Computed Files API

Programmatic access to Computed Files uses the generic Container endpoints on the Qualytics REST API. The requests below cover creation, update, deletion, validation, and history. Requests share the same base URL and Bearer token authentication as the rest of the platform API.

• Base URL. Your deployment's platform host (for example, https://<your-tenant>.qualytics.io/api).
• Auth. Bearer token in the Authorization header. See Access Tokens to create one.

Payload Shape

The Computed File is a specialization of the generic Container payload. Common fields:

Create

Endpoint: POST /containers

Permission: Editor team permission on the datastore, or Author creating a Computed File they will own.

curl -X POST "https://<your-tenant>.qualytics.io/api/containers" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QUALYTICS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "container_type": "computed_file",
    "datastore_id": 21,
    "source_container_id": 108,
    "name": "orders_placed_2026",
    "select_clause": "customer_id, order_id, total",
    "where_clause": "status = '\''placed'\'' AND year = 2026",
    "description": "Orders in the placed status for the current year.",
    "owner_id": 42
  }'

Returns the created Container object with its assigned id. Qualytics runs a basic profile that samples up to 1000 records per partition immediately after save; a full asynchronous profile follows.

Update

Endpoint: PUT /containers/{id}

Permission: Editor team permission on the datastore, or Author owner of the Computed File.

curl -X PUT "https://<your-tenant>.qualytics.io/api/containers/108" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QUALYTICS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "container_type": "computed_file",
    "name": "orders_placed_2026",
    "select_clause": "customer_id, order_id, total, region",
    "where_clause": "status = '\''placed'\'' AND year = 2026",
    "owner_id": 42
  }'

source_container_id and datastore_id cannot be changed after creation. The Edit modal in the UI also hides the Name field, but the API accepts a new name on Update and will rename the container. Changing owner_id (reassigning ownership) requires the Editor team permission; Authors can edit Computed Files they own but cannot reassign them.

If the new clauses drop a field that has attached quality checks or anomalies, the update returns 409 Conflict with a dropped_fields payload. Add force_drop_fields: true to the body to save anyway; the affected fields are marked as missing while their checks and anomalies are preserved.

When the update changes a clause (select_clause, where_clause, group_by_clause, or lateral_views), Qualytics re-profiles the Computed File immediately after save: a synchronous slim profile refreshes field statistics right away, and a full asynchronous profile follows. Metadata-only updates (Description, Owner, Additional Metadata) skip both profiles.

Delete

Endpoint: DELETE /containers/{id}

Permission: Editor team permission on the datastore, or Author owner of the Computed File.

curl -X DELETE "https://<your-tenant>.qualytics.io/api/containers/108" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QUALYTICS_TOKEN"

Returns 204 No Content on success. The container, its quality checks, anomalies, profile history, and scan history are removed. The delete is blocked with 409 Conflict when quality checks in other containers reference this Computed File via ref_container_id. The rule types that can trigger the block are existsIn, notExistsIn, dataDiff, aggregationComparison, and isReplicaOf (sunsetting; use dataDiff for new checks). Delete or repoint those checks first.

Validate a Definition Before Save

Endpoint: POST /containers/validate

Permission: Editor team permission on the datastore, or Author validating a Computed File they will own.

Validates the Spark SQL against a zero-row view of the source without persisting anything. The request body carries the same payload you would send to Create or Update, wrapped in a container object:

curl -X POST "https://<your-tenant>.qualytics.io/api/containers/validate" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QUALYTICS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "container": {
      "container_type": "computed_file",
      "datastore_id": 21,
      "source_container_id": 108,
      "name": "orders_placed_2026",
      "select_clause": "customer_id, order_id, total",
      "where_clause": "status = '\''placed'\''"
    }
  }'

Returns 204 No Content on success. On failure, the response body carries a detail field with the underlying error message. The endpoint accepts a timeout_seconds query parameter (default 150, minimum 30, maximum 300); requests that exceed the window return 408 Request Timeout.

History

Endpoint: GET /containers/{id}/history

Permission: Reporter team permission on the datastore or above.

curl -X GET "https://<your-tenant>.qualytics.io/api/containers/108/history" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QUALYTICS_TOKEN"

Returns the version history for the container, including the Spark SQL clauses and metadata as they were at each revision. Use this to review previous versions of the definition or attribute changes to specific users.

Read

Endpoint: GET /containers/{id} for a single container, GET /containers?container_type=computed_file&datastore={id} to list Computed Files inside a datastore.

Permission: Reporter team permission on the datastore or above.

Error Responses