Assets

An asset represents a system you test, such as a vehicle, satellite or test stand. It collects that system’s datasets, runs, events and attachments across every test.

Connect the client

This guide assumes you have installed the client and setup your API keys.

from nominal.core import NominalClient

client = NominalClient.from_profile("default")

Create or find an asset

Properties identify the physical system, such as a serial number. get_or_create_asset_by_properties() returns the asset with those properties, creating it if none exists, so a script can run more than once:

asset = client.get_or_create_asset_by_properties(
    {"serial": "QC-456"},
    name="Quadcopter 456",
    description="Airborne observation platform",
    labels=["camera", "airborne"],
)

It raises ValueError if more than one asset has those properties. To always create a new asset, use create_asset().

Add data with data scopes

An asset holds each dataset under a data scope name, such as "telemetry". Use the same data scope name for the same kind of data on every asset, so workbook templates and checklists work across them.

get_or_create_dataset() returns the dataset under a data scope name, creating it if needed.

The examples upload flight.csv. To run them as written, save this sample under that name:

time,altitude,temperature,tail_number
2026-09-10T14:38:19Z,100.0,20.0,N456QC
2026-09-10T14:38:20Z,101.5,20.2,N456QC
2026-09-10T14:38:21Z,103.0,20.4,N456QC

dataset = asset.get_or_create_dataset("telemetry", name="Quadcopter 456 telemetry")
dataset.add_tabular_data("flight.csv", timestamp_column="time", timestamp_type="iso_8601")

Running the upload again adds another file to the same dataset. See Datasets for file formats and waiting for ingestion.

To attach a dataset that already exists, use add_dataset():

asset.add_dataset("ground-station", client.get_dataset("<DATASET_RID>"))

remove_data_scopes() detaches data by data scope name or by dataset. It doesn’t delete the dataset.

asset.remove_data_scopes(names=["ground-station"])

Find assets

search_assets() combines its filters with AND:

assets = client.search_assets(labels=["airborne"], properties={"serial": "QC-456"})

search_text is a fuzzy match, so results may not contain the text verbatim. Use exact_substring when they must.

To retrieve one asset, use its RID from the asset’s page in Nominal:

asset = client.get_asset("<ASSET_RID>")

Update metadata and attachments

update() replaces each field you pass and leaves the others unchanged. To add a label, merge it with the existing ones:

asset.update(labels=[*asset.labels, "new-motor-vendor"])

Attach files that describe the system across tests, such as a specification:

asset.add_attachments([client.create_attachment("spec.pdf")])

Attach files about a single test to its run instead.

Archive an asset

archive() hides the asset from views and searches without deleting its data. unarchive() restores it.

asset.archive()