Classification¶

Hierarchical taxonomies for data governance - organizing tags into meaningful categories

Overview¶

The Classification entity contains hierarchical terms called tags used for categorizing and classifying data assets and other entities. Classifications enable structured governance through categories like PII, Compliance, Data Quality, and Tier. Each classification contains a hierarchy of tags.

Relationship Diagram¶

graph TD
    %% Main entity
    CLASS[Classification<br/>PII]

    %% Primary tags
    CLASS -->|contains| TAG1[Tag<br/>Sensitive]
    CLASS -->|contains| TAG2[Tag<br/>NonSensitive]

    %% Nested tag hierarchy - Sensitive branch
    TAG1 -->|has child| TAG1A[Tag<br/>Email]
    TAG1 -->|has child| TAG1B[Tag<br/>SSN]
    TAG1 -->|has child| TAG1C[Tag<br/>CreditCard]
    TAG1 -->|has child| TAG1D[Tag<br/>BankAccount]

    %% Nested tag hierarchy - NonSensitive branch
    TAG2 -->|has child| TAG2A[Tag<br/>Name]
    TAG2 -->|has child| TAG2B[Tag<br/>PhoneNumber]
    TAG2 -->|has child| TAG2C[Tag<br/>Address]

    %% Governance relationships
    USR[System] -.->|provides| CLASS

    %% Applied to entities
    TAG1A -.->|classifies| COL1[Column<br/>customer_email]
    TAG1A -.->|classifies| COL2[Column<br/>user_email]
    TAG1B -.->|classifies| COL3[Column<br/>ssn]
    TAG2A -.->|classifies| COL4[Column<br/>first_name]
    TAG2A -.->|classifies| COL5[Column<br/>last_name]

    %% Applied to tables
    TAG1 -.->|classifies| TBL1[Table<br/>customer_pii]
    TAG2 -.->|classifies| TBL2[Table<br/>customer_profiles]

    %% Applied to other assets
    TAG1C -.->|classifies| DASH[Dashboard<br/>Payment Analytics]
    TAG1 -.->|classifies| ML[MLModel<br/>fraud_detector]

    %% Other classifications
    CLASS2[Classification<br/>Tier] -->|contains| TIER1[Tag<br/>Gold]
    CLASS2 -->|contains| TIER2[Tag<br/>Silver]
    CLASS2 -->|contains| TIER3[Tag<br/>Bronze]

    TIER1 -.->|classifies| TBL3[Table<br/>critical_data]
    TIER2 -.->|classifies| TBL4[Table<br/>standard_data]

    %% Styling
    classDef classification fill:#8B5CF6,stroke:#7C3AED,color:#fff
    classDef tag fill:#A78BFA,stroke:#8B5CF6,color:#fff
    classDef nestedTag fill:#DDD6FE,stroke:#A78BFA,color:#000
    classDef governance fill:#059669,stroke:#047857,color:#fff
    classDef data fill:#2563EB,stroke:#1E40AF,color:#fff

    class CLASS,CLASS2 classification
    class TAG1,TAG2,TIER1,TIER2,TIER3 tag
    class TAG1A,TAG1B,TAG1C,TAG1D,TAG2A,TAG2B,TAG2C nestedTag
    class USR governance
    class COL1,COL2,COL3,COL4,COL5,TBL1,TBL2,TBL3,TBL4,DASH,ML data

Schema Specifications¶

View the complete Classification schema in your preferred format:

JSON SchemaRDFJSON-LD

Complete JSON Schema Definition

{
  "$id": "https://open-metadata.org/schema/entity/classification/classification.json",
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "title": "Classification",
  "$comment": "@om-entity-type",
  "description": "A `Classification` entity contains hierarchical terms called tags used for categorizing and classifying data assets and other entities.",
  "type": "object",
  "javaType": "org.openmetadata.schema.entity.classification.Classification",
  "javaInterfaces": ["org.openmetadata.schema.EntityInterface"],

