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Data Contract Builder (DCB)

Overview

Data Contract Builder (DCB) enables users to create, review, validate, version, and export data contracts based on the Open Data Contract Standard, version 3.1.0. It provides contract forms that allow users to manage contract information without manually editing YAML files.

A data contract is a structured agreement describing a data product or dataset, including its ownership, schema, service expectations, quality rules, and usage conditions.

Key Capabilities

DCB supports the following capabilities:

  • Create contracts from SQL DDL.
  • Create contracts from scratch.
  • Import existing ODCS YAML contracts.
  • Edit contract metadata through guided forms.
  • Define datasets, properties, and relationships.
  • Add roles, service-level objectives, and quality rules.
  • Invite Contributors to participate in the contract review.
  • Create contextual suggestions linked to a contract section or property.
  • Collaborate through suggestions and discussions.
  • Review, accept, reject, or mark suggestions as processed.
  • Validate contracts automatically before activation.
  • Manage contract lifecycle states.
  • Create and manage contract versions.
  • Compare contract versions.
  • Export contracts as YAML.

Accessing DCB

Users with the Data Steward or Data Explorer role can access DCB from the application switcher in Studio and Explorer.

To open DCB:

  1. Open Studio or Explorer.
  2. Select the application switcher in the page header.

  3. Select Data Contract Builder.

    The DCB home page opens.

DCB Home Page

The DCB home page displays all data contracts available in the current tenant.

From this page, you can:

  • View contracts across all lifecycle states, including Draft, Active, Deprecated, and Retired.
  • Search for contracts by contract name or ID.
  • Filter contracts by lifecycle status.
  • Review contract details, including version, owner, domain, field count, and tags.
  • Open a contract to review its contents and version history.
  • Create a new contract.

By default, all users have Viewer access and can browse available contracts. Additional actions, such as creating, editing, reviewing, or managing contracts, depend on the user's assigned role and permissions.