The record of how data moved and changed through an organisation's pipelines. Backward lineage shows what fed a model; forward lineage shows which models used a dataset, which erasure requests and licence withdrawals need. OpenLineage is an open standard for emitting it 1.
- Developed in
- ch. 14, Provenance versus lineage
- Chapters
- ch. 14, Development
- Contrast with
- Data provenance
- Source
- 1 numbered reference, listed below
Commonly confused
Data provenance versus Data lineage
- Data provenance
- Information about the entities, activities and people involved in producing data, used to judge its quality and trustworthiness.
- Data lineage
- The record of how data moved and changed through an organisation's pipelines.
The differenceWhere the data came from and on what terms, against the path it took through your own pipelines.
Why it mattersPerfect lineage over unknown provenance is still ungoverned; erasure and disgorgement need both.
Where it is used
The term is not used under this name in running prose; the sections listed under "Developed in" treat it.
Sources
- [1] OpenLineage: an open platform for collection and analysis of data lineage (standard API for lineage events over datasets, jobs and runs). OpenLineage project (The Linux Foundation). 2026. https://openlineage.io/ (verified: primary)
Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .