Create a Freshness Check¶

Step-by-step tutorial for creating a Freshness check on a table or file. For what each property means and how the rule evaluates the data, see the How It Works page.

Permission Required

You need the Author team permission on the datastore to create an Active check, or Drafter to create it as a Draft. See the Permissions page for the full matrix.

Show me how

The app can walk you through this. Click Show me how in the check creation form's header, or press H while it is open, and the Add a Check walkthrough highlights each step while you fill in the real form.

Field reference¶

The Authored Check Details form is organized in the sections below. Fill them in as you follow the Steps.

Target¶

Field	Type	Description
Associate with a Check Template	Toggle	Links the check to a Check Template. Enabling it replaces the Rule Type dropdown with a Template dropdown where you pick an existing template, which then controls the check's properties. When off, you configure everything on this form.
Rule Type	Option	The validation logic to apply. Select Freshness for this check. Shown only while Associate with a Check Template is off.
Table / File	Option	The table or file whose last modification time is checked. Locked after the check is saved.

Create the table or file from the form

If the table or file you need does not exist yet, click Add Computed Table next to the Table / File field while it is empty (Add Computed File on a file-based datastore). Once saved, the new one is selected and pinned to the top of the list with a icon until you close the form. The button appears only with the Author or Editor team permission on the datastore, and not when you add a check from Explore.

Properties¶

Field	Required	Type	Description
Unit		Option	The unit the Maximum Age is entered in: Millis, Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, or Weeks. Starts on Hours.
Maximum Age		Number	The longest time allowed since the container's last modification, in the chosen unit. Decimals are accepted (`1.5` Days).

Ownership¶

Field	Required	Type	Description
Owner		Option	The user responsible for the check. Already filled in with the check creator.
Anomaly Assignee		Option	The user automatically assigned to anomalies the check produces.

Metadata¶

Field	Type	Description
Description	Text	A plain-language description of what the check enforces. Supports Markdown formatting: click the field to open the Markdown editor. Click the Apply suggested description button for a suggestion based on the rule type.
Tags	Option	Tags applied to the check for filtering and organization. Anomalies the check produces inherit them, which lets a Flow route them.
Additional Metadata	Key-value	Custom key-value pairs, typically links to catalog entries, tickets, or governance records.

No Filter Clause, Custom Anomaly Description, or Pass Criteria section

Freshness reads the container's last modification time rather than its rows, and there is no field to select, so the form shows no Filter Clause input, no Custom Anomaly Description toggle, and no Coverage slider.

Let AgentQ fill in the form

When AgentQ is configured for your deployment, the Check Assistant panel in the check form can author the check for you: describe the rule in plain language (for example, "alert me when the customers table has not changed in 6 hours") and it proposes a configuration you can apply to the form. Review the filled-in fields, then Validate and Save as usual.

Steps¶

Step 1: Select the source datastore from the left menu, then click the Checks tab.

Step 2: Click Add in the top-right corner and select Check from the dropdown. The Authored Check Details form opens.

Step 3: Select Freshness in the Rule Type dropdown.

Step 4: Fill in the required fields and any optional ones you need. Every field is described in the Field reference above.

Step 5: Click Validate to test the configuration without saving it. A success message confirms the rule can run. If validation fails, see Troubleshooting. The Validate button needs the Author team permission, so it does not appear for a Drafter, who can skip this step.

Step 6: Click Save. A success message confirms that the check was created. With the Drafter permission, the button reads Save as Draft and creates the check as a Draft.

The check runs on the next Scan

Saving the check does not evaluate it. It is asserted the next time a Scan with the Metadata category runs on the container. If the container is a view or a computed container, or a table outside Snowflake, BigQuery, and Databricks, make sure it has a Last Modified incremental field, or the check is never asserted. See Where the Last Modification Time Comes From.