Search for resources in Dataplex Universal Catalog

This document describes how to use Dataplex Universal Catalog to search for resources such as BigQuery datasets, Cloud SQL instances, and other supported sources . By centrally locating distributed data sources, you can catalog, classify, control access to, and govern corporate data.

Dataplex Universal Catalog offers two search modes:

Keyword search lets you find resources using specific keywords, filters, and a defined syntax.
Natural language search leverages AI to support semantic queries. It lets you find resources using everyday language, eliminating the need for complex syntax.

Search scope

The search results in Dataplex Universal Catalog respect permissions that you have over the corresponding resources in source systems.

For example, if you have BigQuery metadata read access to an object, that object appears in your Dataplex Universal Catalog search results. If you have access to a BigQuery table but not to the dataset containing that table, the table still shows up as expected in the Dataplex Universal Catalog search.

By default, search is scoped to your organization. Results include only resources from the same organization as the project you're searching in.

The search results include only those resources that belong to the same VPC-SC perimeter as the project under which search is performed. When using the Google Cloud console, this is the project that is selected in the console.

To broaden the scope of your search results beyond the resources within your project's VPC Service Controls perimeter, use VPC Service Controls ingress and egress rules . These rules facilitate private and efficient data exchange across your organization. You can configure ingress and egress rules using the Google Cloud console or through JSON or YAML files. Refer to the following YAML example and consult the VPC Service Controls documentation to tailor the rule to your specific requirements.

  egressPolicies 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 egressFrom 
 : 
  
 identityType 
 : 
  
 ANY_USER_ACCOUNT 
  
 egressTo 
 : 
  
 # Specify which resources should be present in the search results. In this example, 
  
 # BigQuery. 
  
 operations 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 methodSelectors 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 method 
 : 
  
 '*' 
  
 serviceName 
 : 
  
 bigquery.googleapis.com 
  
 # Specify project ids under which the search is performed. 
  
 resources 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 projects/ SEARCH_PROJECT_ID 
 
 ingressPolicies 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 ingressFrom 
 : 
  
 identityType 
 : 
  
 ANY_USER_ACCOUNT 
  
 sources 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 accessLevel 
 : 
  
 '*' 
  
 ingressTo 
 : 
  
 # Specify which resources should be present in the search results. In this example, 
  
 # BigQuery. 
  
 operations 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 methodSelectors 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 method 
 : 
  
 '*' 
  
 serviceName 
 : 
  
 bigquery.googleapis.com 
  
 # Specify project ids to expose in search results. 
  
 resources 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 projects/ INGRESS_PROJECT_ID

For more information about the Identity and Access Management roles that you need to use Dataplex Universal Catalog search, see Dataplex Universal Catalog IAM roles .

Isolate search results by environment using VPC Service Controls

To isolate Dataplex Universal Catalog search results between environments like development, test, and production, configure separate VPC Service Controls perimeters for each environment. Assign both the projects that contain the data assets and the projects that are used for performing searches to the corresponding environment's perimeter. Searches that are performed from a project within a specific perimeter will only return results for assets that are also located within that same perimeter.

Recall limitations in search

Dataplex Universal Catalog search queries don't guarantee full recall. Results that match your query mightn't be returned. Additionally, returned (and not returned) results can vary if you repeat search queries.

To query all Dataplex Universal Catalog metadata, you can export the metadata to Cloud Storage and then query it from BigQuery. For more information, see Export metadata .

Filters

Filters let you narrow down the search results. Filters are available in both keyword and natural language search, but the available options might differ slightly depending on the mode.

When you provide filters in multiple sections, they are evaluated using the AND logical operator. The search results contain resources that match at least one condition from every selected section. For example, if you select the BigQuery system and the dataset resource type, the search results includes BigQuery datasets but not Vertex AI datasets.

If you select multiple filters within a single section, they are evaluated using the OR logical operator. For example, if you select the dataset resource type and the table resource type, the search results includes both datasets and tables.

