GCS Storage | OpenMetadata Cloud Storage Integration

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

• Requirements
• Metadata Ingestion
• Troubleshooting

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Requirements

We need the following permissions in GCP:

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GCS Permissions

For all the buckets that we want to ingest, we need to provide the following:

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

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OpenMetadata Manifest

In any other connector, extracting metadata happens automatically. In this case, we will be able to extract high-level metadata from buckets, but in order to understand their internal structure we need users to provide an openmetadata.json file at the bucket root. Supported File Formats: [ "csv", "tsv", "avro", "parquet", "json", "json.gz", "json.zip" ] You can learn more about this here. Keep reading for an example on the shape of the manifest file.

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OpenMetadata 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 OpenMetadata. Once you create a service, OpenMetadata automatically starts ingesting metadata.

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Step 1: Add New Service

1. Navigate to Settings > Services.
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. OpenMetadata 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 your source credentials and verify the connection.

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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. You can check out this documentation on how to create the service account keys and download it.

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Test Connection

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

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Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options

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

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How Filter Patterns Work

• Include: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. OpenMetadata ingests only containers whose names match at least one expression. Leave blank to include all containers.
• Exclude: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. OpenMetadata skips any container 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 Container section includes the following filter options:

• Container: Controls which top-level storage containers (S3 buckets, ADLS containers, or GCS buckets) 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.

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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.

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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 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.
   • Filter Patterns: Apply include or exclude rules to scope which containers this agent ingests. These follow the same filter options described in Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options.
   • 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 OpenMetadata 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 OpenMetadata. When off, OpenMetadata 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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