Understanding Alation Roles and License Types¶
Alation Cloud Service Applies to Alation Cloud Service instances of Alation
Customer Managed Applies to customer-managed instances of Alation
Alation uses roles to control what each user can do and license types to determine which roles can be assigned. This topic explains how roles and licenses work together, how to check your own role, and what tasks are available to each role.
Check Your Assigned Role¶
To find out which role you have in the catalog:
In the upper‑right corner of the Alation user interface, click your avatar.
In the menu that appears, select My Profile. Your profile page opens.
On the profile page, look under your display name. Your current role appears there.
Knowing your role helps you understand which tasks you can perform and which license type you consume.
Understand License Types¶
Alation licenses determine which roles can be assigned. There are three license levels:
License type |
Description and mapping |
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Creator |
Required for roles that can create or edit catalog content: Server Admin, Catalog Admin, Data Source Admin, Steward, and Composer. |
Explorer |
Available on Alation Cloud Service deployments. Used for the Explorer role, which adds the ability to run query forms. |
Viewer |
Used by users who consume information. Viewers can browse and search catalog content but cannot create or edit objects. All new users are assigned this license and role by default. |
Understand Role Responsibilities¶
Roles define what users can do in Alation:
Perform Tasks as a Server Admin¶
License requirement: Creator
Server Admins have full, global administrative access. They can:
Manage system settings and the Admin Settings pages, including installing connectors, registering data sources and BI servers, and configuring global settings such as enabling additional features.
Manage users, assign roles and groups, and monitor tasks and user activity. Server Admins are the only role that can manage system‑wide settings and view license consumption.
Use all catalog customization features such as creating custom fields, editing templates, creating catalog sets, and publishing or unpublishing document hubs.
Perform all Compose tasks and run queries on any data source.
Access and manage all data sources (public and private), including adding new data sources, assigning users as Data Source Admins, and modifying source settings.
Perform Tasks as a Catalog Admin¶
License requirement: Creator
Catalog Admins manage and customize the catalog but do not have Admin Settings access. They can:
Create and edit catalog objects, such as business policies, document hubs, and documents; edit fields on catalog pages; manage workflows, and manage catalog sets.
Act as Data Source Admins for sources they manage, including scheduling metadata extraction and controlling access.
Manage groups and catalog customization options such as custom fields and templates.
Use Compose to write and run queries.
Perform Tasks as a Source Admin¶
License requirement: Creator
Source Admins focus on managing data sources. They can:
Create and edit catalog objects such as documents and folders; edit fields on catalog pages.
Use Compose to write queries and schedule metadata extraction for data sources they manage.
Be assigned as Data Source Admins to a source to configure its settings, manage extraction, and control who can access it.
Add or remove Stewards on data sources, and grant Viewer or Admin access to data sources to other users.
Source Admins cannot manage groups, catalog customization, or Admin Settings.
Perform Tasks as a Steward or Composer¶
License requirement: Creator
Composers and Stewards are authors who create content in the catalog and monitor curation efforts. They can:
Create and edit documents and folders.
Edit fields on catalog pages.
Use Compose to write queries.
Upload data dictionaries.
Use the majority of the Stewardship and Governance features.
Perform Tasks as an Explorer¶
Applies to Alation Cloud Service only
License requirement: Explorer
The Explorer role is available only on Alation Cloud Service deployments. Explorers can:
Use the catalog in much the same way as Viewers: search, browse, watch and star objects, participate in conversations—and view catalog pages of data objects they have access to.
Run query forms to analyze data.
Use the Query API with some limits.
Explorers cannot create or edit catalog content.
Perform Tasks as a Viewer¶
License requirement: Viewer
Viewers are read‑only users. They can:
Search and browse catalog objects they are permitted to see.
View document hubs, folders, and documents they are permitted to see.
Participate in conversations.
View and star catalog sets, download data dictionaries, and access the Alation Help Center.
View queries only if granted explicit access.
Viewers cannot use Compose, Alation Analytics, or Analytical Stewardship features, create new objects or edit fields, cannot run table or column profiles, and cannot be Data Source Admins.
Note
Users with the Viewer role cannot be assigned as article reviewers. If a user with the Viewer role created an article before the Viewer role enforcement flag was turned on, they will lose the edit access to their articles. If these users require edit access to articles, their role needs to be upgraded.
