File format connector

The JSON data catalog your whole team can trust.

The Dawiso JSON connector turns hierarchical JSON files into searchable, governed metadata: nested fields, arrays, structure and ownership your teams can document in Dawiso.

Read the docs

Live connector Stable connector

JSON

Dawiso

Metadata-only · your data never leaves the source

Type: Hierarchical data interchange format
Auth: DIR-reachable file path
Sync: Scheduled, file-path driven
Direction: Read-only · metadata

First things first

What is a data connector?

Metadata-only Read-only access Incremental sync Cross-system lineage

A data connector is the bridge between a tool in your stack and the catalog that gives you a unified view of it. Once a connector is configured, it reaches into the source system on a schedule, reads out the metadata - schemas, tables, dashboards, jobs, ownership, lineage - and represents it inside the catalog. Your actual rows and values stay where they are.

Connectors are the reason a data catalog can answer questions like "which Power BI dashboard depends on this Snowflake table?" or "who owns the orders topic in Kafka?" - automatically, without anyone keeping a spreadsheet up to date.

Three properties separate a good connector from a brittle one: it should be read-only and safe, it should be incremental so a full re-scan isn't required for every refresh, and it should resolve lineage across system boundaries, not just inside one tool.

About the platform

What is JSON?

JSON, specified by Douglas Crockford in the early 2000s and standardized as ECMA-404, RFC 8259 and ISO/IEC 21778, is the data interchange format the modern web runs on. REST API extracts, event payloads, configuration files, exports from SaaS tools - most of them are JSON.

JSON files in your data pipeline are easy to ignore: they sit between the API call and the warehouse load, often versioned in git, often nested deeply enough that nobody catalogs them properly. When a downstream column breaks, no one knows which key inside which payload changed. That's where the Dawiso JSON data catalog joins the picture: read-only, metadata-only, and cross-platform.

Architecture

How Dawiso connects to JSON

A small read-only role on the JSON side. The Dawiso scanner pulls metadata on a schedule. Everything ends up in your catalog, business-readable.

Source

JSON file path

Files & folders
Top-level keys
Nested objects & arrays
Inferred schemas

REST · JDBC

Dawiso scanner

Read-only metadata

Schema & object discovery
Dependency resolution
SQL flow parsing (optional)
Sampling on opt-in

Internal

Catalog

Dawiso platform

Searchable metadata
Lineage & ownership
Business glossary
Policy & classifications

Connection details

Protocol: File-path scan via Dawiso Integration Runtime (DIR)
Authentication: Private connection only · DIR with read permission to the file path
Lineage: JSON files become catalog assets with their nested structure, inferred types and ownership documented in Dawiso

Setup

Connect JSON in 4 steps

01

Pick the file path

Identify the network share, SFTP location or mounted cloud storage path where the JSON files live. DIR must have read access to that path.
02

Create a Private connection

Only private connections are supported for this provider. Enter the full file path; DIR validates the path is reachable from the runtime host.
03

Choose ingestion scope

Decide whether Dawiso ingests the whole folder or a glob of selected files. Schedule the ingestion frequency to match how often payloads land.
04

Run ingestion

Scheduled sync keeps the catalog current as files arrive. Schema drift between runs is recorded; new and removed keys surface as catalog changes.

Capabilities

What you get with the JSON connector

Nested key catalog

Every top-level key, nested object and array element is searchable in Dawiso. Find which payload exposes 'customer.address.country' in two clicks.
Schema drift tracking

Scheduled scans record added, changed and removed keys between runs. When a payload's shape moves, the catalog shows exactly which key changed.
Inferred type detection

Dawiso infers types per key from the file contents. Strings, numbers, booleans, arrays and nested objects are flagged so the catalog reflects the real shape.
Ownership for files

Assign owners and stewards to JSON files the same way as tables. The team that writes the payload owns the contract.
Metadata-only by DIR

Files never leave your network. DIR reads structure locally and pushes only catalog records to the Dawiso tenant.
AI-generated descriptions

Opt in and Dawiso drafts field and file descriptions from inferred types and naming. A reviewer approves before anything publishes.

Business value

Why teams turn on the JSON connector

End to end
Payloads become first-class assets

REST API extracts and event payloads stop being invisible. The catalog lists every key, every type, every owner alongside warehouse tables.
0 copies
No data leaves your network

DIR scans locally and sends only metadata to Dawiso. Sensitive event payloads stay where they are and audit teams stay happy.
Audit-ready
Schema drift with receipts

Scheduled scans record added, changed and removed keys per ingestion run. Producers and consumers see when the contract moved.

Ready to catalog your JSON?

Set up the connector in an afternoon. See your first lineage graph the same day.

Read the docs

Frequently asked questions

Still curious? Talk to our team ->

What is JSON metadata?

JSON metadata describes a document's structure - keys, nesting and data types. Dawiso reads JSON schema read-only and catalogs each field with type, description and owner, so JSON sources are as searchable as database tables.

Does JSON have a data catalog?

No. JSON is a data format, not a catalog. Dawiso reads JSON structure read-only and turns documents and their fields into catalogued, governed assets with ownership and inferred schemas.

What is a data catalog used for?

A data catalog makes every dataset discoverable, documented and trustworthy. Dawiso brings JSON sources into the same catalog as your databases and BI, with classification and ownership.

Does Dawiso open every JSON file?

DIR reads structural metadata: top-level keys, nested object shape, inferred types per key. Row content can be sampled on opt-in profiling jobs, but the default flow leaves values inside the file.

Can Dawiso handle JSON Lines or NDJSON?

Yes. Both standard JSON arrays and line-delimited JSON (one document per line) are supported. Dawiso treats each record as a contribution to the inferred schema for the file.

What about deeply nested payloads?

Dawiso records the nested structure as it appears in the file. Catalog search reaches keys at any depth, and each key keeps its inferred type and full nested path in the catalog.

Where do my JSON files live?

Wherever you keep them. Dawiso reads files from any path the Dawiso Integration Runtime can reach: network shares, SFTP mounts, on-prem file systems, mounted object storage. Files never leave your network.