Ingest Glossary from dbt

Collate reads table-level and column-level glossary term assignments from your dbt manifest.json file and links them to the matching assets in Collate.

Tip: The glossary terms must already exist in Collate before ingestion runs. Collate won’t create new terms automatically.

How to Assign Glossary Terms from dbt

Follow these steps to link glossary terms from dbt to your tables and columns in Collate.

Step 1: Create or Select a Glossary Term in Collate

Make sure the glossary terms you want to assign already exist in Collate before running ingestion. A glossary term is a preferred name for a concept. You can add tags, synonyms, related terms, and reference links to build a semantic graph. Collate also supports nested terms — for example, Test_Glossary.term_two.nested_term.more_nested_term. For details on creating glossary terms, see Create Glossary Terms. To view existing terms:

Navigate to Governance > Glossary.
Open the glossary and click the term under Terms column.
Navigate to the Glossary Terms tab and view the glossary terms listed there.

Step 2: Add Glossary Terms at the Table Level

Tell dbt which glossary terms apply to each table by adding their FQNs to your schema.yml. Finding a glossary term FQN: Navigate to the term in Collate (Govern > Glossary) and copy the FQN from the page URL. For example:

Test_Glossary.term_one → URL path ends in /glossary/Test_Glossary.term_one
Test_Glossary.term_two.nested_term.more_nested_term → URL path ends in /glossary/Test_Glossary.term_two.nested_term.more_nested_term

Add the FQNs as a list under model → meta → openmetadata → glossary in your schema.yml. For more details on the dbt meta field, see the dbt meta configuration reference.

models:
  - name: customers
    meta:
      openmetadata:
        glossary: [
          'Test_Glossary.term_one',
          'Test_Glossary.term_two.nested_term.more_nested_term',
        ]
    description: This table has basic information about a customer, as well as some derived facts based on a customer's orders
    columns:
      - name: customer_id
        description: This is a unique identifier for a customer
        tests:
          - unique
          - not_null

After you save and run your dbt workflow, the generated manifest.json will include the glossary FQNs under node_name → meta → openmetadata → glossary:

"model.jaffle_shop.customers": {
  "raw_sql": "sample_raw_sql",
  "compiled": true,
  "resource_type": "model",
  "depends_on": {},
  "database": "dev",
  "schema": "dbt_jaffle",
  "config": {
    "enabled": true,
    "alias": null,
    "meta": {
      "openmetadata": {
        "glossary": [
          "Test_Glossary.term_one",
          "Test_Glossary.term_two.nested_term.more_nested_term"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Add Glossary Terms at the Column Level

Assign glossary terms to individual columns by adding their FQNs under the column definition in schema.yml. Add the FQNs under columns → [column name] → meta → openmetadata → glossary:

models:
  - name: customers
    meta:
      openmetadata:
        glossary: [
          'Test_Glossary.term_one',
          'Test_Glossary.term_two.nested_term.more_nested_term',
        ]
    description: This table has basic information about a customer, as well as some derived facts based on a customer's orders
    columns:
      - name: customer_id
        description: This is a unique identifier for a customer
        meta:
          openmetadata:
            glossary: [
              'Test_Glossary.term_two.nested_term'
            ]
        tests:
          - unique
          - not_null

After you save and run your dbt workflow, the generated manifest.json will include the column-level FQNs under node_name → columns → [column name] → meta → openmetadata → glossary:

"model.jaffle_shop.customers": {
  "raw_sql": "sample_raw_sql",
  "compiled": true,
  "resource_type": "model",
  "depends_on": {},
  "database": "dev",
  "schema": "dbt_jaffle",
  "columns": {
    "customer_id": {
      "name": "customer_id",
      "description": "This is a unique identifier for a customer",
      "meta": {
        "openmetadata": {
          "glossary": [
            "Test_Glossary.term_two.nested_term"
          ]
        }
      },
      "data_type": null,
      "constraints": [],
      "quote": null,
      "tags": []
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Verify

Confirm the glossary terms appear on the table and column pages after ingestion completes.

Glossary terms on table and column in Collate

Connectors

Connectors

Ingest Glossary from dbt

Ingest Glossary from dbt

How to Assign Glossary Terms from dbt

Step 1: Create or Select a Glossary Term in Collate

Step 2: Add Glossary Terms at the Table Level

Step 3: Add Glossary Terms at the Column Level

Step 4: Verify

​Ingest Glossary from dbt

​How to Assign Glossary Terms from dbt

​Step 1: Create or Select a Glossary Term in Collate

​Step 2: Add Glossary Terms at the Table Level

​Step 3: Add Glossary Terms at the Column Level

​Step 4: Verify

Ingest Glossary from dbt

How to Assign Glossary Terms from dbt

Step 1: Create or Select a Glossary Term in Collate

Step 2: Add Glossary Terms at the Table Level

Step 3: Add Glossary Terms at the Column Level

Step 4: Verify