For keyword search, filters are grouped into the following sections:

Systemssuch as BigQuery, Cloud SQL, and others. The Dataplex Universal Catalog system contains custom entries.
Aspects (tags)list all aspects available to you.
Projectlists all projects available to you.
Type aliasesdescribe resource types, such as databases, datasets, models, tables, views, services, and custom types.
Datasetscome from BigQuery.

Filter by aspect value

The Aspectsfilters let you query for assets tagged using a specific template. You can use the Customizemenu to further refine results and filter by specific aspect values. The aspect value filter conditions depend on that aspect field's data type. For example, for the datetime and number fields, you can specify a specific date or a range.

Filter visibility

The filters Systems, Type aliases, Project, and Datasetsare displayed depending on the current query in the Searchfield.

For natural language search, the following filters are available:

Scope: search across the organization (default), the current project, or only for starred resources. For more information, see the Search scope section of this document.
Systems: the Google Cloud service that the resource belongs to, such as BigQuery. The Dataplex Universal Catalog system contains entry groups .
Projects: the projects to search in.
Type: the resource type, such as BigQuery connection, Cloud Storage bucket, or database. Depending on the resource type, you can also filter by subtype, such as the connection type or SQL dialect.
Select locations: the locations to search in.
Select datasets: the search results are limited to BigQuery resources that belong to the selected BigQuery datasets. In the Type to filterfield, enter the name of the dataset.
Aspect types: the Dataplex Universal Catalog aspect types that are associated with the resource that you're searching for. To filter by aspect values, click Filter on annotation values, and then select the values.

Before you begin

Before you perform search, ensure that you are granted the required roles and have enabled the necessary API.

Required roles

This section describes the roles and permissions required to search for resources and to access the search results.

For more information about granting roles, see Manage access .

You might also be able to get the required permissions through custom roles or other predefined roles .

Required roles for searching entries

To search for entries, you need at least one of the following IAM roles on the project that is used for search: Dataplex Catalog Admin, Dataplex Catalog Editor, or Dataplex Catalog Viewer. Permissions on search results are checked independently of the selected project.

Required roles for accessing search results

The search results in Dataplex Universal Catalog are scoped according to your role. To search for an asset in Dataplex Universal Catalog, you must have permissions to access the corresponding resource in the source system. For more information, see the Search scope section of this document.

For example, to search for BigQuery datasets, tables, views, and models, you need respective permissions for those entries. For more information, see BigQuery permissions .

The following list describes the minimum permissions required:

To search for a table, you need bigquery.tables.get permission for that table.
To search for a dataset, you need bigquery.datasets.get permission for that dataset.
To search for metadata for a dataset or a table, you need the BigQuery Metadata Viewer role ( roles/bigquery.metadataViewer ).

As another example, to search for Cloud SQL instances, databases, schemas, tables, and views, you need respective permissions on those entries. For more information, see Cloud SQL roles and permissions .

To search for custom entries, you need the Dataplex Catalog Viewer role ( roles/dataplex.catalogViewer ).

Enable the API

Enable the Dataplex API.

Roles required to enable APIs

To enable APIs, you need the Service Usage Admin IAM role ( roles/serviceusage.serviceUsageAdmin ), which contains the serviceusage.services.enable permission. Learn how to grant roles .

Enable the API

Search for resources

Console

To search for resources, follow these steps:

In the Google Cloud console, go to the Dataplex Universal Catalog Searchpage.

Go to Search
For Choose search platform, select Dataplex Universal Catalog.

Selecting Dataplex Universal Cataloglets you search the Dataplex Universal Catalog metadata storage. Selecting Data Cataloglets you search your Data Catalog repository, if you're an existing Data Catalog user.
To use keyword search, follow these steps:
1. In the Find resources across projectsfield, enter your query.
2. To refine your search, use the Filterspanel. For the list of available filters, see Keyword search filters .
  
  You can manually add the following filters:
  - Add a project filter: in Project, click Add project. Search for a specific project, select the project, and then click Open.
  - Add an aspect type filter: in Aspects, click the Add more aspect typesmenu. Search for a specific template, select it, and then click OK.
3. Optional: In addition to the assets available to you, you can search for resources that are publicly available in Google Cloud by selecting Include public datasets.
  
