Pascal VOC to COCO and failed with XML error

TL;DR: Fix this in COCO by acting on the exact message first: add the missing bndbox element with xmin, ymin, xmax and ymax for every object, and drop or repair objects that have a box in the source with no coordinates. Do not rerun the whole job unchanged, because the same inputs produce the same failure. Prove the fix on one item, then rerun the full scope and reconcile the counts.