Custom asset types not showing hierarchical (Instance/Catalog/Schema) filters and sub filters in Purview UI like Databricks UC

Question

We have implemented a custom Starburst data model in Purview, including full hierarchy (metastore → catalog → schema → table → column), proper relationship definitions, and indexed attributes (starburstMetastore, starburstCatalog, starburstSchema). All entities are created successfully and are searchable. Filtering works via the generic search API, and data is correctly indexed.

However, unlike Databricks UC assets, the Purview UI does not show hierarchical filters such as Instance / Catalog / Schema for our custom Starburst asset type.

From the investigation of network calls:

Databricks UC uses a specialized API:

/datagovernance/catalog/dataassets/query

which returns predefined hierarchical facets (e.g., Databricks UC/Metastore, Catalog, Schema). These drive the Instance dropdown and sub-filter experience in the UI.

For the custom Starburst asset type, the UI falls back to:

/catalog/api/search/query

which only supports generic facets (e.g., assetType, entityType) and does not generate hierarchical filters, even though the attributes are marked as isIndexable and values are populated.

We also observed that although a preflight (OPTIONS) call is made to the dataassets/query endpoint, the actual POST request is not triggered for custom asset types like Starburst.

---

Expected Behavior:

We expect similar hierarchical filtering behavior for the Starburst asset type as seen for Databricks UC, such as:

• Instance (starburstMetastore)
• Catalog (starburstCatalog)
• Schema (starburstSchema)

---

Actual Behavior:

• Only generic filters (assetType, entityType) are displayed
• No hierarchical dropdowns or sub-filters appear in the UI
• Custom indexed attributes are not surfaced as UI facets

---

Conclusion / Ask:

This appears to be a product limitation where custom asset types are not registered in the Purview taxonomy system used by the dataassets/query API.

We would like to understand:

• Whether it is possible to enable hierarchical filters for custom asset types
• Or if there is any way to register Starburst as a taxonomy-supported asset type similar to Databricks UC
• Or any recommended approach to achieve similar filtering behavior in the UIWe have implemented a custom Starburst data model in Purview, including full hierarchy (metastore → catalog → schema → table → column), proper relationship definitions, and indexed attributes (starburstMetastore, starburstCatalog, starburstSchema). All entities are created successfully and are searchable. Filtering works via the generic search API, and data is correctly indexed. However, unlike Databricks UC assets, the Purview UI does not show hierarchical filters such as Instance / Catalog / Schema for our custom Starburst asset type. From the investigation of network calls:
  • Databricks UC uses a specialized API:

        /datagovernance/catalog/dataassets/query
    

    which returns predefined hierarchical facets (e.g., Databricks UC/Metastore, Catalog, Schema). These drive the Instance dropdown and sub-filter experience in the UI.
  • For the custom Starburst asset type, the UI falls back to:

        /catalog/api/search/query
    

    which only supports generic facets (e.g., assetType, entityType) and does not generate hierarchical filters, even though the attributes are marked as isIndexable and values are populated.
  We also observed that although a preflight (OPTIONS) call is made to the dataassets/query endpoint, the actual POST request is not triggered for custom asset types like Starburst.

  Expected Behavior:

  We expect similar hierarchical filtering behavior for the Starburst asset type as seen for Databricks UC, such as:
  • Instance (starburstMetastore)
  • Catalog (starburstCatalog)
  • Schema (starburstSchema)

  Actual Behavior:

  • Only generic filters (assetType, entityType) are displayed
  • No hierarchical dropdowns or sub-filters appear in the UI
  • Custom indexed attributes are not surfaced as UI facets

  Conclusion / Ask:

  This appears to be a product limitation where custom asset types are not registered in the Purview taxonomy system used by the dataassets/query API. We would like to understand:
  • Whether it is possible to enable hierarchical filters for custom asset types
  • Or if there is any way to register Starburst as a taxonomy-supported asset type similar to Databricks UC
  • Or any recommended approach to achieve similar filtering behavior in the UI

Answer 1

Hi @Nagaraja Kumari Pittu ,

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

Based on the Microsoft documentation(https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/artifact-signing/), custom asset types in Microsoft Purview are created through the Apache Atlas type system. Microsoft documents how to create custom type definitions, define relationships between custom types, and initialize assets of those custom types in Microsoft Purview.

Microsoft also documents that assets created through the REST API can be searched and browsed in Microsoft Purview Unified Catalog.

However, I could not find documentation that describes a supported way to register a custom asset type as a taxonomy-supported source type for the same hierarchical UI filtering experience used by Azure Databricks Unity Catalog.

For Azure Databricks Unity Catalog, Microsoft documents built-in support for extracting technical metadata such as metastore, catalogs, schemas, tables, columns, and views. That appears to be part of the supported Databricks Unity Catalog connector experience, not a documented extensibility point for custom Atlas types.

Because of that, even if the custom Starburst entities, relationships, and indexed attributes are created correctly and are searchable through the generic catalog search APIs, I would not assume that the Purview UI will automatically render the same Instance / Catalog / Schema filter experience that is available for Databricks Unity Catalog.

As a practical workaround, you may consider using Purview collections to organize assets into a hierarchy that matches your Starburst structure, because Microsoft documents collections as a way to organize assets and sources into a hierarchy. This would not be the same as the Databricks Unity Catalog hierarchical filter UI, but it may help with browsing and governance organization.

If you need the exact same hierarchical filtering behavior in the Purview UI, I would recommend opening a Microsoft support request or submitting product feedback, because I could not find a documented API or configuration option that enables this behavior for custom asset types.

Hope this helps.