Data Catalog is deprecated and will be discontinued on January 30, 2026. For steps to transition your Data Catalog users, workloads, and content to Dataplex Universal Catalog, see Transition from Data Catalog to Dataplex Universal Catalog.
Entries are contained in an entry group. An entry group is a set of logically
related entries together with Identity and Access Management policies that
specify the users who can create, edit, and view entries within an entry group.
Data Catalog automatically creates entry groups for Google Cloud
resources, such as BigQuery (@bigquery) and Pub/Sub
topics (@pubsub).
The BigQuery and Pub/Sub entry groups are unique
because you cannot run API functions that typically work on custom entry groups. Some
examples of such functions are retrieving the list of entry groups in a project,
retrieving basic information about an entry group, and creating or deleting a
tag.
You can create your own entry group to contain your
Cloud Storage fileset entries and the IAM policies
associated with those entries. For more information, see
Surface files from Cloud Storage with fileset entries.
Entry groups, similar to entries, are searchable.
Map data assets to entries and entry groups
Refer to the following tables to see how Data Catalog maps data
assets from different Google Cloud products.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eData Catalog uses entries to represent data resources, including Google Cloud resources like BigQuery datasets and custom resources with custom data types.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eEntry groups are containers for logically related entries and their associated Identity and Access Management policies, determining who can create, edit, and view entries within them.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eData Catalog automatically creates entry groups for Google Cloud resources, such as BigQuery and Pub/Sub, which have unique constraints where typical API functions do not apply.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou are able to create custom entry groups for fileset entries, such as those from cloud storage and map them to specific IAM policies.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDataproc Metastore, Dataplex, Pub/Sub, Bigtable, BigQuery, and Vertex AI all map various data assets to entries and entry groups within the Data Catalog system.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Entries and entry groups are key concepts in Data Catalog.\n\nThe following illustration depicts how entries and entry groups fit in the\nData Catalog data model.\n**Figure 1.** Entry groups organize different data sources and assets.\n\nEntries\n-------\n\nData Catalog entries represent data resources:\n\n- Google Cloud resources, such as a BigQuery dataset or table, Pub/Sub topic, for example.\n- Custom resources with custom data types.\n\nYou can create, search, and manage your entries. For more information, see\n[Create custom Data Catalog entries for your data sources](/data-catalog/docs/how-to/custom-entries).\n\nEntry groups\n------------\n\nEntries are contained in an entry group. An entry group is a set of logically\nrelated entries together with [Identity and Access Management](/iam/docs) policies that\nspecify the users who can create, edit, and view entries within an entry group.\n\nData Catalog automatically creates entry groups for Google Cloud\nresources, such as BigQuery (`@bigquery`) and Pub/Sub\ntopics (`@pubsub`).\n\nThe BigQuery and Pub/Sub entry groups are unique\nbecause you cannot run API functions that typically work on custom entry groups. Some\nexamples of such functions are retrieving the list of entry groups in a project,\nretrieving basic information about an entry group, and creating or deleting a\ntag.\n\nYou can create your own entry group to contain your\nCloud Storage fileset entries and the IAM policies\nassociated with those entries. For more information, see\n[Surface files from Cloud Storage with fileset entries](/data-catalog/docs/how-to/filesets).\n\nEntry groups, similar to entries, are searchable.\n\nMap data assets to entries and entry groups\n-------------------------------------------\n\nRefer to the following tables to see how Data Catalog maps data\nassets from different Google Cloud products."]]
