Introduction
The Data Catalog page is your primary interface for discovering, documenting, and monitoring data assets. From here, you can search across platforms, review asset auto-generated descriptions created by Foundational’s AI, track costs and usage, and explore lineage—all in a unified view.
The Data Catalog page also provides easy access to the data lineage for a more detailed understanding of asset relationships and impacts.
How it works
The Data Catalog interface has two main views: an asset summary list and search screen and an asset details screen.
Asset search
The screen has a search bar with filters to find assets by keyword, asset type, platform, database, schema, certification status, and more. Recent searches and frequently accessed assets appear in the sidebar for quick navigation.
Asset details
Asset details has three panels:
Selection (left): Documentation, Usage, Costs, Data Quality, Data Definitions.
Content (center): Displays content related to the active section in the Selection panel.
Selection (left panel) | Description |
Documentation | Displays asset documentation (entered by users or generated by Foundational’s AI when there are documentation gaps). |
Usage | Tracks query frequency, access patterns, and user activity over time. Historical data shows trends, baselines, and anomalies—helping you identify unused assets and unexpected loads. |
Costs | Attributes costs to specific assets based on query execution data and cost data from warehouse and BI connectors. Costs appear at the asset level, letting you identify expensive assets. |
Data Quality | Lists critical issues/warnings and pending issues in pull requests. This helps with monitoring and incident prevention. |
Data Definition | Provides a link to the source platform. Click the link to open the source platform; relevant source snippets display immediately. |
Inspector panel (right): The panel provides details on upstream/downstream assets (e.g., BI dashboards) and asset columns (when relevant). There’s also a quick link to display the lineage graph on the Lineage page. When you click an item, the data catalog displays its content.
Data Catalog use cases
Use the Data Catalog to perform these actions. To see the steps, go to Actions.
Data Catalog UI
To get started, why not Take the tour to get a very quick review of the Data Catalog UI. From the menu panel, click the Support icon and go to Tasks > Data Catalog.
Asset search
This is the first view when you open the Data Catalog page. Use the search and filter options to select your asset.
Asset details
The asset details view has three panels:
Information selection panel (left): Documentation, Usage, Costs, Data Quality, Data Definitions
Asset information (center): Contents from the left panel
Inspector panel (right): Information about lineage and columns (if the asset has columns).
① Search bar
② Asset information type selected
③ Asset detail related to the selection in the left panel
④ Shows upstream and downstream lineage and a link to view the asset lineage graph. Click an asset to display the asset’s page in the catalog
⑤ Column count, search columns, and list of columns. Click a column to display the column’s page in the data catalog
Actions
Discover data assets
Search and filter results by platform, database, schema, or keywords
Search and filter results by platform, database, schema, or keywords
At the top of the page, enter keywords or a full path in the search bar.
To narrow results, use the filter dropdowns below the search bar to filter by asset type, platform, database, schema, or certification.
You can multi-select search results.
To clear all filters, click Reset All.
Search columns
Search columns
In the Data Catalog or Lineage page, select the asset to search.
In the Data Catalog, use the Column dropdown in the Inspector panel (right).
On the Lineage page, hover over the asset on the graph and use the Search bar.
Open an asset directly in its source platform
Open an asset directly in its source platform
Open the Data Catalog and select an asset.
From the left panel, select Data Definitions.
From the center panel, click the platform name, then View this entity in source platform.
The asset opens in its native platform interface. For code, the code snippet displays immediately.
Understand data context
Review and verify asset documentation
Review and verify asset documentation
Select an asset.
Click Documentation:
In Data Catalog: Documentation appears in the left sidebar
From other pages: Click the Info icon on the asset, then click Documentation in the Inspector panel
Review the documentation sections. Automatic documentation generated by Foundational’s AI displays the label "Generated by Foundational AI."
To edit any section, click the Edit icon.
Changes are saved automatically and preserved even when other metadata updates.
Identify asset owners
Identify asset owners
Select an asset.
Click Documentation.
In Data Catalog: Documentation appears in the left sidebar
From other pages: Click the Info icon on the asset, then click Documentation in the Inspector panel
Locate the Owners section.
To add an owner, click the + icon.
In the search field, type the person's name to find them.
To remove an owner, click the Bin icon next to their name.
Identify trusted data assets
Identify trusted data assets
Select an asset to view.
In the left sidebar, click Documentation.
Click the Certification dropdown to view the current status or add a certification.
You can also use filter assets by their certification status in the Data Catalog filter.
Track asset usage
Track asset usage
Select an asset and open its details:
In the Data Catalog: Select the asset from the list
From other pages: Hover over an asset on the graph canvas and click the Info icon
Click Usage to see row counts and usage over time.
Click Show Historical Charts to see cost metrics over time.
You can view from the Data Catalog or from another page via the Inspector panel.
Track asset storage
Track asset storage
You can view from the Data Catalog or from another page via the Inspector panel.
Select an asset and open its details:
In the Data Catalog: Select the asset from the list
From other pages: Hover over an asset in the graph and click the Info icon
Click Costs to see row counts and usage over time.
Click Show Historical Charts to see cost metrics over time.
Identify frequently accessed vs. unused assets
Identify frequently accessed vs. unused assets
Use the usage metrics in the Inspector panel to understand how frequently the asset is queried and by whom.
Select an asset and open its details:
In the Data Catalog: Select the asset from the list.
From other pages: Hover over an asset on the graph canvas and click the Info icon.
Click the Usage tab.
Review usage metrics:
Usage Data: Total rows, Total Storage, Last Query
Monthly Usage: Reads vs. Writes
Table Access Events Over Time: Chart showing access frequency
Row Count Over Time: Chart showing table size changes
View past changes to understand their impact
View past changes to understand their impact
On the Impact Analysis page, click the icon next to the pull request ID to open the Pull Requests panel.
Click the Merged tab to view recently merged pull requests and select a pull request.
The lineage graph displays the assets that were modified by the change.
Review the Downstream Impact section to see which assets were affected after the change merged.
Use this analysis to understand the impact of past changes and identify patterns that may help with future reviews.
Prevent data quality issues
Review critical issues and warnings
Review critical issues and warnings
Open the Data Catalog page and select an asset to review.
From the left sidebar, click Data Quality.
Review the Data Quality Monitoring card showing critical issues and warning counts by category.