  "properties": {
    "id": {
      "description": "Unique identifier of this entity instance.",
      "$ref": "../../type/basic.json#/definitions/uuid"
    },
    "name": {
      "$ref": "../../type/basic.json#/definitions/entityName"
    },
    "fullyQualifiedName": {
      "description": "FullyQualifiedName same as `name`.",
      "$ref": "../../type/basic.json#/definitions/fullyQualifiedEntityName"
    },
    "displayName": {
      "description": "Display Name that identifies this entity.",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "description": {
      "description": "Description of the classification.",
      "$ref": "../../type/basic.json#/definitions/markdown"
    },
    "version": {
      "description": "Metadata version of the entity.",
      "$ref": "../../type/entityHistory.json#/definitions/entityVersion"
    },
    "termCount": {
      "description": "Total number of children tag terms under this classification. This includes all the children in the hierarchy.",
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0
    },
    "updatedAt": {
      "description": "Last update time corresponding to the new version of the entity in Unix epoch time milliseconds.",
      "$ref": "../../type/basic.json#/definitions/timestamp"
    },
    "updatedBy": {
      "description": "User who made the update.",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "impersonatedBy": {
      "description": "Bot user that performed the action on behalf of the actual user.",
      "$ref": "../../type/basic.json#/definitions/impersonatedBy"
    },
    "href": {
      "description": "Link to the resource corresponding to the classification.",
      "$ref": "../../type/basic.json#/definitions/href"
    },
    "usageCount": {
      "description": "Count of how many times the tags from this classification are used.",
      "type": "integer"
    },
    "changeDescription": {
      "description": "Change that lead to this version of the entity.",
      "$ref": "../../type/entityHistory.json#/definitions/changeDescription"
    },
    "incrementalChangeDescription": {
      "description": "Change that lead to this version of the entity.",
      "$ref": "../../type/entityHistory.json#/definitions/changeDescription"
    },
    "deleted": {
      "description": "When `true` indicates the entity has been soft deleted.",
      "type": "boolean",
      "default": false
    },
    "provider": {
      "$ref": "../../type/basic.json#/definitions/providerType"
    },
    "disabled": {
      "description": "System classifications can't be deleted. Use this flag to disable them.",
      "type": "boolean",
      "default": false
    },
    "mutuallyExclusive": {
      "description": "Tags under this classification are mutually exclusive. When mutually exclusive is `true` the tags from this classification are used to **classify** an entity. An entity can only be in one class - example, it can only be either `tier1` or `tier2` and not both. When mutually exclusive is `false`, the tags from this classification are used to **categorize** an entity. An entity have multiple tags simultaneously - example a customer can be `newCustomer` and `atRisk` simultaneously.",
      "type": "boolean",
      "default": "false"
    },
    "domains": {
      "description": "Domains the asset belongs to. When not set, the asset inherits the domain from the parent it belongs to.",
      "$ref": "../../type/entityReferenceList.json"
    },
    "owners": {
      "description": "Owners of this Classification.",
      "$ref": "../../type/entityReferenceList.json"
    },
    "reviewers": {
      "description": "User references of the reviewers for this tag.",
      "$ref": "../../type/entityReferenceList.json"
    },
    "entityStatus": {
      "description": "Status of the tag.",
      "$ref": "../../type/status.json"
    },
    "autoClassificationConfig": {
      "description": "Configuration for automatic classification behavior",
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "enabled": {
          "description": "Whether automatic classification is enabled for this classification",
          "type": "boolean",
          "default": false
        },
        "conflictResolution": {
          "description": "Strategy for resolving conflicts when multiple tags match",
          "type": "string",
          "enum": ["highest_confidence", "highest_priority", "most_specific"],
          "default": "highest_confidence"
        },
        "minimumConfidence": {
          "description": "Minimum confidence score required to apply a tag",
          "type": "number",
          "minimum": 0.0,
          "maximum": 1.0,
          "default": 0.6
        },
        "requireExplicitMatch": {
          "description": "Only apply tags when recognizers explicitly match (no default tagging)",
          "type": "boolean",
          "default": true
        }
      },
      "additionalProperties": false
    }
  },

  "required": ["id", "name", "description"],
  "additionalProperties": false
}

View Full JSON Schema →

RDF/OWL Ontology Definition

@prefix om: <https://open-metadata.org/schema/> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
@prefix skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#> .

# Classification Class Definition
om:Classification a owl:Class ;
    rdfs:subClassOf om:Entity, skos:ConceptScheme ;
    rdfs:label "Classification" ;
    rdfs:comment "A Classification entity contains hierarchical terms called tags used for categorizing and classifying data assets and other entities" .