Functionality By Role¶
Actions |
Server Admin |
Catalog Admin |
Steward, Composer, Source Admin |
Explorer |
Viewer |
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USERS |
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Manage users |
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Assign roles |
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Manage groups |
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View and edit own User Profile |
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SYSTEM |
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Manage system settings |
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Monitor tasks and user activity |
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Use public APIs |
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CATALOG CUSTOMIZATION |
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Create custom fields |
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Edit object and custom templates |
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Create and edit catalog sets |
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Create, edit, and unpublish document hubs |
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Create folders and glossaries |
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Edit and delete folders and glossaries |
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Modify folder and document permissions |
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Add and remove documents from folders |
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Create, edit, and delete documents |
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View and generate suggested terms |
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Manage Lexicon |
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COMPOSE |
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Access and use Compose |
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CATALOG USAGE |
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View homepage |
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Use Catalog Browser |
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Use Search |
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Access Analytical Stewardship reports |
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Upload data dictionaries |
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Download data dictionaries |
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Find and view permitted data sources and data objects |
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Run table and column profiles when Dynamic Profiling is off |
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Run table and column profiles when Dynamic Profiling is on |
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Find and view BI server sources |
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Find and view file system sources |
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Find and view API resources functions |
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Edit custom field values |
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Find and view user and group profiles |
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Apply trust flags |
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View document hubs, documents, and folders |
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Add terms to glossaries |
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View glossaries |
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Add terms to glossaries |
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View articles |
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Create new articles |
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Edit articles when provided access |
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Collaborate on articles as Reviewers |
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Delete articles as authors |
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View Catalog sets |
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View Alation Help |
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Star and watch Catalog objects |
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Use Inbox and conversations |
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Find and view queries on accessible data sources** |
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Run query forms on accessible data sources** |
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GOVERNANCE APP (Policy Center, Workflow Center, Governance Dashboard, and Stewardship Workbench): see Access to the Governance App |
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DATA PRODUCTS APP: see Configure Access in the Data Product App |
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DATA QUALITY APP: see Access the Data Quality Features |
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CDE MANAGER: see Access CDE Manager |
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* Different Public APIs are available to different roles. See APIs by Roles for a complete listing.
** Starting in 2023.1, the ability to find, view, and run queries can be assigned to individuals and groups. See Share and Access Queries - 2023.1 and Later for details.
Access Data Sources¶
A data source in Alation can be Public (visible to all users) or Private (visible only to users with explicit access). Access to data sources depends on your role.
General Access Rules for Data Sources¶
Public data sources can be viewed by all users.
Private data sources require explicit access. Only users assigned as Data Source Admin to a source can access its settings.
Only admin‑level users (Server Admin, Catalog Admin, and Source Admin) can be assigned as Data Source Admins.
Viewers and Explorers cannot run table or column profiles.
Access to Data Sources¶
Actions |
Server Admin |
Catalog Admin |
Source Admin |
Steward, Composer |
Viewer, Explorer |
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View Catalog pages of data objects |
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(only public data sources and data sources I have access to) |
(only public data sources and data sources I have access to) |
(only public data sources and data sources I have access to) |
(only public data sources and data sources I have access to) |
Add a data source |
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Manage Sources page |
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(only sources I manage as Data Source Admin) |
(only sources I manage as Data Source Admin) |
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Give viewer access to a data source |
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(only sources I manage as Data Source Admin) |
(only sources I manage as Data Source Admin) |
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Give admin access to a data source |
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(only sources I manage as Data Source Admin) |
(only sources I manage as Data Source Admin) |
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Be added as Data Source Admin |
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Comes up in search when adding a data source admin * |
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(will not be able to access the settings) |
(will not be able to access the settings) |
Access and change data source settings |
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(only sources I manage as Data Source Admin) |
(only sources I manage as Data Source Admin) |
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Add and remove Stewards |
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Be added as Steward |
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* Even though there may be an ability to add users with the Viewer, Composer, and Steward roles as Data Source Admins in the user interface, these users will not be able to access the data source settings.
** The scope of the Source Admin and Catalog Admin roles can be extended by enabling the ability to add sources. Find more details in Enable Permission for Source and Catalog Admins to Add Sources.
Compare User Roles and Licenses¶
Server Admins can use the License tab in Admin Settings to view how many Creator, Explorer, and Viewer licenses are allocated and consumed. The License dashboard includes information about contract expiration, days left on the license, number of data objects in the catalog, and counts of users in each role. The dashboard also provides a Compare User Roles pop‑up that summarizes functional areas for each role. Use these tools to view license assignments and ensure that roles are allocated appropriately.