The problem:
- Data models (dbt, SQL, warehouses) often grow into a tangled mess of tables, joins, and undocumented assumptions. - Lineage is either scattered across tools or missing entirely. - Documentation is usually an afterthought (and gets outdated fast).
Datadef.io aims to fix that by providing:
- Interactive canvas to map tables, relationships, and indicators. - Automatic lineage visualization to trace dependencies. - Metadata management: define table/column-level details, ownership, and KPIs. - AI-generated documentation that stays in sync with your models. - Export/share features so asset managers, analysts, and other teams don’t get lost in spreadsheets or PDFs.
It’s still early, and I’d love feedback from the HN community. In particular:
What’s missing for you in lineage/metadata/documentation tools?
How would you want to integrate a tool like this into your workflow (dbt, Databricks, Power BI, etc.)?
I’d really appreciate your thoughts, feature requests, and criticism.
Thanks!
It looks like a really great idea to package all these evolving best practice concepts into one product!
The main motivation really was what you mentioned: so many “best practices” live in blog posts or scattered docs, but almost no one actually packages them into something usable. I’m just trying to pull those ideas together in a way that saves people from reinventing the wheel. Still early days, so I’m curious to see if it resonates beyond my own itch.