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Getting Started with Lineage

Lineage lets you trace how data flows between containers and fields across your datastores, so you can understand where data quality issues start and where they spread. Every container has a Lineage tab centered on it, and every datastore has one that shows which datastores it exchanges data with and all of its containers that have lineage.

In this section you will learn how lineage works, how connections are created and managed, and how to navigate the graph. Any user with the Manager role can add or remove connections, while Member users can view the graph.

The Lineage tab for a table, with its upstream and downstream containers, the enrichment tables Qualytics wrote from it, and two Snowflake assets that are not registered in Qualytics

Tip

Lineage is delivered as an add-on. If the Lineage tab is not visible on your containers and datastores, an Admin can enable it from the Add-ons side panel.

Deep Dive

  • Introduction


    What lineage is, why it is worth keeping, and what the rest of this deep dive covers.

    Introduction

  • How It Works


    The connection model, the two levels of granularity, the rules a connection has to obey, and how to find the containers that have one.

    How It Works

  • Lineage Sources


    The four categories a connection can come from, and how each is created, updated, and removed.

    Lineage Sources

  • Reading the Graph


    Direction, nodes, assets outside Qualytics, where a connection came from, and expanding the graph.

    Reading the Graph

  • Datastore-level Lineage


    The datastore map, the lineage between two datastores, and every container of a datastore that has lineage.

    Datastore-level Lineage

  • Field-level Lineage


    Expanding field lists, field metadata (type, status, anomaly counts), and the focal field workflow.

    Field-level Lineage

  • Impact Analysis


    What a container feeds and what feeds it, ranked across a datastore and exportable as CSV.

    Impact Analysis

  • Examples


    Enrolling a warehouse, a medallion pipeline across datastores, a remediation output, and a hop only a person can record.

    Examples

  • Best Practices


    Which source to lean on, how to run collection, and how to keep a graph you can trust.

    Best Practices

  • Permissions


    The add-on gate, what each role can do, and why a deleted connection can come back.

    Permissions


How-tos

Connections

  • Add an Upstream Connection


    Record that another container or field feeds the one you are on, with the field reference for the panel.

    Add an Upstream Connection

  • Add a Downstream Connection


    Record that the container you are on feeds another one, with the field reference for the panel.

    Add a Downstream Connection

  • Delete a Connection


    Remove a connection, and what that does and does not change.

    Delete a Connection

  • Expand the Graph


    Load one more step from a node, or follow a whole side of the graph to its end.

    Expand the Graph

  • Show More Neighbors


    Draw the next batch of a container's neighbors, or pick the ones you want by name.

    Show More Neighbors

  • Focus on a Container or Field


    Dim everything that is not connected to the container or field you picked.

    Focus on a Container or Field

  • View Anomalies from the Graph


    Open the Anomalies side panel from a container or field directly on the graph.

    View Anomalies from the Graph

Datastore Lineage and Impact

  • View a Datastore's Lineage


    Open the datastore map, the lineage between two datastores, or all of a datastore's containers.

    View a Datastore's Lineage

  • Run an Impact Analysis


    List what a container feeds and what feeds it, or rank a datastore's containers, and export the list.

    Run an Impact Analysis


Reference

  • Tips & Tricks


    Every control on the canvas and map toolbars, the More options menu, and how to keep a growing graph readable.

    Tips & Tricks

  • Troubleshooting


    What to check when the tab is missing, a collection finds nothing, or a connection will not stay deleted.

    Troubleshooting

  • API


    API endpoints and examples for managing lineage connections and querying the graph programmatically.

    API

  • FAQ


    Common questions about the lineage graph, datastore lineage, impact analysis, connections, permissions, and the API.

    FAQ