Knowledge Catalog use cases

Explore hands-on tutorials and architectural guides across Knowledge Catalog (formerly Dataplex Universal Catalog). Learn how to ingest and enrich metadata, establish data governance, track comprehensive lineage, and ground AI agents with enterprise-ready data context.
Search & retrieval Code & API
Build an agent to discover data

Run complex, natural language queries on enterprise data assets, using a discovery agent that makes Knowledge Catalog API calls (Python).

Enrichment Code & API
Build an agent to enrich metadata

Generate AI-powered overviews for your data assets at scale, using an enrichment agent that makes Knowledge Catalog API calls (Python).

Reference architecture Search & retrieval
Implement agentic analytics workflows for distributed data

Architect cross-cloud analytics workflows across distributed data stores using AI agents and Knowledge Catalog as the context graph.

Enrichment Console
Establish foundational data context

Attach structured, schema-driven metadata (aspects) and business definitions (glossaries) to your data assets (entries) using the Google Cloud console.

Data governance Search & retrieval Console
Enable policy-compliant lakehouse access with Knowledge Catalog

Create Apache Iceberg tables, enforce centralized data policies for column-level security, define security policies, and visualize automated data lineage.

Enrichment Console
Use discovery scan for structured data

Automatically ingest metadata from Google services like BigQuery.

Aggregation Console Code & API
Manage entries and ingest custom sources

Index metadata from custom data sources using open APIs.

Enrichment Code & API
Automatically profile data and ensure quality

Through Gemini CLI, use natural language queries to profile data and generate quality rules, then deploy data quality rules as automated scans.

Search & retrieval Console
Use Gemini CLI to test data context

Verify that Knowledge Catalog can distinguish between source data and temporary derivatives, using natural language queries to Gemini CLI.

Data governance Data lineage Console
Analyze impact of data changes

Identify how data transformations affect downstream resources, data integrity, and workflows.

Data governance Data lineage Console
Analyze causes of a PII leak

Trace the flow of sensitive data back to the process that moves it from a trusted to an untrusted location.

Data governance Data lineage Console
Optimize storage costs

Reduce storage costs by identifying assets that are not actively used as sources for other processes.

Search & retrieval Code & API
Retrieve context for data assets

Retrieve pre-formatted, LLM-ready context for data assets using a single API request.