New feature: lineage export to CSV

Metaplane users can now export their lineage graphs as CSVs!

Metaplane uses a combination of SQL parsing and metadata from your data stack to automatically generate column-level lineage. Our users have leveraged lineage to:

1. Visually trace upstream to find the root cause of data quality incidents
2. Determine the impacted tables, BI dashboards, and reverse ETL destinations downstream of data quality incidents
3. Proactively update stakeholders when making a change. These changes can include:

• Deprecating tables to improve data warehouse hygiene
• Making other schema changes to “raw” datasets

In cases where lineage is particularly expansive, it can be helpful to export this information to a CSV to more easily share information and coordinate with the stakeholders of downstream data assets.

That’s why Metaplane now offers the ability to export upstream and downstream lineage as a CSV, including:

• Number of Hops - “Hops” are the number of levels away from your origin table that an object is. For example, if “table_0” is included in a materialized view that is used to create “view_0”, that’d be one hop away. If “view_1” then references “view_0”, “table_0” would then be 2 hops away from “view_1”
• Types - The item’s integration and object type. For example, values here could be “Tableau Worksheet” or “Snowflake table”
• URL (if applicable) - In some cases, Metaplane will provide a link to access your BI dashboard or report directly.
• Metaplane URL - Metaplane will also list a link that takes you directly to that object in Metaplane.

How do I export my Lineage?

If you currently have a Metaplane account, you can navigate to any lineage graph and click “downstream” or “upstream” in the bottom right corner to find the Export button. The export should start immediately.

Note that your CSV export will match the filters that you have selected on the bottom bar of the lineage graph. For example, if you only select Sigma objects to be displayed in the downstream view, your CSV export will only have information about Sigma workbooks.

How do I get started with Metaplane?

If you don’t currently have a Metaplane account, there are two ways that you can get started:

1. Sign up for free here: Integrating your data stack should take about 20 minutes.‍
2. Book a workshop with our data observability experts if you’re looking to understand more about what data observability is and how Metaplane works.