  Use the following tips to construct a search query:
  - Enclose your search expression in quotes if it contains spaces. For example, "search terms" .
  - Precede a keyword with NOT to match the logical negation of the keyword:term filter. You can also use AND and OR Boolean operators to combine search expressions. The AND , OR , and NOT operators aren't case-sensitive.
  For example, NOT column:term lists all columns except those that match the specified term. For a list of keywords and other terms you can use in a Dataplex Universal Catalog search expression, see Search syntax .
To use natural language search, follow these steps:

Preview

This feature is subject to the "Pre-GA Offerings Terms" in the General Service Terms section of the Service Specific Terms . Pre-GA features are available "as is" and might have limited support. For more information, see the launch stage descriptions .
1. Click Try natural language search.
2. In the Find resources across projects with natural languagefield, enter your query in natural language and then press Enter .
  
  The following are some sample queries:
  - Show me the datasets that contain taxi information
  - Find data on vaccine distribution across different countries
  - Get tables with historical temperature data for major world cities
  - Search for hurricane tracking and storm activity datasets
  - Population data by country
3. To refine your search, click Filters. For the list of available filters, see Natural language search filters .
To view more information about the searched resource, in the search results, click the resource name. This opens the entry details page.

gcloud

To search for resources, use the gcloud dataplex entries search command .

C#

Before trying this sample, follow the C# setup instructions in the Dataplex Universal Catalog quickstart using client libraries . For more information, see the Dataplex Universal Catalog C# API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Dataplex Universal Catalog, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

  using 
  
  Google.Api.Gax 
 
 ; 
 using 
  
  Google.Api.Gax.ResourceNames 
 
 ; 
 using 
  
  Google.Cloud.Dataplex.V1 
 
 ; 
 using 
  
 System 
 ; 
 public 
  
 sealed 
  
 partial 
  
 class 
  
 GeneratedCatalogServiceClientSnippets 
 { 
  
 /// <summary>Snippet for SearchEntries</summary> 
  
 /// <remarks> 
  
 /// This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code template only. 
  
 /// It will require modifications to work: 
  
 /// - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. 
  
 /// - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service client as shown in 
  
 ///   https://cloud.google.com/dotnet/docs/reference/help/client-configuration#endpoint. 
  
 /// </remarks> 
  
 public 
  
 void 
  
 SearchEntriesRequestObject 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 // Create client 
  
  CatalogServiceClient 
 
  
 catalogServiceClient 
  
 = 
  
  CatalogServiceClient 
 
 . 
  Create 
 
 (); 
  
 // Initialize request argument(s) 
  
  SearchEntriesRequest 
 
  
 request 
  
 = 
  
 new 
  
  SearchEntriesRequest 
 
  
 { 
  
 LocationName 
  
 = 
  
  LocationName 
 
 . 
  FromProjectLocation 
 
 ( 
 "[PROJECT]" 
 , 
  
 "[LOCATION]" 
 ), 
  
 Query 
  
 = 
  
 "" 
 , 
  
 OrderBy 
  
 = 
  
 "" 
 , 
  
 Scope 
  
 = 
  
 "" 
 , 
  
 SemanticSearch 
  
 = 
  
 false 
 , 
  
 }; 
  
 // Make the request 
  
 PagedEnumerable<SearchEntriesResponse 
 , 
  
 SearchEntriesResult 
>  
 response 
  
 = 
  
 catalogServiceClient 
 . 
  SearchEntries 
 
 ( 
 request 
 ); 
  
 // Iterate over all response items, lazily performing RPCs as required 
  
 foreach 
  
 ( 
  SearchEntriesResult 
 
  
 item 
  
 in 
  
 response 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 // Do something with each item 
  
 Console 
 . 
 WriteLine 
 ( 
 item 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 // Or iterate over pages (of server-defined size), performing one RPC per page 
  
 foreach 
  
 ( 
  SearchEntriesResponse 
 
  
 page 
  
 in 
  
 response 
 . 
 AsRawResponses 
 ()) 
  
