OpenMetadata for VS Code

Bring your data catalog directly into your editor, no tab switching, no context loss.

The Problem

Data engineers constantly switch between their editor and the OpenMetadata browser to check table descriptions, ownership, data quality, and lineage. This breaks flow and slows down development.

The Solution

A VS Code extension that shows live OpenMetadata information the moment you hover over a table name in your SQL, Python, or dbt YAML files.

No browser. No switching. Just hover.

Demo

Features

Supported File Types

• SQL — .sql
• Python — .py
• dbt YAML — .yml, .yaml

Quick Start for Judges

Step 1 — Install the extension

Download openmetadata-vscode-0.0.1.vsix from the Releases page.

In VS Code:

• Extensions sidebar → ... three dots → Install from VSIX → select the file
• Restart VS Code

Step 2 — Get a sandbox token

1. Go to sandbox.open-metadata.org and sign up
2. Click your profile (top right) → Settings
3. Go to Access Token tab
4. Copy the token

Step 3 — Configure the extension

VS Code Settings (Ctrl+,) → search openmetadata → set:

• Server URL: https://sandbox.open-metadata.org
• Token: paste your token here

Step 4 — Open a SQL file and hover

Create a new file test.sql and paste:

SELECT * FROM acme_nexus_redshift.enterprise_dw.public.executive_sales_summary

SELECT 
    t.total_orders,
    p.total_revenue
FROM acme_nexus_redshift.enterprise_dw.public.executive_sales_summary.total_orders t
JOIN acme_nexus_redshift.enterprise_dw.public.executive_sales_summary.total_revenue p
ON t.total_orders = p.total_revenue;

You can download and use the sample test files in .sql, .yml, or .py from the repository.

Hover over acme_nexus_raw_data.acme_raw.sales.orders — you will see the metadata tooltip appear with description, owner, tier, tags, columns, lineage and data quality.

Also try hovering over just o — it resolves the alias to the full table.

Architecture

flowchart TD
A[Hover word] --> B[Prefetch Cache]
B --> C[HoverProvider]
C --> D[Cache Lookup]
D --> E[Fresh]
D --> F[Stale + Refresh]
D --> G[Miss → API Fetch]

How We Used OpenMetadata

We integrated 3 OpenMetadata REST API endpoints:

• /api/v1/tables/name/{fqn} — fetches table metadata including description, owners, tier, tags and columns
• /api/v1/lineage/getLineage — fetches upstream and downstream lineage graph for any table
• /api/v1/dataQuality/testCases — fetches recent DQ test results for a table

The extension is fully configurable — point it at any OpenMetadata instance by changing the server URL in VS Code settings.

Tech Stack

• TypeScript
• VS Code Extension API
• OpenMetadata REST API

Built for the WeMakeDevs x OpenMetadata Hackathon 2026