Managed upstream sources

Experimental, deployment-enabled pilot. Reviewed 22 September 2026. This feature manages source references and exact exports. QGIS can read reviewed GeoTIFF selections through Browse Workspace. OSDU writeback and native-client OSDU consumption remain outstanding.

A project can select assets from several approved connections. Your administrator configures endpoints, supported schema profiles and your upstream access. A connection is reusable; a selection chooses a particular source asset. Publication into another system is a separate action.

Select a source

1. Open your project’s Connections page and find Upstream sources.
2. Choose an approved connection. For OSDU, select a configured schema kind.
3. Browse and select an asset. Inspect declared context and unresolved information.
4. For a raster, choose any known quantity, unit, vertical reference and positive direction from the provided lists. These are separately recorded customer interpretations; they never rewrite the source. Leave unknowns unknown. A declared source unit cannot be relabelled.
5. Acknowledge the review and choose Follow or Pin.
6. Select Add source to project. This requires project administration.

The pilot supports bounded single-band GeoTIFF files, LAS 2.0 files, approved OSDU well/wellbore records, and a WellLog Parquet profile. Source values are not converted. Units, depth references and coordinate claims remain declarations, not independently verified facts. Project preferences never silently replace them.

Selections currently belong to the account whose upstream access is used. Project membership does not grant another person’s OSDU access. A source connection is not an automatic bulk copy into Ophiolite’s native asset store.

Tables of a database added in the browser

A database your organisation added in the browser lists the tables and views your own sign-in may read, schema first, then name; the organisation may offer only some of them. A long list shows the first part: choose Show more to list the rest. Selecting another table later changes nothing about the tables you already selected: each selection keeps its identity, mapping and kept copies. When the organisation stops offering a table, its selection stops reading and says This table is no longer offered by the organisation; copies already kept stay readable, and offering the table again brings the selection back.

Updates and recovery

Check source now reconciles a due source. Successful checks are throttled to at least ten seconds. Automatic checks require a deployment worker; the interface does not install one. An uploaded browser file is a snapshot, not a watched laptop file.

Pause stops observation; Resume checks makes it eligible again. Changed scientific context requires Review context / update policy. An offline source retries with backoff; missing, denied or deleted sources require attention. A missing file is not proof of intentional deletion. Last accepted references remain visible.

Detach selection preserves its audit record and never deletes source data or copies already downloaded. Repointing an OSDU connection to a different partition or endpoint requires a new connection namespace.

Export and independent use

Export exact source bundle performs another upstream permission check and returns a JSON bundle containing a manifest and base64-encoded original representation. The SHA-256 digest covers those bytes. Keep the manifest alongside the decoded file.

import base64, hashlib, json
from pathlib import Path
bundle = json.loads(Path('source-bundle.json').read_text())
raw = base64.b64decode(bundle['payload_base64'], validate=True)
assert hashlib.sha256(raw).hexdigest() == bundle['manifest']['sha256']
Path('source.bin').write_bytes(raw)

Choose the output extension from manifest.media_type: GeoTIFF, LAS or Parquet. This example uses only Python’s standard library. Scientific analysis of the decoded file uses an appropriate independent reader.

A mutable file does not provide old versions. If it changes after pinning, a fresh read of the old bytes fails; keep exported snapshots when history matters. OSDU historical reads depend on the qualified domain service and retained upstream data.

Scope of evidence

Automated checks cover stable files, exact-byte export, authorization, context drift, follow/pin, restart, hint coalescing and refusal states. An actual browser exercise covers source selection and export through the native qualification project service. A separate live OSDU read checks 32,401 NLOG samples and 1,204 nulls against the existing baseline. These are bounded qualification results, not production support.

OSDU map profiles, writeback, customer token exchange, OSDU application consumption and object-store/laptop watches remain outstanding. See the source API reference.

QGIS file sources

After adding a reviewed GeoTIFF selection, use QGIS Browse Workspace to find it as an upstream file. Reads and preparation run in the background. The original TIFF bytes and missing-value representation are retained; the QGIS project CRS changes display only. This route is limited to 5 MiB TIFFs. QGIS follows the Workspace selection, so a selection pinned in Workspace stays pinned.

QGIS native tools can operate on the downloaded raster. Select a completed GeoTIFF result and choose Send a QGIS result to the project…. Select the exact source input and review the output quantity, unit and reference. Publication creates a separate native Ophiolite asset in the same project, retaining the source namespace, exact revision, byte hash and reviewed interpretation in lineage. It does not write to OSDU or alter the watched file. Results must fit the native import profile: at most 1.5 MB, 100,000 cells, one Float32/Float64 band and a declared supported horizontal CRS.

