Available Tools¶

mcp-datahub provides 12 MCP tools for interacting with DataHub (9 read + 3 write), covering 35 write operations through the CRUD discriminator pattern.

DataHub Version Compatibility¶

Minimum: DataHub 1.3.x. Full feature set: DataHub 1.4.x.

All read tools and most write operations work with DataHub 1.3.x+. Only document operations require DataHub 1.4.x+:

Operation	Tool	Requires
`what=document`	`datahub_create`	DataHub 1.4.x+
`what=document_contents`	`datahub_update`	DataHub 1.4.x+
`what=document_status`	`datahub_update`	DataHub 1.4.x+
`what=document_related_entities`	`datahub_update`	DataHub 1.4.x+
`what=document_sub_type`	`datahub_update`	DataHub 1.4.x+
`what=document`	`datahub_delete`	DataHub 1.4.x+

The client gracefully handles version differences for read queries — returning empty results (not errors) when a feature is unavailable.

Tool Annotations¶

All tools include MCP tool annotations that describe their behavior to AI clients:

Hint	Read Tools	`datahub_create`	`datahub_update`	`datahub_delete`	Description
`ReadOnlyHint`	`true`	`false`	`false`	`false`	Whether the tool only reads data
`DestructiveHint`	(default)	`false`	`false`	`true`	Whether the tool may destructively update
`IdempotentHint`	`true`	`false`	`true`	`true`	Whether repeated calls produce the same result
`OpenWorldHint`	`true`	`true`	`true`	`true`	Whether the tool interacts with external entities

OpenWorldHint is true for all tools because every tool communicates with an external DataHub instance.

These annotations help MCP clients make informed decisions about tool invocation (e.g., auto-approving read-only tools). Library users can override annotations per-tool or per-toolkit; see the Tools API Reference.

Multi-Server Support¶

All tools accept an optional connection parameter to target a specific DataHub server in multi-server environments. Use datahub_list_connections to discover available connections.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use (see `datahub_list_connections`)

datahub_list_connections¶

List all configured DataHub server connections.

Parameters: None

Example Response:

{
  "connections": [
    {
      "name": "prod",
      "url": "https://prod.datahub.example.com",
      "is_default": true
    },
    {
      "name": "staging",
      "url": "https://staging.datahub.example.com",
      "is_default": false
    }
  ],
  "count": 2
}

Use Cases:

Discover available connections before querying
Verify multi-server configuration
Check which connection is the default

datahub_search¶

Search for datasets, dashboards, pipelines, and other assets.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	Yes	Search query string
`entity_type`	string	No	Filter by entity type (DATASET, DASHBOARD, etc.)
`limit`	integer	No	Maximum results (default: 10, max: 100)
`offset`	integer	No	Pagination offset (default: 0)
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Example Request:

{
  "query": "customer",
  "entity_type": "DATASET",
  "limit": 5
}

Example Response:

{
  "entities": [
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customers,PROD)",
      "type": "DATASET",
      "name": "customers",
      "platform": "snowflake",
      "description": "Customer master data including contact information",
      "owners": ["Data Team"],
      "tags": ["pii", "customer-data"],
      "domain": "Sales"
    },
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customer_orders,PROD)",
      "type": "DATASET",
      "name": "customer_orders",
      "platform": "snowflake",
      "description": "Order history by customer"
    }
  ],
  "total": 42,
  "offset": 0,
  "limit": 5
}

Common Use Cases:

Find datasets by name or description
Search within a specific domain
Discover dashboards related to a topic
Find entities by tag

Entity Type Values:

Value	Description
`DATASET`	Tables, views, files
`DASHBOARD`	BI dashboards
`CHART`	Individual visualizations
`DATA_FLOW`	Pipelines
`DATA_JOB`	Pipeline tasks
`GLOSSARY_TERM`	Glossary terms
`DOMAIN`	Domains
`DATA_PRODUCT`	Data products

datahub_get_entity¶

Get detailed metadata for an entity by URN.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`urn`	string	Yes	DataHub URN of the entity
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Example Request:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customers,PROD)"
}

Example Response:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customers,PROD)",
  "type": "DATASET",
  "name": "customers",
  "qualifiedName": "prod.sales.customers",
  "description": "Customer master data including contact information and preferences",
  "platform": "snowflake",
  "owners": [
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:corpuser:[email protected]",
      "name": "Jane Smith",
      "type": "DATAOWNER"
    }
  ],
  "tags": [
    {"name": "pii", "urn": "urn:li:tag:pii"},
    {"name": "customer-data", "urn": "urn:li:tag:customer-data"}
  ],
  "glossaryTerms": [
    {"name": "Customer", "urn": "urn:li:glossaryTerm:Customer"},
    {"name": "PII", "urn": "urn:li:glossaryTerm:Classification.PII"}
  ],
  "domain": {
    "name": "Sales",
    "urn": "urn:li:domain:sales"
  },
  "created": "2023-06-15T10:30:00Z",
  "lastModified": "2024-01-10T14:22:00Z",
  "properties": {
    "customProperties": {
      "retention_days": "365",
      "data_classification": "confidential"
    }
  }
}