# Datatype Properties
om:classificationName a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:string ;
    rdfs:label "name" ;
    rdfs:comment "Name of the classification" .

om:fullyQualifiedName a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:string ;
    rdfs:label "fullyQualifiedName" ;
    rdfs:comment "FullyQualifiedName same as name" .

om:displayName a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:string ;
    rdfs:label "displayName" ;
    rdfs:comment "Display Name that identifies this entity" .

om:description a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:string ;
    rdfs:label "description" ;
    rdfs:comment "Description of the classification" .

om:termCount a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:integer ;
    rdfs:label "termCount" ;
    rdfs:comment "Total number of children tag terms under this classification" .

om:usageCount a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:integer ;
    rdfs:label "usageCount" ;
    rdfs:comment "Count of how many times the tags from this classification are used" .

om:mutuallyExclusive a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:boolean ;
    rdfs:label "mutuallyExclusive" ;
    rdfs:comment "Tags under this classification are mutually exclusive" .

om:disabled a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:boolean ;
    rdfs:label "disabled" ;
    rdfs:comment "System classifications can't be deleted. Use this flag to disable them" .

om:deleted a owl:DatatypeProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range xsd:boolean ;
    rdfs:label "deleted" ;
    rdfs:comment "When true indicates the entity has been soft deleted" .

# Object Properties
om:hasProvider a owl:ObjectProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range om:ProviderType ;
    rdfs:label "provider" ;
    rdfs:comment "Provider type of the classification" .

om:hasDomain a owl:ObjectProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range om:Domain ;
    rdfs:label "domains" ;
    rdfs:comment "Domains the asset belongs to" .

om:hasOwner a owl:ObjectProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range om:EntityReference ;
    rdfs:label "owners" ;
    rdfs:comment "Owners of this Classification" .

om:hasReviewer a owl:ObjectProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range om:EntityReference ;
    rdfs:label "reviewers" ;
    rdfs:comment "User references of the reviewers for this tag" .

om:hasAutoClassificationConfig a owl:ObjectProperty ;
    rdfs:domain om:Classification ;
    rdfs:range om:AutoClassificationConfig ;
    rdfs:label "autoClassificationConfig" ;
    rdfs:comment "Configuration for automatic classification behavior" .

# Example Instances
ex:piiClassification a om:Classification, skos:ConceptScheme ;
    om:classificationName "PII" ;
    om:fullyQualifiedName "PII" ;
    om:displayName "Personally Identifiable Information" ;
    om:description "Classification for personally identifiable information" ;
    om:hasProvider om:SystemProvider ;
    om:mutuallyExclusive false ;
    om:disabled false ;
    om:deleted false ;
    om:termCount 8 ;
    om:usageCount 145 .

ex:tierClassification a om:Classification, skos:ConceptScheme ;
    om:classificationName "Tier" ;
    om:fullyQualifiedName "Tier" ;
    om:displayName "Data Tier" ;
    om:description "Data tier classification for priority and criticality" ;
    om:hasProvider om:SystemProvider ;
    om:mutuallyExclusive true ;
    om:disabled false ;
    om:termCount 3 ;
    om:usageCount 523 .

View Full RDF Ontology →

JSON-LD Context and Example

{
  "@context": {
    "@vocab": "https://open-metadata.org/schema/",
    "om": "https://open-metadata.org/schema/",
    "skos": "http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#",
    "rdfs": "http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#",
    "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#",

