GCS Storage | Collate Cloud Storage Integration

This page contains the setup guide and reference information for the GCS connector. Configure and schedule GCS metadata workflows from the Collate UI:

• Requirements
• Metadata Ingestion
• Troubleshooting

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Requirements

Collate needs the following permissions in GCP:

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GCS Permissions

For all the buckets to ingest, provide the following:

• storage.buckets.get
• storage.buckets.list
• storage.objects.get
• storage.objects.list

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Collate Manifest

In any other connector, extracting metadata happens automatically. In this case, Collate can extract high-level metadata from buckets, but to understand their internal structure you must provide an openmetadata.json file at the bucket root. Supported File Formats: [ "csv", "tsv", "avro", "parquet", "json", "json.gz", "json.zip" ] For more information, see Storage Connectors. Keep reading for an example on the shape of the manifest file.

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Collate Manifest

Our manifest file is defined as a JSON Schema, and can look like this:

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Global Manifest

You can also manage a single manifest file to centralize the ingestion process for any container, named openmetadata_storage_manifest.json. You can also keep local manifests openmetadata.json in each container, but if possible, we will always try to pick up the global manifest during the ingestion.

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Metadata Ingestion

To ingest metadata from GCS, you need to create a service connection. The service connects GCS with Collate. Once you create a service, Collate automatically starts ingesting metadata.

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Step 1: Add New Service

Open the Services page and start a new service.

1. Navigate to Settings > Services and select the Storage service.
2. Click Add New Service.

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Step 2: Select a Service and Connector

From the service type dropdown, select Storage Services, then click the GCS connector tile.

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Step 3: Add Service Name and Description

• Enter a unique, descriptive Service Name. Collate identifies services by their service name. Enter a name that distinguishes this deployment from other GCS services you are ingesting metadata from.
• Optional: Enter a Description for the service.

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Step 4: Configure Connection Options

Specify where ingestion runs, provide your source credentials, and verify the connection.

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Select Ingestion Runner

Select an Ingestion Runner: the runner where the ingestion pipeline will execute.

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Enter Connection Details

Enter the connection details for GCS. The right-hand panel in the UI displays inline help for each field.

• GCP Credentials: You can authenticate with your GCS instance using either GCP Credentials Path, where you specify the file path of the service account key, or GCP Credentials Values, where you pass the credential values directly from the service account key file. For more information, see Create and Delete Service Account Keys.

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Test Connection

1. Click Test Connection to verify the credentials.
2. After the test succeeds, click Save.

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Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options

In the What to Ingest step, use filter patterns to control which assets Collate ingests from your storage service. Filter rules match container names using the following match types.

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How Filter Patterns Work

• Include: Add one or more comma-separated values. Each value uses one of the following match types. Collate ingests only containers whose names match at least one rule. Leave blank to include all containers.
• Exclude: Add one or more comma-separated values. Each value uses one of the following match types. Collate skips any container whose name matches a rule. Leave blank to exclude nothing.

Rules match asset names using one of five match types:

• contains: matches any name containing the value. For example, sales matches my_sales_data and sales_2024.
• starts with: matches names beginning with the value. For example, prod_ matches prod_db and prod_schema.
• ends with: matches names ending with the value. For example, _raw matches events_raw and logs_raw.
• is exactly: matches the exact name only. For example, analytics matches only analytics.
• matches regex: matches names using a regular expression. For example, ^prod_.*_v\d+$ matches prod_events_v1.

When both Include and Exclude are set, Exclude takes priority.

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Filter Options

The Container section includes the following filter options:

• Container: Controls which top-level storage containers (S3 buckets, ADLS containers, or GCS buckets) Collate ingests from the source.

This section provides the following controls:

• Scan Mode: Choose between the following scan modes:
  • Scan all: Ingests every asset of that type the connector can access. This is the default.
  • Only specific: Enables include rules so only assets matching at least one rule are ingested.
• Exclude system toggle: Use this toggle to filter out system-reserved names defined by the connector for that asset type.
• Always exclude: Add permanent exclusion rules (shown in red). Assets matching these rules are never ingested, regardless of include rules.
• Preview: Shows a real-time summary of what will be in scope based on your current rules.
• Include rules: In Only specific mode, click + Add to define a rule. Added rules appear as chips. An asset is included if it matches any rule.

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Step 6: Create & Deploy

Click Create & Deploy to deploy the agent and start the first metadata ingestion run. Collate saves the service configuration and immediately begins pulling metadata from the source. To monitor ingestion progress or view the service you just added, go to Settings > Services and select your service.

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Configure Metadata Agent and Schedule Ingestion

The Metadata Agent extracts containers, objects, and other structural metadata from your source and keeps your Collate catalog in sync. It powers discovery, lineage, and governance across your data assets. When you click Create & Deploy, Collate automatically deploys a Metadata Agent for this service and triggers the first ingestion run. View its status and run history from the Agents tab on the service detail page. To configure the additional Metadata Agent and schedule ingestion, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings > Services and select the Storage service.
2. Select your service and click the Agents tab.
3. Click Add Agent and select Metadata from the dropdown. For some services, the dropdown is not available and clicking Add Agent takes you directly to the agent configuration page.
4. On the Configure Ingestion page, do the following and click Next.
   • Name this Ingestion: Enter a unique, recognizable name for this ingestion pipeline.
   • Filter Patterns: Apply include or exclude rules to scope which containers this agent ingests. These follow the same filter options described in Step 5.
   • Scope & Behaviour: Control how the agent handles metadata during ingestion. Toggle each option on or off based on your needs:

     Toggle	Default	Description
     Mark Deleted Containers	On	Soft-delete containers in Collate when they are removed from the source.
     Include Tags	Off	Ingest tags from the source.
     Override Metadata	Off	When on, source values overwrite existing descriptions, tags, owners, and display names in Collate. A description or display name that the source doesn’t send never replaces an existing value. If the connector supplies custom properties, the values it sends are merged over the existing ones: properties the source sends overwrite, and properties it doesn’t send are kept. When off, Collate only updates fields that have no existing value.
     Enable Debug Log	Off	Sets the ingestion log level to DEBUG. Useful for troubleshooting.

5. On the Schedule Interval page, set when the agent runs:
   • Schedule: Choose a preset interval (Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly) or enter a custom cron expression.
   • On-Demand: No automatic schedule. Trigger the agent manually when needed.
   
6. Click Add to deploy the agent.

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Troubleshooting