> ## 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 Glossary

> Create a new glossary for business terminology

# Create a Glossary

Create a new glossary for organizing business terminology.

## Body Parameters

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

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

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

<ParamField body="owners" type="array">
  Array of owner references (users or teams) to assign to the glossary.

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

    <ParamField body="type" type="string">
      Type of owner entity (e.g., `user`, `team`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="name" type="string">
      Name of the owner entity.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="reviewers" type="array">
  Array of user references who can review glossary term changes.

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

    <ParamField body="type" type="string">
      Type of entity (always `user`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="name" type="string">
      Name of the user.
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="tags" type="array">
  Array of classification tags to apply to the glossary.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="tagFQN" type="string" required>
      Fully qualified name of the tag.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="labelType" type="string">
      Type of label (e.g., `Manual`, `Derived`, `Propagated`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="state" type="string">
      State of the tag (e.g., `Suggested`, `Confirmed`).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="domain" type="string">
  Fully qualified name of the domain to assign for governance purposes.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="mutuallyExclusive" type="boolean" default="false">
  If `true`, only one term from this glossary can be applied to an entity at a time.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample dropdown>
  ```python POST /v1/glossaries theme={null}
  from metadata.sdk import configure
  from metadata.sdk.entities import Glossaries
  from metadata.generated.schema.api.data.createGlossary import CreateGlossaryRequest

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

  request = CreateGlossaryRequest(
      name="BusinessGlossary",
      displayName="Business Glossary",
      description="Standard business terminology for the organization",
      mutuallyExclusive=False
  )

  glossary = Glossaries.create(request)
  print(f"Created: {glossary.fullyQualifiedName}")
  ```

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

  // Create using builder pattern
  var glossary = Glossaries.builder()
      .name("BusinessGlossary")
      .displayName("Business Glossary")
      .description("Standard business terminology for the organization")
      .mutuallyExclusive(false)
      .create();
  ```

  ```bash POST /v1/glossaries theme={null}
  curl -X POST "{base_url}/api/v1/glossaries" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "name": "BusinessGlossary",
      "displayName": "Business Glossary",
      "description": "Standard business terminology for the organization",
      "mutuallyExclusive": false,
      "owners": [],
      "reviewers": []
    }'
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Response theme={null}
  {
    "id": "c2940a98-f147-6g46-cdef-31f0c4406dc3",
    "name": "BusinessGlossary",
    "fullyQualifiedName": "BusinessGlossary",
    "displayName": "Business Glossary",
    "description": "Standard business terminology for the organization",
    "version": 0.1,
    "updatedAt": 1769984330261,
    "updatedBy": "admin",
    "href": "http://localhost:8585/api/v1/glossaries/c2940a98-f147-6g46-cdef-31f0c4406dc3",
    "deleted": false,
    "owners": [],
    "reviewers": [],
    "tags": [],
    "mutuallyExclusive": false
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>

***

## Returns

Returns the created glossary object with all specified properties and system-generated fields.

## Response

<ResponseField name="id" type="string">
  Unique identifier for the glossary (UUID format).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="name" type="string">
  Glossary name.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="fullyQualifiedName" type="string">
  Fully qualified name of the glossary.
</ResponseField>

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

<ResponseField name="description" type="string">
  Description of the glossary in Markdown format.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="mutuallyExclusive" type="boolean">
  Whether terms in this glossary are mutually exclusive.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="owners" type="array" optional>
  List of owners assigned to the glossary.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="reviewers" type="array" optional>
  List of reviewers for glossary term changes.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="tags" type="array" optional>
  Classification tags applied to the glossary.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="version" type="number">
  Version number for the entity (starts at 0.1).
</ResponseField>

***

## Create or Update (PUT)

Use `PUT /v1/glossaries` instead of `POST` to perform an upsert. If a glossary with the same `fullyQualifiedName` already exists, it will be updated; otherwise, a new glossary is created. The request body is the same as `POST`.

```bash theme={null}
curl -X PUT "{base_url}/api/v1/glossaries" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ ... same body as POST ... }'
```

<Note>
  `PUT` will not return a `409` conflict error if the entity already exists -- it will update the existing entity instead.
</Note>

***

## 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 glossaries         |
| `409` | `ENTITY_ALREADY_EXISTS` | Glossary with same name already exists (POST only) |