    "Classification": "om:Classification",
    "ConceptScheme": "skos:ConceptScheme",
    "id": {
      "@id": "@id",
      "@type": "@id"
    },
    "name": {
      "@id": "om:classificationName",
      "@type": "xsd:string"
    },
    "fullyQualifiedName": {
      "@id": "om:fullyQualifiedName",
      "@type": "xsd:string"
    },
    "displayName": {
      "@id": "om:displayName",
      "@type": "xsd:string"
    },
    "description": {
      "@id": "om:description",
      "@type": "xsd:string"
    },
    "version": {
      "@id": "om:version",
      "@type": "xsd:double"
    },
    "termCount": {
      "@id": "om:termCount",
      "@type": "xsd:integer"
    },
    "updatedAt": {
      "@id": "om:updatedAt",
      "@type": "xsd:long"
    },
    "updatedBy": {
      "@id": "om:updatedBy",
      "@type": "xsd:string"
    },
    "href": {
      "@id": "om:href",
      "@type": "@id"
    },
    "usageCount": {
      "@id": "om:usageCount",
      "@type": "xsd:integer"
    },
    "deleted": {
      "@id": "om:deleted",
      "@type": "xsd:boolean"
    },
    "provider": {
      "@id": "om:hasProvider",
      "@type": "@vocab"
    },
    "disabled": {
      "@id": "om:disabled",
      "@type": "xsd:boolean"
    },
    "mutuallyExclusive": {
      "@id": "om:mutuallyExclusive",
      "@type": "xsd:boolean"
    },
    "domains": {
      "@id": "om:hasDomain",
      "@type": "@id",
      "@container": "@set"
    },
    "owners": {
      "@id": "om:hasOwner",
      "@type": "@id",
      "@container": "@set"
    },
    "reviewers": {
      "@id": "om:hasReviewer",
      "@type": "@id",
      "@container": "@set"
    },
    "entityStatus": {
      "@id": "om:entityStatus",
      "@type": "@id"
    },
    "autoClassificationConfig": {
      "@id": "om:hasAutoClassificationConfig",
      "@type": "@id"
    }
  }
}

Example JSON-LD Instance:

{
  "@context": "https://open-metadata.org/context/classification.jsonld",
  "@type": ["Classification", "ConceptScheme"],
  "@id": "https://open-metadata.org/classifications/3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f",

  "id": "3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f",
  "name": "PII",
  "fullyQualifiedName": "PII",
  "displayName": "Personally Identifiable Information",
  "description": "# PII Classification\n\nClassification for personally identifiable information to ensure compliance with privacy regulations.\n\n## Categories\n- **Sensitive**: Data requiring strict protection (SSN, financial info)\n- **NonSensitive**: Less critical personal data (name, public contact info)",
  "version": 1.5,
  "termCount": 8,
  "updatedAt": 1704240000000,
  "updatedBy": "admin",
  "href": "https://open-metadata.org/api/v1/classifications/3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f",
  "usageCount": 145,
  "deleted": false,
  "provider": "System",
  "disabled": false,
  "mutuallyExclusive": false,
  "owners": [
    {
      "@id": "https://open-metadata.org/users/admin",
      "@type": "User"
    }
  ],
  "domains": [
    {
      "@id": "https://open-metadata.org/domains/DataGovernance",
      "@type": "Domain"
    }
  ]
}

View Full JSON-LD Context →

Use Cases¶

Organize data governance tags into hierarchical categories
Implement PII (Personally Identifiable Information) taxonomy
Define compliance classifications (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS)
Create data tier systems (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Establish data quality categories
Build domain-specific taxonomies
Enforce mutually exclusive tag selection (e.g., only one tier per asset)
Support automated tag suggestions and propagation
Enable faceted search and filtering

JSON Schema Specification¶

Core Properties¶

`id` (uuid)¶

Type: string (UUID format) Required: Yes (system-generated) Description: Unique identifier of this entity instance

{
  "id": "3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f"
}

`name` (entityName)¶

Type: string Required: Yes Pattern: ^[^.]*$ (no dots allowed) Min Length: 1 Max Length: 256 Description: Name of the classification

{
  "name": "PII"
}

`fullyQualifiedName` (fullyQualifiedEntityName)¶

Type: string Required: Yes (system-generated) Pattern: ^((?!::).)*$ Description: FullyQualifiedName same as name

{
  "fullyQualifiedName": "PII"
}

`displayName`¶

Type: string Required: No Description: Display Name that identifies this entity

{
  "displayName": "Personally Identifiable Information"
}

`description` (markdown)¶

Type: string (Markdown format) Required: Yes Description: Description of the classification

{
  "description": "# PII Classification\n\nClassification for personally identifiable information to ensure compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.\n\n## Usage Guidelines\n- Apply to any data containing personal information\n- Use Sensitive subcategory for high-risk data\n- Triggers automated privacy scanning"
}

Configuration Properties¶

`provider` (providerType)¶

Type: Reference to providerType Required: No Description: Provider type of the classification (System or User)

{
  "provider": "System"
}

`mutuallyExclusive` (boolean)¶

Type: boolean Required: No (default: false) Description: Tags under this classification are mutually exclusive. When mutually exclusive is true the tags from this classification are used to classify an entity. An entity can only be in one class - example, it can only be either tier1 or tier2 and not both. When mutually exclusive is false, the tags from this classification are used to categorize an entity. An entity have multiple tags simultaneously - example a customer can be newCustomer and atRisk simultaneously.

