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truthound lineage show

Display data lineage information. This command shows the relationships between data assets, including upstream sources and downstream consumers.

Synopsis

truthound lineage show <lineage_file> [OPTIONS]

Arguments

Argument Required Description
lineage_file Yes Path to the lineage file (JSON)

Options

Option Short Default Description
--node -n None Focus on a specific node
--direction -d both Traversal direction (upstream, downstream, both)
--format -f console Output format (currently only console is implemented)

Format Option Limitation

The --format option is defined but only console output is currently implemented. For JSON or DOT export, use lineage visualize command instead.

Description

The lineage show command displays lineage information:

  1. Shows node relationships and dependencies
  2. Filters by specific node and direction

Examples

Basic Usage

truthound lineage show lineage.json

Output: 

Lineage Graph Summary
========================================
Nodes: 8
Edges: 10

Root nodes (2):
  raw_data (source)
  external_api (source)

Leaf nodes (2):
  analytics_table (table)
  data_warehouse (table)

Focus on Specific Node

truthound lineage show lineage.json --node analytics_table

Output: 

Lineage for: analytics_table
Type: table

Upstream (2 nodes):
  <- aggregated_data (transformation)
  <- api_processed (transformation)

Downstream (0 nodes):

Upstream Only

Show only where data comes from:

truthound lineage show lineage.json --node analytics_table --direction upstream

Output: 

Lineage for: analytics_table
Type: table

Upstream (2 nodes):
  <- aggregated_data (transformation)
  <- api_processed (transformation)

Downstream Only

Show where data goes:

truthound lineage show lineage.json --node raw_data --direction downstream

Output: 

Lineage for: raw_data
Type: source

Downstream (1 nodes):
  -> cleaned_data (transformation)

Visual Export (Alternative)

For JSON, DOT (Graphviz), or other export formats, use the lineage visualize command:

# Generate interactive HTML visualization
truthound lineage visualize lineage.json -o graph.html

# Generate Graphviz DOT file
truthound lineage visualize lineage.json -o graph.dot --renderer graphviz

# Generate Mermaid diagram
truthound lineage visualize lineage.json -o graph.md --renderer mermaid

See lineage visualize for more details.

Direction Options

Direction Description
upstream Show only data sources (where data comes from)
downstream Show only data consumers (where data goes)
both Show both upstream and downstream (default)

Use Cases

1. Data Discovery

# What feeds into my table?
truthound lineage show lineage.json --node my_table --direction upstream

2. Debugging Data Issues

# Trace data flow both ways
truthound lineage show lineage.json --node problematic_table --direction both

3. Dependency Documentation

For documentation export, use lineage visualize:

# Generate DOT file for documentation
truthound lineage visualize lineage.json -o docs/lineage.dot --renderer graphviz

Exit Codes

Code Condition
0 Success
1 Error (node not found, invalid file, or other error)

See Also