Data Quality
Learn how you can use OpenMetadata to define Data Quality tests and measure your data reliability.
Requirements
OpenMetadata (version 0.12 or later)
You must have a running deployment of OpenMetadata to use this guide. OpenMetadata includes the following services:
- OpenMetadata server supporting the metadata APIs and user interface
- Elasticsearch for metadata search and discovery
- MySQL as the backing store for all metadata
- Airflow for metadata ingestion workflows
To deploy OpenMetadata checkout the deployment guide
Python (version 3.8.0 or later)
Please use the following command to check the version of Python you have.
Building Trust with Data Quality
OpenMetadata is where all users share and collaborate around data. It is where you make your assets discoverable; with data quality you make these assets trustable.
This section will show you how to configure and run Data Quality pipelines with the OpenMetadata built-in tests.
Main Concepts
Test Suite
Test Suites are containers allowing you to group related Test Cases together. Once configured, a Test Suite can easily be deployed to execute all the Test Cases it contains.
Test Definition
Test Definitions are generic tests definition elements specific to a test such as:
- test name
- column name
- data type
Test Cases
Test Cases specify a Test Definition. It will define what condition a test must meet to be successful (e.g. max=n
, etc.). One Test Definition can be linked to multiple Test Cases.
Adding Tests Through the UI
Note: you will need to make sure you have the right permission in OpenMetadata to create a test.
Step 1: Creating a Test Suite
From your table service click on the profiler
tab. From there you will be able to create table tests by clicking on the purple background Add Test
top button or column tests by clicking on the white background Add Test
button.

Write your first test
On the next page you will be able to either select an existing Test Suite or Create a new one. If you select an existing one your Test Case will automatically be added to the Test Suite

Create test suite
Step 2: Create a Test Case
On the next page, you will create a Test Case. You will need to select a Test Definition from the drop down menu and specify the parameters of your Test Case.
Note: Test Case name needs to be unique across the whole platform. A warning message will show if your Test Case name is not unique.

Create test case
Step 3: Add Ingestion Workflow
If you have created a new test suite you will see a purple background Add Ingestion
button after clicking submit
. This will allow you to schedule the execution of your Test Suite. If you have selected an existing Test Suite you are all set.
After clicking Add Ingestion
you will be able to select an execution schedule for your Test Suite (note that you can edit this later). Once you have selected the desired scheduling time, click submit and you are all set.

Create ingestion workflow
Adding Tests with the YAML Config
When creating a JSON config for a test workflow the source configuration is very simple.
The only section you need to modify here is the serviceName
key. Note that this name needs to be unique across OM platform Test Suite name.
Once you have defined your source configuration you'll need to define te processor configuration.
The processor type should be set to "orm-test-runner"
. For accepted test definition names and parameter value names refer to the tests page.
sink
and workflowConfig
will have the same settings than the ingestion and profiler workflow.
Full yaml
config example
How to Run Tests
To run the tests from the CLI execute the following command
Schedule Test Suite runs with Airflow
As with the Ingestion or Profiler workflow, you can as well execute a Test Suite directly from Python. We are going to use Airflow as an example, but any orchestrator would achieve the same goal.
Let's prepare the DAG as usual, but importing a different Workflow class:
Note how we are using the TestSuiteWorkflow
class to load and execute the tests based on the YAML configurations specified above.
How to Visualize Test Results
From the Test Suite View
From the home page click on the Test Suite menu in the left pannel.

Test suite home page
This will bring you to the Test Suite page where you can select a specific Test Suite.

Test suite landing page
From there you can select a Test Suite and visualize the results associated with this specific Test Suite.

Test suite results page
From a Table Entity
Navigate to your table and click on the profiler
tab. From there you'll be able to see test results at the table or column level.
Table Level Test Results
In the top pannel, click on the white background Data Quality
button. This will bring you to a summary of all your quality tests at the table level

Test suite results table
Column Level Test Results
On the profiler page, click on a specific column name. This will bring you to a new page where you can click the white background Quality Test
button to see all the tests results related to your column.

Test suite results table
Adding Custom Tests
While OpenMetadata provides out of the box tests, you may want to write your test results from your own custom quality test suite. This is very easy to do using the API.
Creating a TestDefinition
First, you'll need to create a Test Definition for your test. You can use the following endpoint /api/v1/testDefinition
using a POST protocol to create your Test Definition. You will need to pass the following data in the body your request at minimum.
Here is a complete CURL request
Make sure to keep the UUID
from the response as you will need it to create the Test Case.
Creating a TestSuite
You'll also need to create a Test Suite for your Test Case -- note that you can also use an existing one if you want to. You can use the following endpoint /api/v1/testSuite
using a POST protocol to create your Test Definition. You will need to pass the following data in the body your request at minimum.
Here is a complete CURL request
Make sure to keep the UUID
from the response as you will need it to create the Test Case.
Creating a TestCase
Once you have your Test Definition created you can create a Test Case -- which is a specification of your Test Definition. You can use the following endpoint /api/v1/testCase
using a POST protocol to create your Test Case. You will need to pass the following data in the body your request at minimum.
Important: for entityLink
make sure to include the starting and ending <>
Here is a complete CURL request
Make sure to keep the UUID
from the response as you will need it to create the Test Case.
Writing TestCaseResults
Once you have your Test Case created you can write your results to it. You can use the following endpoint /api/v1/testCase/{test FQN}/testCaseResult
using a PUT protocol to add Test Case Results. You will need to pass the following data in the body your request at minimum.
Here is a complete CURL request
You will now be able to see your test in the Test Suite or the table entity.