Principle:Datahub project Datahub UI Access
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Page Type | Principle |
| Workflow | Docker_Quickstart_Deployment |
| Principle Name | UI_Access |
| Repository | Datahub_project_Datahub |
| Implemented By | Implementation:Datahub_project_Datahub_DataHub_Frontend_Access |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-09 17:00 GMT |
Overview
Description
UI_Access is the principle of providing web-based exploration of a metadata catalog and governance information. DataHub's frontend application exposes a browser-accessible interface where users can search for datasets, view lineage graphs, inspect schema metadata, manage ownership, and apply governance policies. The UI serves as the primary human interaction layer for the platform, translating the metadata graph stored in the backend into navigable, visual representations.
Usage
This principle is realized whenever a user opens a browser and navigates to the DataHub frontend. In a quickstart deployment, the frontend is available at http://localhost:9002 immediately after the deployment completes and all health checks pass.
The UI supports the following core workflows:
- Search and discovery -- Full-text search across all metadata entities (datasets, dashboards, pipelines, users).
- Lineage exploration -- Visual graph showing upstream and downstream dependencies of any entity.
- Schema browsing -- Inspection of table schemas, field descriptions, tags, and glossary terms.
- Governance operations -- Managing ownership, applying tags, defining domains, and enforcing policies.
- Ingestion management -- Configuring and monitoring metadata ingestion sources.
Theoretical Basis
Browser-Based Metadata Discovery
Metadata discovery is the process of finding, understanding, and trusting data assets within an organization. A browser-based interface lowers the barrier to entry for this process by:
- Eliminating tooling requirements -- Any user with a web browser can access the catalog, without installing CLIs, SDKs, or database clients.
- Providing visual context -- Lineage graphs, schema tables, and usage statistics are more easily comprehended in a visual format than as raw API responses.
- Supporting non-technical users -- Data stewards, product managers, and compliance officers can interact with metadata without writing code.
The web interface acts as the primary discovery surface for the metadata platform, complementing the programmatic access provided by REST and GraphQL APIs.
GraphQL-Powered Frontend
DataHub's frontend is a React/TypeScript application that communicates with the backend exclusively through GraphQL. This architectural choice provides several benefits:
- Flexible querying -- The frontend can request exactly the fields it needs for a given view, avoiding over-fetching or under-fetching of data.
- Strong typing -- The GraphQL schema serves as a contract between frontend and backend, enabling compile-time validation of queries.
- Efficient data loading -- GraphQL's ability to batch and nest queries reduces the number of round trips between browser and server.
- Introspection -- Developers can explore the full API surface using GraphQL introspection tools, accelerating frontend development.
The GraphQL schema is defined in datahub-graphql-core/ and is generated from the backend's entity and aspect model, ensuring consistency between the metadata model and the API surface.
Authentication and Default Credentials
In the quickstart deployment, authentication is simplified for evaluation purposes. A default user account (datahub / datahub) provides immediate access without requiring identity provider configuration. In production deployments, this is replaced by OIDC, LDAP, or other enterprise authentication mechanisms.
Related Pages
- Implementation:Datahub_project_Datahub_DataHub_Frontend_Access -- The concrete Docker service and access details for the frontend.
- Principle:Datahub_project_Datahub_Quickstart_Launch -- The deployment process that provisions the frontend service.
- Principle:Datahub_project_Datahub_Service_Health_Monitoring -- Health checks that confirm the frontend is ready to serve requests.
- Principle:Datahub_project_Datahub_Sample_Data_Ingestion -- Loading sample data so the UI has content to display.