Common Use Cases:

Get full details about a search result
Find owners for a dataset
Check tags and glossary terms
Get custom properties

datahub_get_schema¶

Get schema fields for a dataset with descriptions.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`urn`	string	Yes	Dataset URN
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Example Request:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customers,PROD)"
}

Example Response:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customers,PROD)",
  "name": "customers",
  "fields": [
    {
      "fieldPath": "customer_id",
      "type": "NUMBER",
      "nativeType": "INT64",
      "description": "Unique customer identifier",
      "nullable": false,
      "isPrimaryKey": true
    },
    {
      "fieldPath": "email",
      "type": "STRING",
      "nativeType": "VARCHAR(255)",
      "description": "Customer email address",
      "nullable": true,
      "glossaryTerms": [
        {"name": "PII", "urn": "urn:li:glossaryTerm:Classification.PII"},
        {"name": "Email", "urn": "urn:li:glossaryTerm:ContactInfo.Email"}
      ]
    },
    {
      "fieldPath": "created_at",
      "type": "TIMESTAMP",
      "nativeType": "TIMESTAMP_NTZ",
      "description": "Account creation timestamp",
      "nullable": false
    },
    {
      "fieldPath": "address.street",
      "type": "STRING",
      "nativeType": "VARCHAR(500)",
      "description": "Street address",
      "nullable": true
    },
    {
      "fieldPath": "address.city",
      "type": "STRING",
      "nativeType": "VARCHAR(100)",
      "description": "City name",
      "nullable": true
    }
  ],
  "primaryKeys": ["customer_id"],
  "foreignKeys": []
}

Field Properties:

Property	Description
`fieldPath`	Full path including nested fields
`type`	Normalized type (STRING, NUMBER, etc.)
`nativeType`	Platform-specific type
`description`	Field description
`nullable`	Whether field can be null
`isPrimaryKey`	Whether field is a primary key
`glossaryTerms`	Associated glossary terms

datahub_get_lineage¶

Get upstream and downstream lineage for an entity. Supports both dataset-level and column-level lineage via the level parameter.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`urn`	string	Yes	Entity URN
`level`	string	No	Granularity: `dataset` or `column` (default: `dataset`)
`direction`	string	No	UPSTREAM, DOWNSTREAM, or BOTH (default: BOTH, dataset level only)
`depth`	integer	No	Maximum traversal depth (default: 3, max: 5, dataset level only)
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Example Request:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.analytics.customer_metrics,PROD)",
  "direction": "BOTH",
  "depth": 2
}

Example Response:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.analytics.customer_metrics,PROD)",
  "upstream": [
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customers,PROD)",
      "name": "customers",
      "type": "DATASET",
      "platform": "snowflake",
      "degree": 1
    },
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.orders,PROD)",
      "name": "orders",
      "type": "DATASET",
      "platform": "snowflake",
      "degree": 1
    },
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.raw.customer_events,PROD)",
      "name": "customer_events",
      "type": "DATASET",
      "platform": "snowflake",
      "degree": 2
    }
  ],
  "downstream": [
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dashboard:(looker,customer_360)",
      "name": "Customer 360 Dashboard",
      "type": "DASHBOARD",
      "platform": "looker",
      "degree": 1
    },
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.ml.churn_features,PROD)",
      "name": "churn_features",
      "type": "DATASET",
      "platform": "snowflake",
      "degree": 1
    }
  ]
}

Common Use Cases:

Impact analysis before schema changes
Root cause analysis for data issues
Understanding data flow
Discovering related datasets

Column-Level Lineage (level=column)¶

When level=column is specified, returns fine-grained column-level lineage mappings instead of dataset-level lineage. The direction and depth parameters are ignored for column-level lineage.