{
  "mutuallyExclusive": true
}

Example Use Case: Tier classification where an asset can only be Gold, Silver, or Bronze (not multiple)

`disabled` (boolean)¶

Type: boolean Required: No (default: false) Description: System classifications can't be deleted. Use this flag to disable them.

{
  "disabled": false
}

`deleted` (boolean)¶

Type: boolean Required: No (default: false) Description: When true indicates the entity has been soft deleted

{
  "deleted": false
}

Metadata Properties¶

`version` (entityVersion)¶

Type: number Required: Yes (system-managed) Description: Metadata version of the entity

{
  "version": 1.5
}

`termCount` (integer)¶

Type: integer Required: No (system-managed) Minimum: 0 Description: Total number of children tag terms under this classification. This includes all the children in the hierarchy.

{
  "termCount": 8
}

`usageCount` (integer)¶

Type: integer Required: No (system-managed) Description: Count of how many times the tags from this classification are used

{
  "usageCount": 145
}

`updatedAt` (timestamp)¶

Type: integer (Unix epoch milliseconds) Required: No (system-managed) Description: Last update time corresponding to the new version of the entity in Unix epoch time milliseconds

{
  "updatedAt": 1704240000000
}

`updatedBy` (string)¶

Type: string Required: No (system-managed) Description: User who made the update

{
  "updatedBy": "admin"
}

`impersonatedBy` (impersonatedBy)¶

Type: Reference to impersonatedBy Required: No (system-managed) Description: Bot user that performed the action on behalf of the actual user

{
  "impersonatedBy": "ingestion-bot"
}

`href` (href)¶

Type: string (URI format) Required: No (system-managed) Description: Link to the resource corresponding to the classification

{
  "href": "https://open-metadata.org/api/v1/classifications/3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f"
}

`changeDescription` (changeDescription)¶

Type: Reference to changeDescription Required: No (system-managed) Description: Change that lead to this version of the entity

{
  "changeDescription": {
    "fieldsAdded": [],
    "fieldsUpdated": ["mutuallyExclusive"],
    "fieldsDeleted": [],
    "previousVersion": 1.4
  }
}

`incrementalChangeDescription` (changeDescription)¶

Type: Reference to changeDescription Required: No (system-managed) Description: Change that lead to this version of the entity

Relationship Properties¶

`domains` (entityReferenceList)¶

Type: Array of entity references Required: No Description: Domains the asset belongs to. When not set, the asset inherits the domain from the parent it belongs to.

{
  "domains": [
    {
      "id": "5d6e7f8a-9b0c-1d2e-3f4a-5b6c7d8e9f0a",
      "type": "domain",
      "name": "DataGovernance",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "DataGovernance"
    }
  ]
}

`owners` (entityReferenceList)¶

Type: Array of entity references Required: No Description: Owners of this Classification

{
  "owners": [
    {
      "id": "6e7f8a9b-0c1d-2e3f-4a5b-6c7d8e9f0a1b",
      "type": "user",
      "name": "admin",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "admin"
    }
  ]
}

`reviewers` (entityReferenceList)¶

Type: Array of entity references Required: No Description: User references of the reviewers for this tag

{
  "reviewers": [
    {
      "id": "7f8a9b0c-1d2e-3f4a-5b6c-7d8e9f0a1b2c",
      "type": "user",
      "name": "data-steward",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "data-steward"
    }
  ]
}

`entityStatus` (status)¶

Type: Reference to status Required: No Description: Status of the tag

{
  "entityStatus": "Active"
}

Auto-Classification Configuration¶

`autoClassificationConfig` (object)¶

Type: object Required: No Description: Configuration for automatic classification behavior

Properties:

enabled (boolean, default: false): Whether automatic classification is enabled for this classification
conflictResolution (string enum, default: "highest_confidence"): Strategy for resolving conflicts when multiple tags match
highest_confidence - Use tag with highest confidence score
highest_priority - Use tag with highest priority
most_specific - Use most specific tag in hierarchy
minimumConfidence (number, default: 0.6): Minimum confidence score required to apply a tag (range: 0.0-1.0)
requireExplicitMatch (boolean, default: true): Only apply tags when recognizers explicitly match (no default tagging)