 { 
  
 // Do something with each page of items 
  
 Console 
 . 
 WriteLine 
 ( 
 "A page of results:" 
 ); 
  
 foreach 
  
 ( 
  SearchEntriesResult 
 
  
 item 
  
 in 
  
 page 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 // Do something with each item 
  
 Console 
 . 
 WriteLine 
 ( 
 item 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 } 
  
 // Or retrieve a single page of known size (unless it's the final page), performing as many RPCs as required 
  
 int 
  
 pageSize 
  
 = 
  
 10 
 ; 
  
 Page<SearchEntriesResult> 
  
 singlePage 
  
 = 
  
 response 
 . 
 ReadPage 
 ( 
 pageSize 
 ); 
  
 // Do something with the page of items 
  
 Console 
 . 
 WriteLine 
 ( 
 $"A page of {pageSize} results (unless it's the final page):" 
 ); 
  
 foreach 
  
 ( 
  SearchEntriesResult 
 
  
 item 
  
 in 
  
 singlePage 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 // Do something with each item 
  
 Console 
 . 
 WriteLine 
 ( 
 item 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 // Store the pageToken, for when the next page is required. 
  
 string 
  
 nextPageToken 
  
 = 
  
 singlePage 
 . 
 NextPageToken 
 ; 
  
 } 
 }

package main import ( "context" dataplex "cloud.google.com/go/dataplex/apiv1" dataplexpb "cloud.google.com/go/dataplex/apiv1/dataplexpb" "google.golang.org/api/iterator" ) func main () { ctx := context . Background () // This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code template only. // It will require modifications to work: // - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. // - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service client as shown in: // https://pkg.go.dev/cloud.google.com/go#hdr-Client_Options c , err := dataplex . NewCatalogClient ( ctx ) if err != nil { // TODO: Handle error. } defer c . Close () req := & dataplexpb . SearchEntriesRequest { // TODO: Fill request struct fields. // See https://pkg.go.dev/cloud.google.com/go/dataplex/apiv1/dataplexpb#SearchEntriesRequest. } it := c . SearchEntries ( ctx , req ) for { resp , err := it . Next () if err == iterator . Done { break } if err != nil { // TODO: Handle error. } // TODO: Use resp. _ = resp // If you need to access the underlying RPC response, // you can do so by casting the `Response` as below. // Otherwise, remove this line. Only populated after // first call to Next(). Not safe for concurrent access. _ = it . Response .( * dataplexpb . SearchEntriesResponse ) } }

import com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. CatalogServiceClient ; import com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. LocationName ; import com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. SearchEntriesRequest ; import com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. SearchEntriesResult ; public class SyncSearchEntries { public static void main ( String [] args ) throws Exception { syncSearchEntries (); } public static void syncSearchEntries () throws Exception { // This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code template only. // It will require modifications to work: // - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. // - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service client as shown in // https://cloud.google.com/java/docs/setup#configure_endpoints_for_the_client_library try ( CatalogServiceClient catalogServiceClient = CatalogServiceClient . create ()) { SearchEntriesRequest request = SearchEntriesRequest . newBuilder () . setName ( LocationName . of ( "[PROJECT]" , "[LOCATION]" ). toString ()) . setQuery ( "query107944136" ) . setPageSize ( 883849137 ) . setPageToken ( "pageToken873572522" ) . setOrderBy ( "orderBy-1207110587" ) . setScope ( "scope109264468" ) . setSemanticSearch ( true ) . build (); for ( SearchEntriesResult element : catalogServiceClient . searchEntries ( request ). iterateAll ()) { // doThingsWith(element); } } } }

