Integration connector

The OpenAPI data catalog your whole team can trust.

The Dawiso OpenAPI connector turns any Swagger / OpenAPI schema into a searchable data catalog: every endpoint, parameter, response and nested model, with configurable $ref expansion depth.

Read the docs

Live connector Stable connector

OpenAPI

Dawiso

Metadata-only · your data never leaves the source

Type: REST API specification
Auth: Public or DIR-reachable schema URL
Sync: Scheduled, schema-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 OpenAPI?

OpenAPI, originally launched as Swagger in 2010, is the standard for describing REST APIs. The OpenAPI Initiative is hosted by the Linux Foundation and counts Google, Microsoft, IBM and Capital One among its founding members. If your company ships APIs, they almost certainly have an OpenAPI document.

APIs are often invisible to the data catalog even when they are the source of half the data in the warehouse. A salesforce-sync table started life as five API calls; a marketing dataset is one paginated REST endpoint. The endpoints and schemas behind that data rarely get documented anywhere a business user can find them. That's where the Dawiso OpenAPI data catalog joins the picture: read-only, metadata-only, and cross-platform.

Architecture

How Dawiso connects to OpenAPI

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

Source

OpenAPI schema URL

Paths & operations
Parameters & responses
Component schemas
$ref reference graph

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: OpenAPI / Swagger schema file (JSON or YAML) over HTTPS
Authentication: Public schema URL or DIR-reachable URL · no API runtime credentials needed
Lineage: API endpoints, parameters, responses and component schemas become searchable catalog assets with ownership documented in Dawiso

Setup

Connect OpenAPI in 4 steps

01

Publish your OpenAPI schema

Most API frameworks generate the schema automatically: FastAPI at /openapi.json, Spring Boot via springdoc, ASP.NET via Swashbuckle. Note the full schema URL.
02

Create the connection

In Dawiso, add the schema URL. For internal APIs behind a firewall, use a Private connection and route through Dawiso Integration Runtime.
03

Pick the depth level

Set the maximum $ref expansion depth (0 to 5). Depth 2 covers most clean schemas; raise it if your User -> Address -> Country chains need full visibility.
04

Run ingestion

Scheduled sync re-reads the schema and refreshes endpoints, parameters and component schemas. Old endpoints stay in the catalog until you confirm they are gone.

Capabilities

What you get with the OpenAPI connector

Endpoint & schema catalog

Every path, operation, parameter and response model is searchable in Dawiso. Find which API exposes 'customerId' in two clicks instead of grepping a repo.
Parameters & responses

Path, query and body parameters and the response payload for every status code are cataloged, so 'what does GET /customers return' has an answer without opening the spec.
Nested $ref expansion

Configure depth 0 to 5. Dawiso follows $ref chains so UserList wrapping User wrapping Address wrapping Country is fully catalogued.
Ownership for APIs

Assign owners and stewards to APIs the same way you do for tables. The team that ships the API is the team accountable for it.
Certification & review

Promote endpoints to certified or flag them as under review in the catalog. Consumers see the status alongside the endpoint.
No runtime calls

Dawiso reads the OpenAPI schema document only. No API key, OAuth credentials or rate-limit budget against your live service are needed.

Business value

Why teams turn on the OpenAPI connector

Searchable
Endpoints stop hiding in a repo

Find which API exposes a given field in two clicks instead of grepping a codebase. The schema is documented where business users can read it.
API-first
APIs in the same catalog as tables

Service-oriented orgs no longer need a second tool for API documentation. Endpoints sit next to tables, reports and business terms.
No keys
Schema-only, no runtime access

Dawiso reads the OpenAPI document, never your live service. No credentials, no rate-limit budget, nothing for security to review.

Ready to catalog your OpenAPI?

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 metadata in an API?

API metadata describes endpoints, parameters, schemas and responses - exactly what an OpenAPI specification captures. Dawiso reads your OpenAPI specs read-only and catalogs each endpoint and data model with ownership and certification status.

Does OpenAPI work with a data catalog?

Yes. Dawiso ingests OpenAPI specifications and turns documented endpoints and schemas into catalogued, searchable assets that sit alongside the rest of your data in one catalog.

What OpenAPI versions are supported?

Swagger 2.0 and OpenAPI 3.x JSON or YAML schemas are supported. Provide the full URL to the schema file (for example, https://api.your-company.com/v3/api-docs).

Does Dawiso call the API at runtime?

No. Dawiso reads the OpenAPI schema document only. No runtime API requests are made, so the integration needs no API key, OAuth credentials or rate-limit budget against your live service.

What is the depth level for?

It controls how far Dawiso expands $ref chains inside the schema. Depth 0 records references without expanding; depth 5 (the maximum) follows the chain fully. Higher depth gives more detail and longer ingestion time.

Can I catalog internal APIs behind a firewall?

Yes. Use a Private connection and the Dawiso Integration Runtime (DIR), which fetches the schema from inside your network and sends only metadata back to the Dawiso tenant.