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What is Catalog Explorer?

Databricks Catalog Explorer provides a UI to explore and manage data, schemas (databases), tables, models, functions, and other AI assets. To open Catalog Explorer, click Data icon. Catalog in the sidebar.

What can you do with Catalog Explorer?

Catalog Explorer has two primary functions:

  • Finding data assets.

    For example, you can use Catalog Explorer to view schema details, preview sample data, see table and model details, and explore entity relationships.

  • Managing Unity Catalog and Delta Sharing.

    For example, you can use use Catalog Explorer to create catalogs, manage external locations, view and change object ownership, and grant and revoke permissions on all objects.

Catalog Explorer also supports the following AI-assisted data discovery tools:

  • AI-generated comments on data and AI objects, such as catalogs, tables, columns, volumes, and models.

  • Databricks Assistant for prompt-driven information about table lineage and insights.

Find data using the UI

Catalog Explorer provides tools for exploring and governing data assets. You access Catalog Explorer using the Data icon. Catalog in the workspace sidebar.

Notebooks and the SQL query editor also provide a catalog navigator for exploring database objects. Click the Catalog icon in these interfaces to expand or collapse the catalog navigator without leaving your code editor.

Once you've discovered a dataset of interest, you can use the Insights tab to learn how the data is being used in your workspace.