Example Request:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.analytics.customer_metrics,PROD)",
  "level": "column"
}

Example Response:

{
  "dataset_urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.analytics.customer_metrics,PROD)",
  "mappings": [
    {
      "downstream_column": "customer_id",
      "upstream_dataset": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customers,PROD)",
      "upstream_column": "id",
      "transform": "IDENTITY"
    },
    {
      "downstream_column": "total_orders",
      "upstream_dataset": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.orders,PROD)",
      "upstream_column": "order_count",
      "transform": "AGGREGATE",
      "confidence_score": 0.95
    },
    {
      "downstream_column": "last_order_date",
      "upstream_dataset": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.orders,PROD)",
      "upstream_column": "order_date",
      "transform": "AGGREGATE"
    }
  ]
}

Mapping Properties:

Property	Description
`downstream_column`	Column name in the target dataset
`upstream_dataset`	URN of the source dataset
`upstream_column`	Column name in the source dataset
`transform`	Transformation type (IDENTITY, AGGREGATE, etc.)
`query`	Optional SQL query that defines the transformation
`confidence_score`	Optional confidence score (0-1) for inferred lineage

datahub_get_queries¶

Get SQL queries associated with a dataset.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`urn`	string	Yes	Dataset URN
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Example Response:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.sales.customers,PROD)",
  "queries": [
    {
      "query": "SELECT customer_id, email, created_at FROM prod.sales.customers WHERE created_at > DATEADD(day, -30, CURRENT_DATE())",
      "createdAt": "2024-01-10T09:15:00Z",
      "user": "[email protected]"
    },
    {
      "query": "SELECT COUNT(*) as total_customers FROM prod.sales.customers",
      "createdAt": "2024-01-09T14:30:00Z",
      "user": "dashboard_service"
    }
  ],
  "count": 2
}

datahub_get_glossary_term¶

Get glossary term definition and related assets.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`urn`	string	Yes	Glossary term URN
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Example Request:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:glossaryTerm:Classification.PII"
}

Example Response:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:glossaryTerm:Classification.PII",
  "name": "PII",
  "description": "Personally Identifiable Information - data that can identify an individual",
  "definition": "PII includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, and other data that can be used to identify a specific person.",
  "termSource": "INTERNAL",
  "parentNode": {
    "name": "Classification",
    "urn": "urn:li:glossaryNode:Classification"
  },
  "relatedTerms": [
    {"name": "Sensitive Data", "urn": "urn:li:glossaryTerm:Classification.Sensitive"},
    {"name": "PHI", "urn": "urn:li:glossaryTerm:Classification.PHI"}
  ],
  "owners": [
    {"name": "Data Governance Team", "type": "DATAOWNER"}
  ]
}

datahub_browse¶

Browse the catalog to list tags, domains, or data products.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`what`	string	Yes	What to browse: `tags`, `domains`, or `data_products`
`filter`	string	No	Optional filter string (tags only)
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Example Request (tags):

{
  "what": "tags"
}

Example Response (tags):

{
  "tags": [
    {"name": "pii", "urn": "urn:li:tag:pii", "description": "Contains personally identifiable information"},
    {"name": "deprecated", "urn": "urn:li:tag:deprecated", "description": "This asset is deprecated"},
    {"name": "certified", "urn": "urn:li:tag:certified", "description": "Quality certified dataset"}
  ]
}

Example Request (domains):

{
  "what": "domains"
}

Example Response (domains):

{
  "domains": [
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:domain:sales",
      "name": "Sales",
      "description": "Sales and revenue data",
      "entityCount": 45
    },
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:domain:marketing",
      "name": "Marketing",
      "description": "Marketing campaigns and analytics",
      "entityCount": 32
    }
  ]
}

Example Request (data_products):

{
  "what": "data_products"
}

Example Response (data_products):

{
  "data_products": [
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataProduct:customer-360",
      "name": "Customer 360",
      "description": "Unified view of customer data across all touchpoints",
      "domain": "Sales"
    },
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataProduct:revenue-analytics",
      "name": "Revenue Analytics",
      "description": "Revenue metrics and forecasting data",
      "domain": "Finance"
    }
  ]
}

datahub_get_data_product¶

Get detailed information about a data product.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`urn`	string	Yes	Data product URN
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Example Response:

{
  "urn": "urn:li:dataProduct:customer-360",
  "name": "Customer 360",
  "description": "Unified view of customer data across all touchpoints",
  "domain": {
    "name": "Sales",
    "urn": "urn:li:domain:sales"
  },
  "owners": [
    {"name": "Customer Data Team", "type": "DATAOWNER"}
  ],
  "assets": [
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.customer360.profile,PROD)",
      "name": "profile",
      "type": "DATASET"
    },
    {
      "urn": "urn:li:dataset:(urn:li:dataPlatform:snowflake,prod.customer360.interactions,PROD)",
      "name": "interactions",
      "type": "DATASET"
    }
  ],
  "properties": {
    "sla": "99.9%",
    "refresh_frequency": "hourly"
  }
}

Write Tools¶

Write tools require DATAHUB_WRITE_ENABLED=true. They use the CRUD discriminator pattern — 3 tools covering 35 operations via the what parameter.

