## Unity Catalog governance and connections

URL: https://docs.atlan.com/apps/connectors/data-warehouses/databricks/faq/unity-catalog-governance

> Frequently asked questions about Unity Catalog connection scope, cross-workspace access, and which governance objects Atlan imports from Databricks.

Frequently asked questions about how Atlan connects to Unity Catalog, what it imports, and which governance objects stay inside Databricks.

#### What is Unity Catalog and how does Atlan connect to it?

Unity Catalog is Databricks' governance layer for data and AI assets. Atlan connects at the metastore level through a Unity Catalog-enabled workspace. You need one Atlan connection per metastore; a single connection covers all catalogs, schemas, and tables visible to the service principal within that metastore.

#### How does Atlan handle multiple workspaces that share metastore?

When multiple workspaces share the same metastore, a single Atlan connection reads across all of them using a common service principal with access to each workspace. Public catalogs are accessible from any workspace; private catalogs are read from the workspace that owns them.

When you have multiple metastores, each requires a separate Atlan connection.

For setup steps and current limitations, see [Cross-workspace extraction](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/databricks/cross-workspace-extraction/llms.txt).

#### What governance objects stay inside Unity Catalog and aren't represented in Atlan?

The following are enforced inside Unity Catalog and aren't imported into Atlan:

- **GRANT statements and access control lists (ACLs)**: who can SELECT, USE, or CREATE within a catalog, schema, or table stays in Unity Catalog and isn't visible in Atlan
- **Row filters and column masks**: row-level security filters and dynamic data masking rules defined in Unity Catalog aren't crawled
- **Audit logs**: `system.access.audit` events aren't ingested
- **Model serving configurations and AI Gateway policies**: these aren't crawled
- **Workspace-level entitlements and account-level admin roles**: not represented in Atlan

_Last updated: 21 September 2026._

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