# This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a # code template only. # It will require modifications to work: # - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. # - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service # client as shown in: # https://googleapis.dev/python/google-api-core/latest/client_options.html from google.cloud import dataplex_v1 def sample_search_entries (): # Create a client client = dataplex_v1 . CatalogServiceClient () # Initialize request argument(s) request = dataplex_v1 . SearchEntriesRequest ( name = "name_value" , query = "query_value" , ) # Make the request page_result = client . search_entries ( request = request ) # Handle the response for response in page_result : print ( response )

require "google/cloud/dataplex/v1" ## # Snippet for the search_entries call in the CatalogService service # # This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code # template only. It will require modifications to work: # - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. # - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service # client as shown in https://cloud.google.com/ruby/docs/reference. # # This is an auto-generated example demonstrating basic usage of # Google::Cloud::Dataplex::V1::CatalogService::Client#search_entries. # def search_entries # Create a client object. The client can be reused for multiple calls. client = Google :: Cloud :: Dataplex :: V1 :: CatalogService :: Client . new # Create a request. To set request fields, pass in keyword arguments. request = Google :: Cloud :: Dataplex :: V1 :: SearchEntriesRequest . new # Call the search_entries method. result = client . search_entries request # The returned object is of type Gapic::PagedEnumerable. You can iterate # over elements, and API calls will be issued to fetch pages as needed. result . each do | item | # Each element is of type ::Google::Cloud::Dataplex::V1::SearchEntriesResult. p item end end

View details of an entry

Console

Use Dataplex Universal Catalog search to view the details of an entry.

Search for an entry in Dataplex Universal Catalog.
In the search results, click the entry for which you want to view the details.

The entry details page opens. The page includes the following sections:
- Entry details: includes information such as the entry type, system, platform, fully qualified name, creation time, last modification time, description, and stewards.
- Overview: an overview of the entry, if available.
- Aspects: the required and optional aspects defined for the entry. For more information, see Categories of aspects .

gcloud

To view the details of an entry, use the gcloud dataplex entries lookup command .

C#

To authenticate to Dataplex Universal Catalog, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

  using 
  
  Google.Cloud.Dataplex.V1 
 
 ; 
 public 
  
 sealed 
  
 partial 
  
 class 
  
 GeneratedCatalogServiceClientSnippets 
 { 
  
 /// <summary>Snippet for LookupEntry</summary> 
  
 /// <remarks> 
  
 /// This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code template only. 
  
 /// It will require modifications to work: 
  
 /// - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. 
  
 /// - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service client as shown in 
  
 ///   https://cloud.google.com/dotnet/docs/reference/help/client-configuration#endpoint. 
  
 /// </remarks> 
  
 public 
  
 void 
  
 LookupEntryRequestObject 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 // Create client 
  
  CatalogServiceClient 
 
  
 catalogServiceClient 
  
 = 
  
  CatalogServiceClient 
 
 . 
  Create 
 
 (); 
  
 // Initialize request argument(s) 
  
  LookupEntryRequest 
 
  
 request 
  
 = 
  
 new 
  
  LookupEntryRequest 
 
  
 { 
  
 Name 
  
 = 
  
 "" 
 , 
  
 View 
  
 = 
  
  EntryView 
 
 . 
  Unspecified 
 
 , 
  
 AspectTypes 
  
 = 
  
 { 
  
 "" 
 , 
  
 }, 
  
 Paths 
  
 = 
  
 { 
  
 "" 
 , 
  
 }, 
  
 EntryAsEntryName 
  
 = 
  
  EntryName 
 
 . 
  FromProjectLocationEntryGroupEntry 
 
 ( 
 "[PROJECT]" 
 , 
  
 "[LOCATION]" 
 , 
  
 "[ENTRY_GROUP]" 
 , 
  
 "[ENTRY]" 
 ), 
  
 }; 
  
 // Make the request 
  
  Entry 
 
  
 response 
  
 = 
  
 catalogServiceClient 
 . 
  LookupEntry 
 
 ( 
 request 
 ); 
  
 } 
 }

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Dataplex Universal Catalog quickstart using client libraries . For more information, see the Dataplex Universal Catalog Go API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Dataplex Universal Catalog, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

  package 
  
 main 
 import 
  
 ( 
  
 "context" 
  
 dataplex 
  
 "cloud.google.com/go/dataplex/apiv1" 
  
 dataplexpb 
  
 "cloud.google.com/go/dataplex/apiv1/dataplexpb" 
 ) 
 func 
  
 main 
 () 
  
 { 
  
 ctx 
  
 := 
  
 context 
 . 
 Background 
 () 
  
 // This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code template only. 
  