{
  "autoClassificationConfig": {
    "enabled": true,
    "conflictResolution": "highest_confidence",
    "minimumConfidence": 0.8,
    "requireExplicitMatch": true
  }
}

Complete Example¶

PII Classification (Non-Mutually Exclusive)¶

{
  "id": "3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f",
  "name": "PII",
  "fullyQualifiedName": "PII",
  "displayName": "Personally Identifiable Information",
  "description": "Classification for personally identifiable information to ensure compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.",
  "version": 1.5,
  "termCount": 8,
  "updatedAt": 1704240000000,
  "updatedBy": "admin",
  "href": "https://open-metadata.org/api/v1/classifications/3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f",
  "usageCount": 145,
  "deleted": false,
  "provider": "System",
  "disabled": false,
  "mutuallyExclusive": false,
  "domains": [
    {
      "id": "5d6e7f8a-9b0c-1d2e-3f4a-5b6c7d8e9f0a",
      "type": "domain",
      "name": "DataGovernance",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "DataGovernance"
    }
  ],
  "owners": [
    {
      "id": "6e7f8a9b-0c1d-2e3f-4a5b-6c7d8e9f0a1b",
      "type": "user",
      "name": "admin",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "admin"
    }
  ],
  "reviewers": [
    {
      "id": "7f8a9b0c-1d2e-3f4a-5b6c-7d8e9f0a1b2c",
      "type": "user",
      "name": "data-steward",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "data-steward"
    }
  ],
  "entityStatus": "Active",
  "autoClassificationConfig": {
    "enabled": true,
    "conflictResolution": "highest_confidence",
    "minimumConfidence": 0.8,
    "requireExplicitMatch": true
  }
}

Note: Tags are managed separately via the Tag entity API. See Tag documentation for managing the hierarchical tag structure under this classification.

Tier Classification (Mutually Exclusive)¶

{
  "id": "4d5e6f7a-8b9c-4d0e-1f2a-3b4c5d6e7f8a",
  "name": "Tier",
  "fullyQualifiedName": "Tier",
  "displayName": "Data Tier",
  "description": "Data tier classification for priority and criticality. Only one tier can be assigned per asset.",
  "version": 1.0,
  "termCount": 3,
  "updatedAt": 1704240000000,
  "updatedBy": "admin",
  "href": "https://open-metadata.org/api/v1/classifications/4d5e6f7a-8b9c-4d0e-1f2a-3b4c5d6e7f8a",
  "usageCount": 523,
  "deleted": false,
  "provider": "System",
  "disabled": false,
  "mutuallyExclusive": true,
  "owners": [
    {
      "id": "6e7f8a9b-0c1d-2e3f-4a5b-6c7d8e9f0a1b",
      "type": "user",
      "name": "admin",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "admin"
    }
  ]
}

RDF Representation¶

Ontology Class¶

@prefix om: <https://open-metadata.org/schema/> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
@prefix skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#> .

om:Classification a owl:Class ;
    rdfs:subClassOf om:Entity, skos:ConceptScheme ;
    rdfs:label "Classification" ;
    rdfs:comment "A Classification entity contains hierarchical terms called tags used for categorizing and classifying data assets and other entities" .

Instance Example¶

@prefix om: <https://open-metadata.org/schema/> .
@prefix ex: <https://open-metadata.org/classifications/> .
@prefix skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .

ex:PII a om:Classification, skos:ConceptScheme ;
    om:classificationName "PII" ;
    om:fullyQualifiedName "PII" ;
    om:displayName "Personally Identifiable Information" ;
    om:description "Classification for personally identifiable information to ensure compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA." ;
    om:hasProvider om:SystemProvider ;
    om:mutuallyExclusive false ;
    om:disabled false ;
    om:deleted false ;
    om:termCount 8 ;
    om:usageCount 145 ;
    om:version "1.5"^^xsd:double ;
    om:updatedAt "1704240000000"^^xsd:long ;
    om:updatedBy "admin" ;
    om:href <https://open-metadata.org/api/v1/classifications/3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f> ;
    om:hasOwner ex:admin ;
    om:hasDomain ex:DataGovernance .

ex:Tier a om:Classification, skos:ConceptScheme ;
    om:classificationName "Tier" ;
    om:fullyQualifiedName "Tier" ;
    om:displayName "Data Tier" ;
    om:description "Data tier classification for priority and criticality. Only one tier can be assigned per asset." ;
    om:hasProvider om:SystemProvider ;
    om:mutuallyExclusive true ;
    om:disabled false ;
    om:termCount 3 ;
    om:usageCount 523 .

