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Java SDK for Lineage

The Java SDK provides a fluent API for managing data lineage in OpenMetadata. You can query lineage graphs, create edges between entities with column-level mapping, delete edges, export lineage, and run impact analysis. The fluent entry point is the Lineage class in org.openmetadata.sdk.api.
Lineage in OpenMetadata is a relationship between any two entities. While the examples below use tables and dashboards, the same API works with any entity type (pipelines, topics, ML models, etc.).

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Setup

Before using the fluent API, initialize the client: 
import org.openmetadata.sdk.api.Lineage;
import org.openmetadata.sdk.client.OpenMetadataClient;

OpenMetadataClient client = OpenMetadataClient.builder()
    .baseUrl("http://localhost:8585/api")
    .jwtToken("<YOUR-JWT-TOKEN>")
    .build();

Lineage.setDefaultClient(client);

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Querying Lineage

Retrieve the lineage graph for an entity by type and ID: 
// Get lineage with default depth (1 upstream, 1 downstream)
Lineage.LineageGraph graph = Lineage.of("table", tableId).fetch();

// Get the raw JSON response
String raw = graph.getRaw();

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Custom Depth

Control how many hops upstream and downstream are returned: 
Lineage.LineageGraph graph = Lineage.of("table", tableId)
    .upstream(3)
    .downstream(2)
    .fetch();
Or set both directions to the same value: 
Lineage.LineageGraph graph = Lineage.of("table", tableId)
    .depth(5)
    .fetch();

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Include Deleted Entities

Lineage.LineageGraph graph = Lineage.of("table", tableId)
    .includeDeleted(true)
    .fetch();

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Adding Lineage

Use Lineage.connect() to create an edge between two entities: 
Lineage.LineageEdge edge = Lineage.connect()
    .from("table", sourceTableId)
    .to("dashboard", dashboardId)
    .withDescription("Dashboard uses data from this table")
    .execute();

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Column-Level Lineage

Map specific columns from the source entity to columns in the target entity: 
Lineage.LineageEdge edge = Lineage.connect()
    .from("table", sourceTableId)
    .fromColumns("customer_id", "order_date")
    .to("table", targetTableId)
    .toColumns("cust_id", "date")
    .withDescription("ETL transformation")
    .execute();
Each target column in toColumns will be mapped to all columns in fromColumns. The resulting payload includes a columnsLineage array inside lineageDetails.

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Pipeline Reference

Associate a pipeline entity that powers the transformation: 
Lineage.LineageEdge edge = Lineage.connect()
    .from("table", sourceTableId)
    .to("table", targetTableId)
    .withPipeline("pipeline", pipelineId)
    .withDescription("Daily ETL job")
    .execute();

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SQL Query

Attach the SQL query driving the lineage: 
Lineage.LineageEdge edge = Lineage.connect()
    .from("table", sourceTableId)
    .to("table", targetTableId)
    .withSqlQuery("INSERT INTO target SELECT id, name FROM source")
    .execute();

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Full Example

Combine all options: 
Lineage.LineageEdge edge = Lineage.connect()
    .from("table", sourceTableId)
    .fromColumns("customer_id", "order_date")
    .to("table", targetTableId)
    .toColumns("cust_id", "date")
    .withPipeline("pipeline", pipelineId)
    .withDescription("ETL transformation")
    .withSqlQuery("SELECT customer_id, order_date FROM source")
    .execute();

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Deleting Lineage

Remove a lineage edge between two entities: 
Lineage.disconnect()
    .from("table", sourceTableId)
    .to("dashboard", dashboardId)
    .confirm();

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Exporting Lineage

Export the lineage graph for a given entity by its fully qualified name: 
String csv = Lineage.export()
    .entity("table", "service.database.schema.my_table")
    .upstream(3)
    .downstream(2)
    .execute();

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Impact Analysis

Analyze which downstream (or upstream) entities are affected by changes to a given entity:

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Downstream Impact

Lineage.ImpactAnalysis impact = Lineage.impact()
    .of("table", tableId)
    .downstream()
    .depth(3)
    .analyze();

int totalImpacted = impact.getTotalImpactCount();

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Upstream Impact

Lineage.ImpactAnalysis impact = Lineage.impact()
    .of("dashboard", dashboardId)
    .upstream()
    .depth(5)
    .analyze();

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OpenLineage Events

The SDK also supports posting OpenLineage standard events from tools like Spark or Airflow via the OpenLineage fluent API: 
import org.openmetadata.sdk.fluent.OpenLineage;

OpenLineage.setDefaultClient(client);

// Post a single run event
String response = OpenLineage.event()
    .withEventType("COMPLETE")
    .withEventTime("2024-01-15T12:00:00Z")
    .withJob("my-etl-job", "my-namespace")
    .withRun("run-id-123")
    .addInput("source_table", "my-namespace")
    .addOutput("target_table", "my-namespace")
    .send();

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Batch Events

// Build individual events
OpenLineage.RunEventBuilder event1 = OpenLineage.event()
    .withEventType("START")
    .withEventTime("2024-01-15T12:00:00Z")
    .withJob("job-1", "ns")
    .withRun("run-1");

OpenLineage.RunEventBuilder event2 = OpenLineage.event()
    .withEventType("COMPLETE")
    .withEventTime("2024-01-15T12:05:00Z")
    .withJob("job-1", "ns")
    .withRun("run-1");

// Send as a batch
String response = OpenLineage.batch()
    .addEvent(event1)
    .addEvent(event2)
    .send();

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Static API

For simpler use cases, the LineageAPI class in org.openmetadata.sdk.api provides static methods that wrap the underlying HTTP calls: 
import org.openmetadata.sdk.api.LineageAPI;

// Get lineage by entity FQN
String lineage = LineageAPI.getLineage("service.db.schema.table");

// Get lineage with depth
String lineage = LineageAPI.getLineage("service.db.schema.table", "3", "2");

// Get lineage by entity type and ID
String lineage = LineageAPI.getEntityLineage("table", tableId);

// Add lineage (pass a Map matching the AddLineage JSON schema)
String result = LineageAPI.addLineage(lineageRequestMap);

// Delete lineage
String result = LineageAPI.deleteLineage("table:fromId", "dashboard:toId");

// Export lineage
String csv = LineageAPI.exportLineage("service.db.schema.table", "table", "3", "2");

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Async Variants

All static methods have CompletableFuture-based async variants: 
CompletableFuture<String> future = LineageAPI.getLineageAsync("service.db.schema.table");
future.thenAccept(lineage -> System.out.println("Lineage: " + lineage));

CompletableFuture<String> addFuture = LineageAPI.addLineageAsync(request);
CompletableFuture<String> deleteFuture = LineageAPI.deleteLineageAsync("table:id1", "dashboard:id2");