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Using Atlas

This section is for people who browse and maintain catalog data in Atlas. It covers the identity, ownership, relationship, and lifecycle rules that determine the actions available for an entity.

Who this section is for

Follow this path if you use Atlas to find software, inspect ownership and relationships, or maintain entity records. It answers:

  • how to browse, search, filter, preview, and open catalog entities;
  • which entity kinds Atlas currently supports;
  • how names, namespaces, owners, and references identify catalog data;
  • why manual and repository-managed entities behave differently; and
  • where feature-specific views such as APIs, diagrams, and schemas fit.

Start here

Start with Browse the catalog to find and inspect an entity using the current UI. Follow its links to the concepts behind each catalog field when you need more context.

  1. Browse the catalog: use navigation, search, filters, pagination, previews, and ownership views to find an entity.
  2. Inspect entity details: read ownership, documentation, relations, state indicators, and contributed tabs.
  3. Create or edit catalog entities: use the supported manual UI and admin maintenance paths.
  4. Choose the correct entity workflow: match provenance, lifecycle, and availability to a safe action.
  5. Register and ingest a repository: configure a git source and verify its reconciled catalog records.
  6. Troubleshoot repository ingestion: correct validation, claim, retry, and unregistration failures safely.
  7. Manage an entity's lifecycle: remove, revive, or permanently purge an entity with the correct authority.
  8. Use feature-specific catalog views: continue from entity context into APIs, diagrams, schemas, and Flows.
  9. Entity model: learn the supported catalog kinds and their roles.
  10. Entity references: understand how owners, systems, dependencies, and other links resolve.
  11. Life of an entity: distinguish manual, ingested, unavailable, removed, revived, and purged states.
  12. Permissions: see how identity, ownership, and grants affect catalog actions.
  13. Standard Catalog: connect the shared concepts to the built-in catalog surface.
  14. Continue into Features and Integrations for APIs, C4 diagrams, database schemas, and ingestion behavior.

Section boundary

This section explains catalog-user workflows and their lifecycle effects. It does not cover service configuration or distribution maintenance; operators should use Operating Atlas. Exact manifest fields and API contracts belong in Reference.