> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.open-metadata.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a Data Contract

> Create a new data contract for a data asset

# Create a Data Contract

Create a new data contract and attach it to a data asset. Only the `name` and `entity` reference are required — all other sections (schema, semantics, quality, SLA, security, terms of use) are optional.

## Body Parameters

<ParamField body="name" type="string" required>
  Name of the data contract. Must be unique.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="entity" type="object" required>
  Reference to the data asset this contract applies to.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="id" type="string" required>
      UUID of the entity.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="type" type="string" required>
      Entity type: `table`, `topic`, `apiEndpoint`, `dashboardDataModel`, `storedProcedure`, `database`, `databaseSchema`, `dashboard`, `chart`, `pipeline`, `searchIndex`, `apiCollection`, `mlmodel`, `container`, `dataProduct`.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="displayName" type="string">
  Human-readable display name.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="description" type="string">
  Description in Markdown format.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="entityStatus" type="string" default="Draft">
  Contract status: `Draft`, `Active`, or `Deprecated`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="schema" type="array">
  Expected column definitions. Each item follows the Column schema.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="name" type="string" required>
      Column name.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="dataType" type="string" required>
      Data type (e.g., `INT`, `VARCHAR`, `TIMESTAMP`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="constraint" type="string">
      Constraint: `NULL`, `NOT_NULL`, `UNIQUE`, `PRIMARY_KEY`.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="description" type="string">
      Column description.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="semantics" type="array">
  Semantics rules defining business expectations.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="name" type="string" required>
      Rule name (e.g., `hasOwner`, `hasDescription`, `hasDomain`, `hasTags`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="args" type="object">
      Rule arguments (varies by rule type).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="qualityExpectations" type="array">
  References to test cases that must pass.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="id" type="string" required>
      UUID of the test case.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="type" type="string" required>
      Must be `testCase`.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="sla" type="object">
  Service level agreement expectations.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="refreshFrequency" type="string">
      Expected refresh frequency in ISO 8601 duration (e.g., `PT1H`, `P1D`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="maxLatency" type="integer">
      Maximum acceptable latency in milliseconds.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="availability" type="number">
      Target availability percentage (0-100).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="termsOfUse" type="string">
  Terms of use in Markdown format. Describes allowed/disallowed use cases and compliance requirements.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="security" type="object">
  Security and access policy expectations.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="accessPolicy" type="string">
      Access policy description.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="requiredClassifications" type="array">
      Required classification tags (e.g., `PII.Sensitive`).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="owners" type="array">
  Owner references (users or teams).
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="reviewers" type="array">
  Reviewer user references.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="effectiveFrom" type="string">
  ISO 8601 date from which this contract is effective.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="effectiveUntil" type="string">
  ISO 8601 date until which this contract is effective.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample dropdown>
  ```python POST /v1/dataContracts theme={null}
  from metadata.sdk import configure
  from metadata.sdk.entities import DataContracts

  configure(
      host="https://your-company.open-metadata.org/api",
      jwt_token="your-jwt-token"
  )

  # Create a basic data contract for a table
  contract = DataContracts.create(
      name="sales-orders-contract",
      entity={
          "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
          "type": "table"
      },
      description="Data contract for the sales orders table",
      entityStatus="Active",
      schema=[
          {"name": "order_id", "dataType": "INT", "constraint": "PRIMARY_KEY"},
          {"name": "customer_id", "dataType": "INT", "constraint": "NOT_NULL"},
          {"name": "order_date", "dataType": "TIMESTAMP", "constraint": "NOT_NULL"},
          {"name": "total_amount", "dataType": "DECIMAL"}
      ],
      semantics=[
          {"name": "hasOwner"},
          {"name": "hasDescription"},
          {"name": "hasTags"}
      ],
      sla={
          "refreshFrequency": "PT1H",
          "availability": 99.9
      }
  )
  print(f"Created contract: {contract.fullyQualifiedName}")
  ```

  ```java POST /v1/dataContracts theme={null}
  import static org.openmetadata.sdk.fluent.DataContracts.*;

  // Create a data contract with fluent API
  DataContract contract = create()
      .name("sales-orders-contract")
      .forEntity(new EntityReference()
          .withId(tableId)
          .withType("table"))
      .withDescription("Data contract for the sales orders table")
      .withStatus(EntityStatus.ACTIVE)
      .withSchema(List.of(
          new Column().withName("order_id").withDataType(ColumnDataType.INT),
          new Column().withName("customer_id").withDataType(ColumnDataType.INT),
          new Column().withName("order_date").withDataType(ColumnDataType.TIMESTAMP)
      ))
      .withSemanticRule(new SemanticsRule().withName("hasOwner"))
      .withSemanticRule(new SemanticsRule().withName("hasDescription"))
      .withSla(new ContractSLA()
          .withRefreshFrequency("PT1H")
          .withAvailability(99.9))
      .execute();
  ```

  ```bash POST /v1/dataContracts theme={null}
  curl -X POST "{base_url}/api/v1/dataContracts" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "name": "sales-orders-contract",
      "entity": {
        "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
        "type": "table"
      },
      "description": "Data contract for the sales orders table",
      "entityStatus": "Active",
      "schema": [
        {"name": "order_id", "dataType": "INT", "constraint": "PRIMARY_KEY"},
        {"name": "customer_id", "dataType": "INT", "constraint": "NOT_NULL"},
        {"name": "order_date", "dataType": "TIMESTAMP", "constraint": "NOT_NULL"},
        {"name": "total_amount", "dataType": "DECIMAL"}
      ],
      "semantics": [
        {"name": "hasOwner"},
        {"name": "hasDescription"},
        {"name": "hasTags"}
      ],
      "sla": {
        "refreshFrequency": "PT1H",
        "availability": 99.9
      }
    }'
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Response theme={null}
  {
    "id": "f7a1b2c3-d4e5-6789-0abc-def123456789",
    "name": "sales-orders-contract",
    "fullyQualifiedName": "sales-orders-contract",
    "displayName": "sales-orders-contract",
    "description": "Data contract for the sales orders table",
    "entityStatus": "Active",
    "entity": {
      "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
      "type": "table",
      "name": "sales_orders",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "sample_data.ecommerce_db.shopify.sales_orders"
    },
    "schema": [
      {"name": "order_id", "dataType": "INT", "constraint": "PRIMARY_KEY"},
      {"name": "customer_id", "dataType": "INT", "constraint": "NOT_NULL"},
      {"name": "order_date", "dataType": "TIMESTAMP", "constraint": "NOT_NULL"},
      {"name": "total_amount", "dataType": "DECIMAL"}
    ],
    "semantics": [
      {"name": "hasOwner"},
      {"name": "hasDescription"},
      {"name": "hasTags"}
    ],
    "sla": {
      "refreshFrequency": "PT1H",
      "availability": 99.9
    },
    "version": 0.1,
    "updatedAt": 1769982800000,
    "updatedBy": "admin"
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>

***

## Upsert (Create or Update)

Use `PUT /v1/dataContracts` with the same body to create a new contract or update an existing one.

***

## Error Handling

| Code  | Error Type     | Description                                     |
| ----- | -------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| `400` | `BAD_REQUEST`  | Invalid request body or missing required fields |
| `401` | `UNAUTHORIZED` | Invalid or missing authentication token         |
| `403` | `FORBIDDEN`    | User lacks permission to create data contracts  |
| `409` | `CONFLICT`     | A contract with the same name already exists    |