Downloading Data
There are several options for getting data out of Flywheel to analyze or share it. The best option to use depends primarily upon these factors:
- Volume of data
- Type of destination (Cloud Storage, Local Computer, etc.)
Small Batch Download
If you are downloading a few sessions, you can download data directly from your project.
When viewing acquisitions in a project, select all of the acquisitions you would like to download. Once selected, choose the Download option from the Action menu.
You can also download acquisitions or individual files by selecting download from their options menus ().
Full Project Download
Use the Download Project button to easily export your data, including metadata and analyses, from Flywheel to your computer. This method keeps data in the Flywheel hierarchy structure.
Large Projects
This option is best used for smaller projects. For projects containing large volumes of data, consider using the Bulk Export option instead.
Large Volumes of Data
If you have many scans in your project, you can use the Bulk Export feature to download large amounts of data to an External Storage location.
Tip
Bulk Export is the recommended solution for exporting large volumes of data out of Flywheel and into an External Storage location.
If you cannot use an External Storage location and must download large amounts of data directly to your local computer, then you can use the fw sync
command available via the Flywheel Command-Line Interface (CLI) to download the data instead.
Programmatic Downloads
If you need to initiate the download programmatically, you can use the following commands available in Flywheel's Command-Line (CLI) interface:
fw
and fw-beta
Commands starting with fw-beta
are available only in Flywheel's new CLI (fw-beta
). The new CLI is a separate download and installation from Flywheel's legacy CLI (fw
). For more information about the new CLI, go to https://flywheel-io.gitlab.io/tools/app/cli/fw-beta/.
Commands starting with fw
are available only in Flywheel's legacy CLI (fw
).
Instructions for downloading and installing both CLIs are available from within Flywheel Core Web App on your user profile page.
fw-beta export
: Exports an entire project to an External Storage location. Extensive options are available for filtering and naming the data to be downloaded. This is the same to the Bulk Export feature but launched via the CLI instead of a web browser. Learn more about how to use fw-beta download.fw download
: Downloads an entire project, session, or acquisition or a single file. Flags can be set to exclude or include certain files types. Learn more about how to use fw download.fw sync
: Syncs Flywheel data, including the folder structure, locally or to Amazon S3 buckets. Learn more about how to use fw sync.fw export bids
: Exports projects in the BIDS format. Note that projects must already be curated for BIDS. Learn more about how to use fw export.