JSON-LD Context¶

{
  "@context": {
    "@vocab": "https://open-metadata.org/schema/",
    "om": "https://open-metadata.org/schema/",
    "skos": "http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#",
    "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#",
    "Classification": "om:Classification",
    "ConceptScheme": "skos:ConceptScheme",
    "name": "om:classificationName",
    "description": "om:description",
    "provider": "om:hasProvider",
    "mutuallyExclusive": "om:mutuallyExclusive",
    "disabled": "om:disabled",
    "deleted": "om:deleted",
    "termCount": "om:termCount",
    "usageCount": "om:usageCount",
    "domains": "om:hasDomain",
    "owners": "om:hasOwner",
    "reviewers": "om:hasReviewer"
  }
}

JSON-LD Example¶

{
  "@context": "https://open-metadata.org/context/classification.jsonld",
  "@type": ["Classification", "ConceptScheme"],
  "@id": "https://open-metadata.org/classifications/3c4d5e6f-7a8b-4c9d-0e1f-2a3b4c5d6e7f",
  "name": "PII",
  "fullyQualifiedName": "PII",
  "displayName": "Personally Identifiable Information",
  "description": "Classification for personally identifiable information to ensure compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.",
  "provider": "System",
  "mutuallyExclusive": false,
  "disabled": false,
  "deleted": false,
  "termCount": 8,
  "usageCount": 145,
  "version": 1.5,
  "updatedAt": 1704240000000,
  "updatedBy": "admin",
  "domains": ["DataGovernance"],
  "owners": ["admin"]
}

Relationships¶

Child Entities¶

Tag: Primary category tags in this classification
Tag (nested): Sub-category tags

Associated Entities¶

DataAsset: Tables, columns, dashboards, etc. tagged with tags from this classification

Custom Properties¶

This entity supports custom properties through the extension field. Common custom properties include:

Data Classification: Sensitivity level
Cost Center: Billing allocation
Retention Period: Data retention requirements
Application Owner: Owning application/team

See Custom Properties for details on defining and using custom properties.

API Operations¶

Create Classification¶

POST /api/v1/classifications
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "Compliance",
  "displayName": "Compliance & Regulatory",
  "description": "Classification for compliance and regulatory requirements",
  "provider": "User",
  "mutuallyExclusive": false,
  "tags": [
    {
      "name": "GDPR",
      "description": "General Data Protection Regulation"
    },
    {
      "name": "HIPAA",
      "description": "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act"
    }
  ]
}

Get Classification¶

GET /api/v1/classifications/name/PII?fields=tags

Update Classification¶

PATCH /api/v1/classifications/{id}
Content-Type: application/json-patch+json

[
  {
    "op": "add",
    "path": "/tags/-",
    "value": {
      "name": "Financial",
      "description": "Financial personal information"
    }
  }
]

List Classifications¶

GET /api/v1/classifications?fields=tags&limit=25

Disable Classification¶

PATCH /api/v1/classifications/{id}
Content-Type: application/json-patch+json

[
  {
    "op": "replace",
    "path": "/disabled",
    "value": true
  }
]

Common Classification Examples¶

System Classifications¶

PII - Personally Identifiable Information
Tier - Data criticality (Gold/Silver/Bronze)
Compliance - Regulatory frameworks
DataQuality - Data quality indicators
Sensitivity - Data sensitivity levels

User-Defined Classifications¶

BusinessDomain - Business area categorization
DataLifecycle - Data lifecycle stages
AccessControl - Access restriction levels
DataSource - Source system categorization

Tag - Individual tags within classifications
GlossaryTerm - Business terminology
Glossary - Business vocabulary containers
Table - Applying tags to tables
SKOS Standard - W3C Simple Knowledge Organization System

Classification¶

Overview¶

Relationship Diagram¶

Schema Specifications¶

Use Cases¶

JSON Schema Specification¶

Core Properties¶

id (uuid)¶

name (entityName)¶

fullyQualifiedName (fullyQualifiedEntityName)¶

displayName¶

description (markdown)¶