LabelU
About
LabelU is an open-source platform for annotating image, video, and audio data, with self-hosted deployment and model-assisted labeling. Image work includes 2D bounding boxes, semantic segmentation, polylines, and keypoints; video and audio tasks include segmentation, classification, and information extraction. Users can load pre-annotated data to refine it, or run AI model services for image-object detection and segmentation, including batch annotation with progress tracking. LabelU imports annotation data from S3-compatible storage such as AWS S3 and MinIO, and exports JSON, COCO, and MASK formats. Local setup uses Miniconda, Python 3.11, pip, and a server at http://localhost:8000/. It includes SQLite and supports MySQL installation and migration. The model server exposes HTTP POST / and GET /health endpoints. Reference models have stated hardware requirements: Florence-2 and GroundingDINO with SAM ViT-B each need about 4GB VRAM; SAM 3 needs about 8GB and CUDA 12.6 or later. The project is released under Apache 2.0.
Who it is for
LabelU suits teams annotating multimodal datasets for complex analysis or model training, especially those that want to self-host and retain human review of AI-assisted labels. Its listed setup and reference-model hardware requirements matter when planning deployment.
What is good
- Supports image, video, and audio annotation
- AI-assisted detection and segmentation with batch progress tracking
- Imports from S3-compatible storage
- Exports JSON, COCO, and MASK
- Apache 2.0 licensed
What to know first
- Local setup requires Miniconda and Python 3.11
- SAM 3 requires about 8GB VRAM and CUDA 12.6+
- No hosted deployment option is listed
Verdict
LabelU covers several annotation modalities and offers both AI assistance and formats suited to downstream work. Its self-hosted setup and model hardware requirements make deployment planning part of the evaluation.
Compared on AI data labeling tools
- Supported modalities
- image, video, audiogithub.com
- Model-assisted labeling
- Yesgithub.com
- Human review workflows
- Yesgithub.com
- Custom ontologies
- Yesgithub.com
- Deployment options
- self hostedgithub.com
- API access
- Yesgithub.com
Facts
- Purpose
- LabelU is an open-source multimodal data annotation platform for image, video, and audio data.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Image annotation
- Image tools include 2D bounding boxes, semantic segmentation, polylines, and keypoints.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Video annotation
- Video capabilities include video segmentation, video classification, and video information extraction.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Audio annotation
- Audio tools support audio segmentation, audio classification, and audio information extraction.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- AI assisted labeling
- Users can load pre-annotated data with one click and refine or adjust it.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- AI auto-annotation
- AI model services can automatically detect and segment image objects, including batch annotation with real-time progress tracking.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Reference models
- Reference model servers include Florence-2, GroundingDINO plus SAM ViT-B, and SAM 3.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Object storage
- LabelU can import annotation data from S3-compatible storage such as AWS S3 and MinIO.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Export formats
- The platform supports exporting data in JSON, COCO, and MASK formats.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Local deployment uses Miniconda, Python 3.11, pip installation, and a local server at http://localhost:8000/.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Database support
- LabelU includes built-in SQLite and supports MySQL installation and migration.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- API
- The model server exposes a unified HTTP API with POST / and GET /health endpoints.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Model requirements
- Florence-2 requires about 4GB VRAM, GroundingDINO plus SAM ViT-B about 4GB, and SAM 3 about 8GB with CUDA 12.6+.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- License
- The project is released under the Apache 2.0 license.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project README invites users to join the official OpenDataLab WeChat group.github.com · 1 Oct 2026
- Image tools
- Image annotations include 2D bounding boxes, semantic segmentation, polylines, and keypoints.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Video tools
- Video annotation supports segmentation, classification, and information extraction.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Audio tools
- Audio annotation supports segmentation, classification, and information extraction.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- AI assistance
- Users can load pre-annotated data in one click and refine it in the platform.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Storage integration
- LabelU can import files from S3-compatible storage, including AWS S3 and MinIO.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The README describes the platform as suited to annotation work supporting complex data analysis and model training.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Support channel
- The project README invites users to join the OpenDataLab official WeChat group.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
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- Best AI Data Labeling Tools in 2026#10 of 21
Sources
- github.com/opendatalab/labelU· checked 1 Oct 2026
- github.com/opendatalab/labelU/blob/main/model_serv· checked 1 Oct 2026



