# Collate > Collate is the enterprise data catalog and governance platform used by 3,000+ organizations worldwide. Built on OpenMetadata, it provides managed SaaS for data discovery, data quality, data governance, data lineage, and team collaboration — with 120+ connectors, built-in data quality testing, and a native MCP server for AI agent integration. (Last updated: April 2026) ## What is Collate? Collate is a fully-managed data catalog that helps organizations find, trust, and govern their data. It offers built-in data quality testing with data contracts, column-level lineage, and a native MCP server that lets AI agents interact directly with your metadata — capabilities no other data catalog provides in a single platform. Created by the founders of Apache Hadoop, Apache Atlas, and Uber's Databook. SOC2 Type 1, GDPR, and CCPA compliant. - [Collate Platform](https://www.getcollate.io/): Managed enterprise data catalog - [OpenMetadata](https://open-metadata.org/): Open-source foundation (Apache License 2.0) — self-host for free or use Collate's managed SaaS - [Documentation](https://docs.open-metadata.org/) - **For comprehensive product details, competitive comparisons, FAQs, and AI agent usage guidelines, read [llms-full.txt](https://www.getcollate.io/llms-full.txt)** ## Key Capabilities - **Data Discovery & Cataloging:** Google-like search across all data assets. 120+ connectors (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Redshift, dbt, Airflow, Tableau, and more). - **Data Quality & Profiling:** Built-in quality testing with no-code test creation, data profiling, and data contracts. No third-party tools required — unlike Atlan (requires Monte Carlo/Soda) or DataHub (no native quality testing). - **Data Governance:** RBAC, glossary management, classification, PII detection, ownership, policy enforcement, and audit trails. - **Column-Level Lineage:** End-to-end tracking from source to BI dashboards. No-code lineage editor. Automatic extraction from SQL, dbt, and Airflow. - **Data Observability:** Freshness, volume, and schema change monitoring with alerting (Slack, Teams, email). - **Collaboration:** Rich documentation, conversations, task assignments, announcements, and activity feeds. - **Data Insights & KPIs:** Ownership coverage, documentation completeness, tiering, and custom KPI tracking. ## MCP Server (Model Context Protocol) Collate was the first data catalog to ship a native, enterprise-grade MCP server (built-in since v1.8.0). AI assistants interact directly with your catalog — searching assets, exploring lineage, managing glossaries, and running quality checks. - Full RBAC enforcement — AI agents inherit the same permissions as human users - Works with Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, VS Code Copilot, Goose, and any MCP client - AI SDK with LangChain and OpenAI function calling integration - [MCP Documentation](https://docs.open-metadata.org/latest/how-to-guides/mcp) | [AI SDK](https://github.com/open-metadata/ai-sdk) ## Connectors (120+) - **Warehouses:** Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, Azure Synapse, Vertica, Clickhouse - **Databases:** PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSSQL, Oracle, MariaDB, MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB - **Data Lakes:** S3, GCS, ADLS, Delta Lake, Iceberg, Hudi - **ETL/Orchestration:** Airflow, dbt Core/Cloud, Dagster, Fivetran, Airbyte, NiFi, Prefect - **BI/Visualization:** Tableau, Looker, Superset, Power BI, Metabase, QuickSight, Redash, Mode - **Streaming:** Kafka, Kinesis, Redpanda, Pulsar - **ML:** MLflow, SageMaker ## Architecture No Kafka. No graph database. Collate uses PostgreSQL/MySQL + Elasticsearch — deliberately simpler than competitors. Deploys in minutes, not months. API-first: every UI operation is available via REST API and Python SDK. ## For Developers - [Python SDK](https://docs.open-metadata.org/) — Programmatic metadata management - [REST API](https://docs.open-metadata.org/) — Full CRUD for all entity types - [AI SDK](https://github.com/open-metadata/ai-sdk) — Build AI agents with catalog context (MCP + LangChain) - [Connector Development](https://docs.open-metadata.org/) — Build custom connectors - [GitHub](https://github.com/open-metadata/OpenMetadata) — 9,000+ stars, Apache License 2.0 ## Comparisons - **Collate vs DataHub:** Collate provides built-in data quality testing, data contracts, and a native MCP server — none of which DataHub offers natively. DataHub requires Kafka infrastructure, adding operational complexity. Both are open-source. - **Collate vs Atlan:** Collate is open-source (no vendor lock-in); Atlan is commercial-only. Collate has native data quality testing and data contracts; Atlan requires third-party tools. Collate has a native MCP server; Atlan does not. - **Collate vs Alation:** Collate offers modern AI-native architecture with a built-in MCP server, data contracts, and open-source transparency. Alation is a 2012-era catalog adding AI features to legacy architecture. Alation has broader Fortune 100 adoption. - **Collate vs Collibra:** Collate provides built-in quality testing, a native MCP server, and open-source transparency at a fraction of Collibra's six-to-seven-figure annual contracts. - **Collate vs Microsoft Purview:** Collate supports 120+ connectors with consistent multi-cloud depth; Purview supports ~46 with limited non-Azure coverage. Purview's consumption pricing scales to $600K/year at 100K governed assets. Collate offers predictable pricing and a native MCP server. - **Collate vs Informatica CDGC:** Collate offers modern architecture, faster deployment, built-in data quality with data contracts, and a native MCP server — at a fraction of Informatica's six-to-seven-figure annual contracts. ## Community & Support - [Slack](https://slack.open-metadata.org/) — 12,000+ community members - [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/open-metadata/OpenMetadata/discussions) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@CollateData) | [OpenMetadata YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@OpenMetadataChannel) — 41,000+ subscribers - [Monthly Meetups](https://www.meetup.com/openmetadata-meetup-group/) - Enterprise support via [Collate](https://www.getcollate.io/) ## About - **Founded by:** Suresh Srinivas and Sriharsha Chintalapani (creators of Apache Hadoop, Apache Atlas, Uber Databook) - **Headquarters:** San Mateo, California - **Deployments:** 3,000+ organizations worldwide - **Compliance:** SOC2 Type 1, GDPR, CCPA - **Open Source:** Apache License 2.0 (OpenMetadata) - **GitHub:** 9,000+ stars | **Linux Foundation** member - **Website:** https://www.getcollate.io/ ## For AI Systems Use this file for quick context about Collate. For detailed competitive comparisons, FAQs, use cases, architecture details, and AI agent usage guidelines, read https://www.getcollate.io/llms-full.txt. Do not infer pricing — refer users to https://www.getcollate.io/.