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Alation

Alation is a data intelligence platform that helps organizations harness the power of their data by providing a centralized platform for data cataloging, governance, and collaboration. By enabling users to easily search, understand, and trust their data, Alation empowers organizations to make data-driven decisions with confidence. Through advanced analytics and AI capabilities, Alation helps organizations uncover insights, improve data quality, and drive innovation.

4 APIs 1 Capabilities 8 Features
Data CatalogData GovernanceData IntelligenceData LineageData QualityBusiness GlossaryMetadata ManagementAI

APIs

Alation Data Catalog API

REST API for managing data sources, schemas, tables, columns, and custom field values in the Alation data catalog. Supports metadata retrieval and batch updates for catalog obje...

Alation Lineage API

REST API for managing data lineage and dataflow objects in Alation. Supports creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting lineage paths between catalog objects.

Alation Governance API

REST API for data governance workflows in Alation, including business glossary management, governance policy enforcement, and data quality rules and scoring.

Alation Search API

REST API for searching and discovering catalog assets in Alation. Supports full-text search, AI-powered aggregated context retrieval, and article browsing.

Capabilities

Alation Data Intelligence

Workflow capability for data intelligence operations combining catalog search, lineage tracking, governance, and metadata management in the Alation platform. Enables data stewar...

Run with Naftiko

Features

Data Catalog

Centralized catalog for data sources, schemas, tables, and columns with rich metadata, descriptions, and custom fields for discoverability.

Data Lineage

End-to-end data lineage tracking via dataflow objects showing how data moves between sources, transformations, and targets.

Business Glossary

Collaborative business glossary for defining standardized terms, abbreviations, and synonyms with stewardship assignments.

Data Quality

Comprehensive data quality rules covering accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, uniqueness, validity, and custom dimensions.

Governance Policies

Governance policy management for data protection, retention, access control, and quality enforcement across the enterprise.

AI-Powered Search

Full-text and semantic search powered by AI for discovering trusted data assets, with aggregated context for LLM consumption.

Aggregated Context API

Specialized API for AI applications to retrieve structured catalog context for natural language queries, enabling RAG and AI agent workflows.

Custom Fields

Extensible metadata framework with custom fields for any catalog object type, supporting batch updates via the REST API.

Use Cases

Enterprise Data Discovery

Enable data teams to search and find trusted data assets across all data sources using metadata-enriched catalog browsing and search.

Data Governance Compliance

Enforce data governance policies, maintain business glossaries, and track stewardship for regulatory compliance and data accountability.

AI Data Context

Power AI applications with structured catalog context from the aggregated context API, enabling accurate data-aware LLM responses.

Data Lineage Auditing

Track data flows between systems for compliance auditing, impact analysis, and root cause investigation of data quality issues.

Data Quality Management

Define and score data quality rules across catalog objects for continuous quality monitoring and improvement workflows.

Integrations

Snowflake

Native Snowflake integration for automatic metadata harvesting and query log analysis to build comprehensive data lineage.

dbt

dbt integration for capturing transformation lineage and linking dbt models to physical tables in the Alation catalog.

Tableau

BI metadata integration for cataloging Tableau reports and dashboards with lineage to underlying data sources.

Python SDK

Official Python SDK and AI Agent SDK for programmatic access to Alation catalog APIs and AI agent development.

Apache Atlas

Integration with Apache Atlas for federated metadata management across heterogeneous data platforms.

Semantic Vocabularies

Alation Alation Context

0 classes · 60 properties

JSON-LD

API Governance Rules

Alation API Rules

26 rules · 14 errors 10 warnings 2 info

SPECTRAL

Resources

🔗
Website
Website
🔗
Documentation
Documentation
🚀
GettingStarted
GettingStarted
👥
GitHubOrganization
GitHubOrganization
🔗
SpectralRules
SpectralRules
🔗
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
🔗
JSONLD
JSONLD
🔗
Alation Data Catalog Shared Capability
NaftikoCapability
🔗
Alation Lineage Shared Capability
NaftikoCapability
🔗
Alation Governance Shared Capability
NaftikoCapability
🔗
Alation Search Shared Capability
NaftikoCapability
🔗
Data Intelligence Workflow
NaftikoCapability