datahub_create¶

Create a new entity or resource. Returns the URN of the created entity.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`what`	string	Yes	Entity type: `tag`, `domain`, `glossary_term`, `data_product`, `document`, `application`, `query`, `incident`, `structured_property`, `data_contract`
`name`	string	Varies	Name or title (required for most types)
`description`	string	No	Description or content
`parent_node`	string	No	Parent glossary node URN (glossary_term)
`domain_urn`	string	No	Domain URN (data_product, required)
`value`	string	No	SQL statement (query)
`language`	string	No	Query language, default SQL (query)
`dataset_urns`	string[]	No	Associated dataset URNs (query, data_contract)
`entity_urns`	string[]	No	Affected entity URNs (incident)
`incident_type`	string	No	Incident type (incident)
`priority`	string	No	Priority: LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL (incident)
`qualified_name`	string	No	Fully qualified name (structured_property, required)
`value_type`	string	No	Value type: string, number, date, urn (structured_property, required)
`entity_types`	string[]	No	Applicable entity types (structured_property, required)
`cardinality`	string	No	SINGLE or MULTIPLE (structured_property)
`status`	string	No	Publication status: PUBLISHED or UNPUBLISHED (document)
`sub_type`	string	No	Document sub-type (document)
`related_assets`	string[]	No	Related asset URNs (document)
`global_context`	bool	No	Show in global search (document)
`schema_assertions`	string[]	No	Schema assertion URNs (data_contract)
`freshness_assertions`	string[]	No	Freshness assertion URNs (data_contract)
`data_quality_assertions`	string[]	No	Data quality assertion URNs (data_contract)
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

datahub_update¶

Update metadata on an existing entity.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`what`	string	Yes	What to update (see table below)
`action`	string	Varies	`add`/`remove` (required for tag, glossary_term, link, owner); `set`/`remove` (domain, structured_properties, default: set); not used for other what values
`urn`	string	Yes	Entity URN
`value`	string	No	New value (description, status, label, message)
`target_urn`	string	No	Target URN for add/remove (tag, glossary term, owner, domain)
`url`	string	No	URL for link operations
`field_path`	string	No	Schema field path (column_description)
`name`	string	No	Updated name (query, incident, structured_property)
`description`	string	No	Updated description
`ownership_type`	string	No	Ownership type, e.g. TECHNICAL_OWNER (owner add only)
`properties`	object[]	No	Structured property values to set (structured_properties)
`property_urns`	string[]	No	Property URNs to remove (structured_properties)
`language`	string	No	Query language (query only)
`dataset_urns`	string[]	No	Dataset URNs (query, data_contract)
`incident_type`	string	No	Incident type (incident only)
`priority`	string	No	Priority: LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL (incident only)
`state`	string	No	Incident state: ACTIVE, RESOLVED (incident_status, required)
`title`	string	No	Document title (document_contents)
`text`	string	No	Document text (document_contents)
`entity_urns`	string[]	No	Related entity URNs (document_related_entities)
`schema_assertions`	string[]	No	Schema assertion URNs (data_contract)
`freshness_assertions`	string[]	No	Freshness assertion URNs (data_contract)
`data_quality_assertions`	string[]	No	Data quality assertion URNs (data_contract)
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

what values and required action:

what	action	Description
`description`	(not used)	Set entity description
`column_description`	(not used)	Set schema field description
`tag`	required: add/remove	Add or remove a tag
`glossary_term`	required: add/remove	Add or remove a glossary term
`link`	required: add/remove	Add or remove a link
`owner`	required: add/remove	Add or remove an owner
`domain`	set/remove (default: set)	Set or remove domain assignment
`structured_properties`	set/remove (default: set)	Set or remove structured property values
`structured_property`	(not used)	Update a structured property definition
`incident_status`	(not used)	Update incident status (requires `state`)
`incident`	(not used)	Update incident details
`query`	(not used)	Update query properties
`document_contents`	(not used)	Update document title/text
`document_status`	(not used)	Update document status
`document_related_entities`	(not used)	Update document related entities
`document_sub_type`	(not used)	Update document sub-type
`data_contract`	(not used)	Upsert a data contract

datahub_delete¶

Delete an entity or resource. This is destructive and cannot be undone.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`what`	string	Yes	Entity type: `query`, `tag`, `domain`, `glossary_entity`, `data_product`, `application`, `document`, `structured_property`
`urn`	string	Yes	URN of the entity to delete
`connection`	string	No	Named connection to use

Error Responses¶

All tools may return error responses:

{
  "error": true,
  "message": "Entity not found: urn:li:dataset:..."
}

Common Errors:

Error	Cause	Solution
`unauthorized`	Invalid or expired token	Generate new token
`entity not found`	URN does not exist	Verify URN is correct
`connection refused`	Cannot reach DataHub	Check DATAHUB_URL
`rate limit exceeded`	Too many requests	Reduce request rate
`invalid parameter`	Bad parameter value	Check parameter format