Return unchanged requires original bytes and unchanged reviewed declarations; it verifies the source and creates no asset. A re-encoded but numerically identical TIFF does not meet this strict source-return contract. Updating an external source is disabled. After creating a native derived asset, the established native-asset revision and conflict workflow applies to that separate asset.

The source publication path records a user-declared input association verified against an authorized source read. It does not claim to have observed arbitrary QGIS algorithm inputs or internal execution spans. Detailed native-processing telemetry for external source references remains a separate qualification gate.

An actual QGIS 4.2.2 Mac test exercises file following, a different project display CRS, the native Raster Calculator and publication with exact values/nulls and source lineage. See availability for the scope of this deployment-enabled qualification.

Browse all selected project data

Open Data to browse native assets and selected upstream assets together. Choose Surfaces, Well logs, Wells or Wellbores, then narrow by Source / connection and search. This is a catalogue of authorized project assets, not a copy of every record in a connected system. Source authority remains visible.

The Inspect icon opens a right-hand panel. Use Close or Escape to return to the list. Native assets have Overview, Details and Discussion sections; upstream inspection shows the exact selected source’s metadata and export action. It can fail if upstream access expires, even when the saved selection remains listed.

Connections separates source management from application bindings. Activity separates operations, source observations, applications and coverage. Inspect a row for full evidence. Pagination applies to loaded results within the existing API limits; exports retain their previously documented scope.

Source browser and SQL well mapping

1. Connections → Data sources → Browse connections shows systems, selection counts and the last discovery check in this browser session. A successful discovery is not a guarantee that every payload can be read.
2. Open a connection with its inspect icon. For OSDU choose a friendly data type. The technical kind and configured capabilities are in What this connection can read. Opening the connection automatically loads a searchable, paginated table with Following, Pinned, Not selected or review/error states. Identity uses connection/key, never display name.
3. Open a source’s review icon. For SQL, the scientific mapping panel detects columns and SQL types and shows ten sample rows. It suggests column associations, which must be reviewed. Map stable well ID, name, surface X/Y, optional depth and operator. Select the source’s coordinate system from a searchable list that gives the grounds for each (declared by the approved database, your earlier mapping or import, a similar mapping of yours, or a guess from the values that you must confirm with Use this system), then depth unit, MD/TVD and depth reference. Show where the wells would be draws at most 2,000 positions on a bundled land outline for display only. SQL NULL is missing; an additional marker is optional. Additional columns can be retained as metadata. One row represents one well; this is a well collection, not a new asset per row.
4. Check sample rows while you map, then Check all rows, then Save version and review source. A check lists every problem beside the field it concerns, with how many rows have it and example values, and a summary of the rows checked stays in view; Save is offered only after a check of all rows with no problems. Checks report duplicate/missing IDs, missing names/coordinates, invalid numeric values, unsupported choices and out-of-range WGS84 longitude/latitude; positions outside the area the chosen coordinate reference is meant for are a warning, not a block. It does not prove geological or survey correctness. Saving is project-admin-only and optimistic-concurrency checked. The mapping is reused by this connection/table/upstream account across projects; existing selections must review a changed meaning.
5. Review declarations, explicitly acknowledge unknown context and choose Follow or Pin. Adding does not transfer source authority or write upstream. Existing selections open for review rather than duplicate addition.
6. Data → Wells / Well logs / Surfaces filters the unified catalogue. Filter by source and inspect in the right panel; SQL well rows and supported OSDU log samples have a ten-row table. Full metadata and provenance remain available in collapsed details. Project sources holds pause/resume, review, export and detach controls.

Meaning and loss limits

SQL supports EPSG:4326 (X longitude, Y latitude), EPSG:32631, EPSG:28992 and EPSG:23031 (ED50 / UTM zone 31N). Depth units are m or international ft; depth type MD or TVD; reference Unknown, GL, KB or MSL. These labels do not supply a surveyed elevation or a precise vertical datum. No coordinate, unit or depth conversion occurs. Unknown reference stays unknown. Original SQL scalar values are retained in source_rows; decimal and date/time values serialize as strings. The normalized preview uses floating-point coordinates/depth, so it is not a decimal-exact replacement for source values.

