The observation spec
Everything you set in the observation editor — the target, the data requests, and the observation-wide configuration — adds up to a single, self-contained description of what to observe and how. Skynet calls that description the observation spec.
You don't have to think about the spec to use the editor. But knowing it's there explains how a few things work, so it's worth a short tour.
One description, built as you go
As you move through the editor's steps, you're filling in one spec. The editor holds it for you and builds your observation from it when you finish — there's no separate "draft" saved on the server, and no "template" or "instance" version of an observation to keep straight. There's just the spec you build and the observation you create from it.
A spec is deliberately portable: it describes the science (target, requests, settings) without naming an owner, a funding grant, or any IDs. That's what lets the same spec be reused in different places.
What that lets you do
- Duplicate an observation. Open any observation and choose Resubmit — Skynet reads that observation's spec and drops you into a fresh editor session pre-filled with the same setup. Tweak the target or settings and create a new observation, without rebuilding it from scratch.
- Export a spec. From an observation's page, Export downloads its spec as a portable file you can keep, version, or hand to a colleague so they can recreate the exact same observation.
- Save as draft. Not ready to commit? Save as draft keeps your in-progress spec so you can reopen it from the editor hub and finish later. It saves the spec, not an observation — nothing is scheduled, nothing is charged, and it won't appear in your observation list. (This is different from the old system, where a "draft" was a half-finished observation stored on the server; today a draft is just your saved work in the editor.) The editor also keeps your current work as you go, so a reload won't lose it.
- Start from a ready-made spec. The project catalog and alert subscriptions both carry pre-built specs — the catalog's pre-configured observations and an alert's response observation are the same portable description, filled in for you.
Editing after you create the observation
Because the editor works from the spec, editing an existing observation is the same flow as building a new one: the editor loads the observation's current spec, you change what you need, and your changes are saved back onto the live observation. See Review & create → After you create it.