 // It will require modifications to work: 
  
 // - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. 
  
 // - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service client as shown in: 
  
 //   https://pkg.go.dev/cloud.google.com/go#hdr-Client_Options 
  
 c 
 , 
  
 err 
  
 := 
  
 dataplex 
 . 
  NewCatalogClient 
 
 ( 
 ctx 
 ) 
  
 if 
  
 err 
  
 != 
  
 nil 
  
 { 
  
 // TODO: Handle error. 
  
 } 
  
 defer 
  
 c 
 . 
 Close 
 () 
  
 req 
  
 := 
  
& dataplexpb 
 . 
 LookupEntryRequest 
 { 
  
 // TODO: Fill request struct fields. 
  
 // See https://pkg.go.dev/cloud.google.com/go/dataplex/apiv1/dataplexpb#LookupEntryRequest. 
  
 } 
  
 resp 
 , 
  
 err 
  
 := 
  
 c 
 . 
 LookupEntry 
 ( 
 ctx 
 , 
  
 req 
 ) 
  
 if 
  
 err 
  
 != 
  
 nil 
  
 { 
  
 // TODO: Handle error. 
  
 } 
  
 // TODO: Use resp. 
  
 _ 
  
 = 
  
 resp 
 }

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the Dataplex Universal Catalog quickstart using client libraries . For more information, see the Dataplex Universal Catalog Java API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Dataplex Universal Catalog, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

  import 
  
 com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. CatalogServiceClient 
 
 ; 
 import 
  
 com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. Entry 
 
 ; 
 import 
  
 com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. EntryName 
 
 ; 
 import 
  
 com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. EntryView 
 
 ; 
 import 
  
 com.google.cloud.dataplex.v1. LookupEntryRequest 
 
 ; 
 import 
  
 java.util.ArrayList 
 ; 
 public 
  
 class 
 SyncLookupEntry 
  
 { 
  
 public 
  
 static 
  
 void 
  
 main 
 ( 
 String 
 [] 
  
 args 
 ) 
  
 throws 
  
 Exception 
  
 { 
  
 syncLookupEntry 
 (); 
  
 } 
  
 public 
  
 static 
  
 void 
  
 syncLookupEntry 
 () 
  
 throws 
  
 Exception 
  
 { 
  
 // This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code template only. 
  
 // It will require modifications to work: 
  
 // - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. 
  
 // - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service client as shown in 
  
 // https://cloud.google.com/java/docs/setup#configure_endpoints_for_the_client_library 
  
 try 
  
 ( 
  CatalogServiceClient 
 
  
 catalogServiceClient 
  
 = 
  
  CatalogServiceClient 
 
 . 
 create 
 ()) 
  
 { 
  
  LookupEntryRequest 
 
  
 request 
  
 = 
  
  LookupEntryRequest 
 
 . 
 newBuilder 
 () 
  
 . 
 setName 
 ( 
 "name3373707" 
 ) 
  
 . 
 setView 
 ( 
  EntryView 
 
 . 
 forNumber 
 ( 
 0 
 )) 
  
 . 
 addAllAspectTypes 
 ( 
 new 
  
 ArrayList<String> 
 ()) 
  
 . 
 addAllPaths 
 ( 
 new 
  
 ArrayList<String> 
 ()) 
  
 . 
 setEntry 
 ( 
  
  EntryName 
 
 . 
 of 
 ( 
 "[PROJECT]" 
 , 
  
 "[LOCATION]" 
 , 
  
 "[ENTRY_GROUP]" 
 , 
  
 "[ENTRY]" 
 ). 
 toString 
 ()) 
  
 . 
 build 
 (); 
  
  Entry 
 
  
 response 
  
 = 
  
 catalogServiceClient 
 . 
 lookupEntry 
 ( 
 request 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 } 
 }