SQL reads at most 1,000 rows / 4 MiB, in a read-only transaction with a five-second query bound. Use an administrator-approved filtered view for larger datasets. This is whole-snapshot reconciliation, not change-data capture. Source identity is namespace plus configured logical table key; sorted well identity and mapping determine the content revision. No history is invented: a pinned SQL/file snapshot cannot be reread after upstream replacement. Export snapshots you need to keep.

Mapping and recovery

Mappings have immutable numbered versions and a schema digest. Schema drift, duplicate identities or changed scientific meaning retain the last accepted reference and require review. Open the SQL source again, inspect the new schema, validate/save a new version, then accept a fresh preview. A stale save is rejected: reload to see the competing version. History is visible in the mapping panel. A failed access check is not an empty database or a confirmed deletion. Restore credentials/access, then resume/check the source. Detach affects only the project selection.

OSDU known kinds use deployment-approved versioned readers. They do not require SQL-style column mapping. Metadata and custom extension fields remain in original exports, but unqualified extensions are not interpreted as scientific properties. A new reader/profile needs connector qualification; arbitrary overrides are intentionally not accepted. The schema menu is an approved configured subset, not a complete list of OSDU standard schemas.

Edit a well or LAS curve

Experimental, deployment-enabled pilot, checked 23 September 2026. A source administrator must enable the connector and grant your account project administration. SQL writes require an additional explicit upstream write grant.

1. Open Data → Wells. Choose a source in Source / connection. Well records shows individual wells; Datasets shows the collections supplying them. Category counts count datasets, not individual wells. Coordinates and depths retain each dataset’s declared CRS, units and reference.
2. Open a well’s edit drawer and choose Create edit draft. Change a supported field, then Save draft. This does not change the upstream database.
3. Choose Review changes. Check the old/new values and declared units. The optional numeric offset adds a value in the existing unit to non-missing samples; it does not transform a datum or convert a unit.
4. Choose Download to download a ZIP containing result.json and manifest.json, leaving the database unchanged. SQL output is a normalized well collection with context and provenance, not a complete database backup.
5. Where explicitly enabled, choose Original SQL source — update reviewed cells and publish. The approved base table is updated transactionally. Source refresh follows publication. Keep the receipt; use a fresh reviewed draft to undo values.
6. For a connected LAS 2.0 file, open Data → Well logs, inspect it and choose Edit in a draft. Edit curve samples, review, and publish a portable result. The ZIP contains result.las and manifest.json. Use another LAS reader to inspect the output independently.

The first LAS depth/index curve, identity, CRS, units and depth reference are protected. Blank values mean missing. Edited LAS is written and read back to verify curve names, units, all numeric values and missing samples. Text formatting and header serialization can change. A no-change export preserves original bytes. Original source export remains available separately from edited output.

The pilot permits 1,000 wells, 1,000 changed cells per draft, and LAS files of at most 64 curves/100,000 samples. It retains up to 100 draft/result records per account and project. It does not support row creation/deletion, SQL views/joins, arbitrary SQL scripts, OSDU writeback or SEG-Y editing. Those require separate writer qualification. SQL numeric editing uses finite floating-point values, not arbitrary-precision decimals.

Recover from changes or access failures

A newer source revision blocks publication and retains your draft. Refresh the source, inspect the differences, and create a fresh draft; automatic rebasing is not offered. If SQL publication has an uncertain outcome, inspect the actual database values first. That publication cannot be automatically retried.

An expired source credential is an access failure, not an empty asset list. Renew the connection through your deployment administrator and retry. The last accepted revision and latest access health are separate. A source permission failure does not delete your downloaded files. Published portable results can be downloaded again by their owner while they retain project administration.

For OSDU, expand Mapping in the asset inspector. This is a read-only report of the qualified reader, source fields and unresolved context. It does not imply that every OSDU extension has been interpreted or that an inverse writer is available.

Locked sources and newer versions

A source added from the Workspace is set to Keeps this version until you change it and never moves by itself. The project checks its sources when you open it and when you choose Check for updates in the Updates list at the top of the page; when a source has a newer version, the list and the project source list say A newer version of this source was found and the project keeps using the version it has. Inbox notices for newer source versions are no longer shown in the Workspace; the Updates list replaces them. A project administrator chooses Get (or Get latest in Project sources) to move to that exact version. A source a script set up to move by itself is listed under Sources that move by themselves, where an administrator can choose Hold at this version. If the source changed again, or someone else changed the selection since you looked, nothing moves and you are asked to reload. Some sources (SQL tables) serve only their current version: after a change the locked version is stated as no longer available from the source, while shared versions you captured keep their exact copies. See Connector capabilities for what each route supports.