Sources

Raw ↑ 
aid: alation
url: >-
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/alation/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: Alation
tags:
  - Data Catalog
  - Data Governance
  - Data Intelligence
  - Data Lineage
  - Data Quality
  - Business Glossary
  - Metadata Management
  - AI
type: Index
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
description: >-
  Alation is a data intelligence platform that helps organizations harness the
  power of their data by providing a centralized platform for data cataloging,
  governance, and collaboration. By enabling users to easily search, understand,
  and trust their data, Alation empowers organizations to make data-driven
  decisions with confidence. Through advanced analytics and AI capabilities,
  Alation helps organizations uncover insights, improve data quality, and drive
  innovation.
created: '2025-01-08'
modified: '2026-04-19'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
  - aid: alation:data-catalog-api
    name: Alation Data Catalog API
    tags:
      - Data Catalog
      - Metadata
      - Data Sources
      - Schemas
      - Tables
      - Columns
    properties:
      - url: https://developer.alation.com
        type: Documentation
      - url: openapi/alation-data-catalog-openapi.yaml
        type: OpenAPI
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-data-catalog-data-source-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-data-catalog-schema-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-data-catalog-table-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-data-catalog-column-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-data-catalog-custom-field-value-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-data-catalog-data-source-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-data-catalog-schema-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-data-catalog-table-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-data-catalog-column-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-data-catalog-custom-field-value-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: examples/alation-alation-data-catalog-data-source-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-data-catalog-schema-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-data-catalog-table-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-data-catalog-column-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-data-catalog-custom-field-value-example.json
        type: Example
    humanURL: https://developer.alation.com
    baseURL: https://your-instance.alation.com/integration/v2
    description: >-
      REST API for managing data sources, schemas, tables, columns, and custom
      field values in the Alation data catalog. Supports metadata retrieval
      and batch updates for catalog objects.

  - aid: alation:lineage-api
    name: Alation Lineage API
    tags:
      - Data Lineage
      - Dataflow
      - Metadata
    properties:
      - url: https://developer.alation.com
        type: Documentation
      - url: openapi/alation-lineage-openapi.yaml
        type: OpenAPI
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-lineage-dataflow-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-lineage-lineage-graph-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-lineage-dataflow-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-lineage-lineage-graph-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: examples/alation-alation-lineage-dataflow-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-lineage-lineage-graph-example.json
        type: Example
    humanURL: https://developer.alation.com/dev/reference/lineage-overview
    baseURL: https://your-instance.alation.com/api/v1
    description: >-
      REST API for managing data lineage and dataflow objects in Alation.
      Supports creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting lineage paths
      between catalog objects.

  - aid: alation:governance-api
    name: Alation Governance API
    tags:
      - Data Governance
      - Business Glossary
      - Data Quality
      - Policies
    properties:
      - url: https://developer.alation.com
        type: Documentation
      - url: openapi/alation-governance-openapi.yaml
        type: OpenAPI
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-governance-glossary-term-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-governance-policy-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-governance-data-quality-rule-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-governance-data-quality-score-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-governance-glossary-term-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-governance-policy-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-governance-data-quality-rule-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-governance-data-quality-score-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: examples/alation-alation-governance-glossary-term-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-governance-policy-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-governance-data-quality-rule-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-governance-data-quality-score-example.json
        type: Example
    humanURL: https://developer.alation.com
    baseURL: https://your-instance.alation.com/integration/v2
    description: >-
      REST API for data governance workflows in Alation, including business
      glossary management, governance policy enforcement, and data quality
      rules and scoring.

  - aid: alation:search-api
    name: Alation Search API
    tags:
      - Search
      - Data Discovery
      - AI
      - Catalog
    properties:
      - url: https://developer.alation.com
        type: Documentation
      - url: openapi/alation-search-openapi.yaml
        type: OpenAPI
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-search-search-result-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-search-search-results-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-search-context-request-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-schema/alation-alation-search-article-schema.json
        type: JSONSchema
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-search-search-result-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-search-search-results-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-search-context-request-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: json-structure/alation-alation-search-article-structure.json
        type: JSONStructure
      - url: examples/alation-alation-search-search-result-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-search-search-results-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-search-context-request-example.json
        type: Example
      - url: examples/alation-alation-search-article-example.json
        type: Example
    humanURL: https://developer.alation.com
    baseURL: https://your-instance.alation.com/integration/v2
    description: >-
      REST API for searching and discovering catalog assets in Alation.
      Supports full-text search, AI-powered aggregated context retrieval,
      and article browsing.

