# Overview of Asset Types

If you use the Catalog top panel, the asset-type "pills" filter the view. For example, click the "Collection" pill to show Collection items such as Schemas and Folders.

![Asset type pills - UI screenshot](https://1779874722-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FTw0qpCVzfrIXqS4FEg4T%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-05d159787ca90711d23fa057b40df2e09857b56d%2Fimage.png?alt=media)

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### Short summary (at a glance)

* Collection: container for other assets (folders, schemas). Not a data-bearing object.
* Dataset: data-bearing object (tables, views, streams).
* Source: where data originates (database, BI tool).
* Chart / Dashboard: visualizations built on datasets.
* Property: the smallest data element (column, JSON attribute).
* Data Job / Task: executable units that transform or move data.

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### Catalog asset definitions

* Chart
  * What: a single visualization (e.g., a Looker or Tableau chart).
  * Notes: Charts can appear on multiple Dashboards. They carry metadata such as description, owner, lineage, and documentation.
* Dashboard
  * What: a collection of charts grouped for a specific use case (e.g., executive or product dashboard).
  * Notes: includes metadata and lineage like Charts.
* Collection
  * What: a container for other assets (for example, Schemas and Folders).
  * Notes: Collections organize items but usually do not contain data themselves.
* Data Job
  * What: an executable job that consumes, produces, or transforms data (examples: Airflow DAGs, dbt runs, Fivetran jobs).
  * Subtypes: DataJobRun, DataTaskRun.
* Data Task
  * What: a discrete step inside a data job or pipeline (transform, validate, enrich, move).
* Dataset
  * What: structured data, often tabular (tables, materialized views, streams, or files in object storage).
  * Common subtypes: Table (physical table), View (materialized or virtual), Virtual Table (logical representation).
* Source
  * What: the origin system for datasets and other assets (databases, data warehouses, BI tools).
  * Common subtypes: Database, Business Intelligence (BI) tool.
* Property
  * What: the smallest logical data element (column, JSON attribute).
  * Examples: Column (physical table column), Virtual Column (from a virtual table).

#### Asset hierarchy (simple)

The following Mermaid diagram shows the top-level relationships between the common asset types.

{% @mermaid/diagram content="flowchart LR
%% Source branches for DB/warehouse, ETL, BI and jobs
Source\["Source (DB / Warehouse / ETL / BI)"] --> DBCollection\["Collection (Schema)"]
DBCollection --> DBDataset\["Dataset (Table / View)"]
DBDataset --> Column\["Property (Column)"]

Source --> ETLCollection\["Collection (Schema)"]
ETLCollection --> VirtualDataset\["Dataset (Virtual Table)"]
VirtualDataset --> VirtualColumn\["Property (Virtual Column)"]

Source --> DataJob\["Data Job"]
DataJob --> DataTask\["Data Task"]

Source --> Chart\["Chart"]
Source --> Dashboard\["Dashboard"]

%% visual style
classDef asset fill:#cce6ff,stroke:#222,stroke-width:1px,color:#222;
class Source,DBCollection,DBDataset,Column,ETLCollection,VirtualDataset,VirtualColumn,DataJob,DataTask,Chart,Dashboard asset;" %}

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### Glossary assets

* Glossary: a central repository of business terms and definitions.
* Term: a single glossary entry (business term) that can be linked to assets for context.
* Category: hierarchical grouping of glossary terms for easier navigation.

![Glossary diagram - UI screenshot](https://1779874722-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FTw0qpCVzfrIXqS4FEg4T%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ebec4870a41bdb07a34a9c2efb4eb8d300eee927%2Fimage.png?alt=media)