OpenSearch Connector | OpenMetadata Search Integration

In this section, we provide guides and references to use the OpenSearch connector. Configure and schedule OpenSearch metadata workflow from the OpenMetadata UI:

• Requirements
• Metadata Ingestion
• Troubleshooting

​

Requirements

OpenMetadata extracts OpenSearch’s metadata by using its API. To run this ingestion, you just need a user with permissions to the OpenSearch instance.

​

Metadata Ingestion

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

​

Step 1: Add New Service

1. Navigate to Settings > Services.
2. Click Add New Service.

​

Step 2: Select a Service and Connector

From the service type dropdown, select Search Services, then click the OpenSearch connector tile.

​

Step 3: Add Service Name and Description

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

​

Step 4: Configure Connection Options

Specify your source credentials and verify the connection.

​

Enter Connection Details

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

• Host and Port: This parameter specifies the host and port of the OpenSearch instance. This should be specified as a URI string in the format http://hostname:port or https://hostname:port. For example, you might set it to https://localhost:9200.
• Verify SSL: Client SSL verification. Make sure to configure the SSL Config if enabled. Possible values:
  • validate: Validate the certificate using the public certificate (recommended).
  • ignore: Ignore the certification validation (not recommended for production).
  • no-ssl: SSL validation is not needed.
• Connection Timeout in Seconds: Connection timeout configuration for communicating with OpenSearch APIs.

Authentication

• Basic Authentication:
  • Username: Username to connect to OpenSearch required when Basic Authentication is enabled on OpenSearch.
  • Password: Password of the user account to connect with OpenSearch.
• IAM Based Authentication:
  • AWS Access Key ID and AWS Secret Access Key: When you interact with AWS, you specify your AWS security credentials to verify who you are and whether you have permission to access the resources that you are requesting. AWS uses the security credentials to authenticate and authorize your requests (docs). Access keys consist of two parts: an access key ID (for example, AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE), and a secret access key (for example, wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY). You must use both together to authenticate your requests. Find further information on how to manage your access keys.
  • AWS Region: Each AWS Region is a separate geographic area in which AWS clusters data centers (docs). As AWS can have instances in multiple regions, OpenMetadata needs to know the region the service you want to reach belongs to. The AWS Region is the only required parameter when configuring a connection. Find further information about configuring your credentials.
  • AWS Session Token (optional): If you are using temporary credentials to access your services, you will need to provide the AWS Access Key ID and AWS Secret Access Key along with an AWS Session Token. Find more information on using temporary credentials with AWS resources.
  • Endpoint URL (optional): To connect programmatically to an AWS service, you use an endpoint. An endpoint is the URL of the entry point for an AWS web service. The AWS SDKs and the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) automatically use the default endpoint for each service in an AWS Region, but you can specify an alternate endpoint for your API requests. Find more information on AWS service endpoints.
  • Profile Name: A named profile is a collection of settings and credentials that you can apply to an AWS CLI command. Provide this field if you’d like to use a profile other than default. Find more information about named profiles for the AWS CLI.
  • Assume Role Arn: Typically, you use AssumeRole within your account or for cross-account access. In this field, set the ARN (Amazon Resource Name) of the policy of the other account. A user who wants to access a role in a different account must also have permissions delegated from the account administrator. Find more information on AssumeRole.
  • Assume Role Session Name: An identifier for the assumed role session. Use the role session name to uniquely identify a session when the same role is assumed by different principals or for different reasons. By default, OpenMetadata uses the name OpenMetadataSession.
  • Assume Role Source Identity: The source identity specified by the principal that is calling the AssumeRole operation. You can use source identity information in AWS CloudTrail logs to determine who took actions with a role.

Advanced Config (SSL options; most connections don’t need these)

• SSL Certificates By Path:
  • CA Certificate Path: This field specifies the path of the CA certificate required for authentication.
  • Client Certificate Path: This field specifies the path of the client certificate required for authentication.
  • Private Key Path: This field specifies the path of the client key/private key required for authentication.
• SSL Certificates By Value:
  • CA Certificate Value: This field specifies the value of the CA certificate required for authentication.
  • Client Certificate Value: This field specifies the value of the client certificate required for authentication.
  • Private Key Value: This field specifies the value of the client key/private key required for authentication.
  • Staging Directory Path: This field specifies the path to a temporary staging directory where the certificates are stored during the ingestion process. The directory is cleared once the ingestion job completes.
  When using the “By Value” approach, make sure you pass the key in the correct format. If your certificate looks like this:
  -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
  MII..
  MBQ...
  CgU..
  8Lt..
  ...
  h+4=
  -----END CERTIFICATE-----
  
  Replace new lines with \n so the final value looks like this:
  -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMII..\nMBQ...\nCgU..\n8Lt..\n...\nh+4=\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n
  

​

Test Connection

Once the credentials have been added, click on Test Connection and Save the changes.

​

Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options

In the What to Ingest step, use filter patterns to control which assets OpenMetadata ingests from your search service. Filter patterns use regular expressions applied to index names.

​

How Filter Patterns Work

• Include: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. OpenMetadata ingests only assets whose names match at least one expression. Leave blank to include all assets.
• Exclude: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. OpenMetadata skips any asset whose name matches an expression. Leave blank to exclude nothing.

Rules match asset names using one of five expressions:

• 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. Filter Options The Search Index section includes the following filter options:

• Search Index: Controls which search indexes (Elasticsearch indexes, OpenSearch indexes, or equivalent) OpenMetadata ingests from the source.

Each section provides the following controls:

• Scan Mode: You can 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 automatically filter out system-reserved names defined by the connector, for example, Exclude system databases for the Databases section.
• 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 (available only in Only specific mode): Click + Add to define a rule. Added rules appear as chips; an asset is included if it matches any rule.

​

Step 6: Create & Deploy

Click Create & Deploy to deploy the agent and start the first metadata ingestion run. OpenMetadata 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.

​

Configure Metadata Agent and Schedule Ingestion

The Metadata Agent extracts search indexes, mappings, and other structural metadata from your source and keeps your OpenMetadata catalog in sync. It powers discovery, lineage, and governance across your data assets. When you click Create & Deploy, OpenMetadata 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 service type.
2. Click the service you have added.
3. Select the Agents tab and click Add Agent > Metadata. 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.
   • Agent Setup: Configure the core parameters for this agent. The following fields are available:

     Field	Default	Description
     Sample Size	10	Number of records to fetch as sample data per search index.
     Mark Deleted Search Indexes	On	Soft-delete search indexes in OpenMetadata when they are removed from the source. Associated entities like lineage are also deleted.
     Include Sample Data	On	Fetch sample records from search indexes during ingestion.
     Include Index Template	Off	Ingest index template metadata alongside search index mappings.

     
   • Filter Patterns: Apply include or exclude rules to scope which search indexes this agent ingests. These follow the same filter options described in Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options.
   • Scope & Behaviour: Control what metadata to include and how to handle deletions. Toggle each option on or off based on your needs:

     Toggle	Default	Description
     Enable Debug Log	Off	Sets the ingestion log level to DEBUG. Useful for troubleshooting.
     Override Metadata	Off	When on, source values overwrite existing descriptions, tags, owners, and display names in OpenMetadata. When off, OpenMetadata only updates fields that have no existing value.

     
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.

​

Related