> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.k16solutions.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Trace entity lineage

> Explore upstream, downstream, relationship, and transformation connections between catalog entities.

DataX offers three related graph views from an entity's **More actions** menu. Each answers a different question.

| View              | Best for                                                                                             |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Explore**       | Seeing high-level upstream and downstream connections across several generations                     |
| **Relationships** | Understanding which columns connect entities and whether a relationship is one-to-one or one-to-many |
| **Lineage**       | Following how data moves through sources, transformations, and targets                               |

## Explore connected entities

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open an entity">
    From **Documentation** > **Catalog**, select a published entity.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Explore">
    Open **More actions**, then select **Explore**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the direction">
    Use **Relationship** to show source connections, target connections, or both.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the depth">
    Increase **Generation** to reveal connections farther from the selected entity.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Select an entity in the graph to make it the focus. Pan by dragging the background and zoom with your mouse or trackpad.

<Tip>
  Begin with one generation. Add depth only when you need more context; dense graphs are harder to
  interpret.
</Tip>

## Inspect relationships

Open **More actions** > **Relationships** when you need join details. The graph shows connected entities and the columns that participate in a relationship.

Use the entity selector to change focus. Select a column to narrow the diagram to relationships involving that column. Cardinality markers distinguish one-to-one from one-to-many connections.

Relationship metadata describes how records connect. It does not guarantee that every record has a match, so validate row counts and null behavior in a [worksheet](/datax/analytics/worksheets).

## Follow lineage

Open **More actions** > **Lineage** to review dependency flow. Change the selected entity when you want to trace a different starting point.

Use lineage before you:

* change blueprint SQL or column names;
* restore an older blueprint version;
* disable or delete an entity;
* schedule a snapshot or export that depends on a blueprint;
* investigate why downstream results changed.

## Interpret missing connections

A blank or incomplete graph can mean:

* the entity has no recorded relationships in the current catalog snapshot;
* relationship metadata has not been published for that version;
* connected entities are outside your role's visibility;
* a source or target entity is disabled or unavailable.

Return to [entity details](/datax/catalog/entity-details) to inspect the dependency lists and current status. If the expected connection is still absent, confirm that the correct blueprint version is published.