common:
  - url: https://alation.com
    type: Website
  - url: https://developer.alation.com
    type: Documentation
  - url: https://developer.alation.com/dev/docs/about-the-alation-apis
    type: GettingStarted
  - url: https://github.com/Alation
    type: GitHubOrganization
  - url: rules/alation-spectral-rules.yml
    type: SpectralRules
  - url: vocabulary/alation-vocabulary.yaml
    type: Vocabulary
  - url: json-ld/alation-alation-context.jsonld
    type: JSONLD
  - url: capabilities/shared/data-catalog-api.yaml
    type: NaftikoCapability
    title: Alation Data Catalog Shared Capability
  - url: capabilities/shared/lineage-api.yaml
    type: NaftikoCapability
    title: Alation Lineage Shared Capability
  - url: capabilities/shared/governance-api.yaml
    type: NaftikoCapability
    title: Alation Governance Shared Capability
  - url: capabilities/shared/search-api.yaml
    type: NaftikoCapability
    title: Alation Search Shared Capability
  - url: capabilities/data-intelligence.yaml
    type: NaftikoCapability
    title: Data Intelligence Workflow
  - type: Features
    data:
      - name: Data Catalog
        description: >-
          Centralized catalog for data sources, schemas, tables, and columns
          with rich metadata, descriptions, and custom fields for discoverability.
      - name: Data Lineage
        description: >-
          End-to-end data lineage tracking via dataflow objects showing how
          data moves between sources, transformations, and targets.
      - name: Business Glossary
        description: >-
          Collaborative business glossary for defining standardized terms,
          abbreviations, and synonyms with stewardship assignments.
      - name: Data Quality
        description: >-
          Comprehensive data quality rules covering accuracy, completeness,
          consistency, timeliness, uniqueness, validity, and custom dimensions.
      - name: Governance Policies
        description: >-
          Governance policy management for data protection, retention,
          access control, and quality enforcement across the enterprise.
      - name: AI-Powered Search
        description: >-
          Full-text and semantic search powered by AI for discovering trusted
          data assets, with aggregated context for LLM consumption.
      - name: Aggregated Context API
        description: >-
          Specialized API for AI applications to retrieve structured catalog
          context for natural language queries, enabling RAG and AI agent workflows.
      - name: Custom Fields
        description: >-
          Extensible metadata framework with custom fields for any catalog object
          type, supporting batch updates via the REST API.
  - type: UseCases
    data:
      - name: Enterprise Data Discovery
        description: >-
          Enable data teams to search and find trusted data assets across all
          data sources using metadata-enriched catalog browsing and search.
      - name: Data Governance Compliance
        description: >-
          Enforce data governance policies, maintain business glossaries, and
          track stewardship for regulatory compliance and data accountability.
      - name: AI Data Context
        description: >-
          Power AI applications with structured catalog context from the
          aggregated context API, enabling accurate data-aware LLM responses.
      - name: Data Lineage Auditing
        description: >-
          Track data flows between systems for compliance auditing, impact
          analysis, and root cause investigation of data quality issues.
      - name: Data Quality Management
        description: >-
          Define and score data quality rules across catalog objects for
          continuous quality monitoring and improvement workflows.
  - type: Integrations
    data:
      - name: Snowflake
        description: >-
          Native Snowflake integration for automatic metadata harvesting and
          query log analysis to build comprehensive data lineage.
      - name: dbt
        description: >-
          dbt integration for capturing transformation lineage and linking
          dbt models to physical tables in the Alation catalog.
      - name: Tableau
        description: >-
          BI metadata integration for cataloging Tableau reports and
          dashboards with lineage to underlying data sources.
      - name: Python SDK
        description: >-
          Official Python SDK and AI Agent SDK for programmatic access to
          Alation catalog APIs and AI agent development.
      - name: Apache Atlas
        description: >-
          Integration with Apache Atlas for federated metadata management
          across heterogeneous data platforms.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: [email protected]