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How to download data from XNAT

Browser Data Retrieval

On any project, subject, or experiment page you can use the Download > Download Images button found in the Actions menu on the top right of the page (Image 5).

An example of how to access the download images page from an imaging sessionImage 5: Download Images


This will take you to the "Imaging Data Download" page where you can customise the data you want to download. The first two columns allow you to select what data will be downloaded (Image 6).

An example of how to select data to download on the Imaging Data Downloads pageImage 6: Imaging Data Download Page (Project Level)


If you access this page from the project level, you will have access to all subjects within the project, and all their experiments (Image 6). If you access it from a subject page, you will have access to all experiments for that subject. If you load it from an experiment page, you will only have access to that experiments’ data (Image 7).

An example of how to download data on the Imaging Data Downloads pageImage 7: Imaging Data Download Page (Experiment Level)


There are multiple ways you can download your data from this page, you should use either:

  • Download via Desktop Client – This requires the XNAT Desktop Client to be installed (it is best suited for Windows and Mac devices – see the install guide for details).
  • ZIP download – Your selected data will be downloaded via the browser in a .zip file.

Once you have selected the data you want, and the method you want to use to download it, you can click the Submit button to start the process (Image 7).


Alternative Download Method

On an experiment page scans can also be selected for downloading. Check the boxes to the left of the scan ID's to select what to include, and then use the Download button above them to start a .zip download (Image 8).

An example of how to download data from a session pageImage 8: Experiment page downloading


Programmatic Data Retrieval

Downloading data is also supported via the command line. We recommend the XNATpy python library for this approach. For examples of how you might do this, see the XNATpy tutorials.


For further documentation and guides relating to downloading data from XNAT, please refer to the Resources tab above.