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the Dataplex Universal Catalog quickstart using client libraries . For more information, see the Dataplex Universal Catalog Python API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Dataplex Universal Catalog, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

  # This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a 
 # code template only. 
 # It will require modifications to work: 
 # - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. 
 # - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service 
 #   client as shown in: 
 #   https://googleapis.dev/python/google-api-core/latest/client_options.html 
 from 
  
 google.cloud 
  
 import 
  dataplex_v1 
 
 def 
  
 sample_lookup_entry 
 (): 
 # Create a client 
 client 
 = 
  dataplex_v1 
 
 . 
  CatalogServiceClient 
 
 () 
 # Initialize request argument(s) 
 request 
 = 
  dataplex_v1 
 
 . 
  LookupEntryRequest 
 
 ( 
 name 
 = 
 "name_value" 
 , 
 entry 
 = 
 "entry_value" 
 , 
 ) 
 # Make the request 
 response 
 = 
 client 
 . 
  lookup_entry 
 
 ( 
 request 
 = 
 request 
 ) 
 # Handle the response 
 print 
 ( 
 response 
 )

Ruby

Before trying this sample, follow the Ruby setup instructions in the Dataplex Universal Catalog quickstart using client libraries . For more information, see the Dataplex Universal Catalog Ruby API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Dataplex Universal Catalog, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

  require 
  
 "google/cloud/dataplex/v1" 
 ## 
 # Snippet for the lookup_entry call in the CatalogService service 
 # 
 # This snippet has been automatically generated and should be regarded as a code 
 # template only. It will require modifications to work: 
 # - It may require correct/in-range values for request initialization. 
 # - It may require specifying regional endpoints when creating the service 
 # client as shown in https://cloud.google.com/ruby/docs/reference. 
 # 
 # This is an auto-generated example demonstrating basic usage of 
 # Google::Cloud::Dataplex::V1::CatalogService::Client#lookup_entry. 
 # 
 def 
  
 lookup_entry 
  
 # Create a client object. The client can be reused for multiple calls. 
  
 client 
  
 = 
  
 Google 
 :: 
 Cloud 
 :: 
 Dataplex 
 :: 
 V1 
 :: 
 CatalogService 
 :: 
 Client 
 . 
 new 
  
 # Create a request. To set request fields, pass in keyword arguments. 
  
 request 
  
 = 
  
 Google 
 :: 
 Cloud 
 :: 
 Dataplex 
 :: 
 V1 
 :: 
 LookupEntryRequest 
 . 
 new 
  
 # Call the lookup_entry method. 
  
 result 
  
 = 
  
 client 
 . 
 lookup_entry 
  
 request 
  
 # The returned object is of type Google::Cloud::Dataplex::V1::Entry. 
  
 p 
  
 result 
 end

REST

To view the details of an entry, use the lookupEntry method .

Limitations

The following are the limitations of natural language search:

Natural language search is optimized for discovery and exploration by returning a limited set of the most relevant results. It might not provide an exhaustive list of all matching items and therefore might not be suitable for workloads depending on this, such as curation pipelines.

Natural language search takes into account only the resource metadata, including schemas, descriptions, and aspects. It doesn't answer questions about the data within the tables (for example, "What were last month's sales?") or perform analytical queries on the metadata (for example, "How many tables are in dataset X?").

Public resources are outside the scope of natural language search.

What's next

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License , and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License . For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies . Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2025-11-04 UTC.

Search for resources in Dataplex Universal Catalog

Search scope

Isolate search results by environment using VPC Service Controls

Recall limitations in search

Filters

Keyword search filters

Filter by aspect value

Filter visibility

Natural language search filters

Before you begin

Required roles

Required roles for searching entries

Required roles for accessing search results

Enable the API

Search for resources

Console

gcloud

C#

C#

Go

Go

Java

Java

Python

Python

Ruby

Ruby

REST

View details of an entry

Console

gcloud

C#

C#

Go

Go

Java

Java

Python

Python

Ruby

Ruby

REST

Limitations

What's next