
## Automate term–asset links

URL: https://docs.atlan.com/product/capabilities/governance/glossary/how-tos/automate-term-asset-links

> Use the Asset-term link app to automatically create and manage links between glossary terms and matching assets based on names and filters.

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# Automate term–asset links 

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Atlan's Asset-term link app connects glossary terms to matching assets automatically, applying business context across thousands of tables and columns by name and filter.

You can use the **Asset-term link** app to automatically link glossary terms to matching assets at scale. This is useful when you already use consistent naming conventions and want to apply terms across thousands of tables or columns without linking each asset manually.

This guide shows you how to set up and run a workflow to link glossary terms to assets using the Asset-term link app. For a complete description of all fields and options, see the [Asset-term link reference](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/governance/glossary/asset-term-link/llms.txt).

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

- Access to the **Asset-term link** app. You can verify this by searching for **Asset-term link** in the Atlan marketplace. If you don't have access, contact [Atlan support](https://docs.atlan.com/support/submit-request) or your Atlan customer team.
- At least one glossary with terms that follow a consistent naming convention, for example `customer_orders`, `orders_daily`, or `dim_customer`.
- Assets in Atlan whose names align with your glossary terms, either directly or after adjustments such as adding prefixes, suffixes, or simple regular expression replacements.

## Set up workflow

This section walks through creating a workflow that previews potential matches between assets and terms. Start with a preview so you can verify results before generating or deleting links in Atlan.

1. In your Atlan workspace, click **Connectors** in the left sidebar.

 If you are using the **Old UI (Classic)**, click **New Workflow** in the top navigation.

2. In the workflow gallery, search for **Asset-term link**, and then select **Set up workflow**.

3. In the **Workflow name** field, enter a descriptive name such as `finance-asset-term-link` so you can easily identify the workflow later.

4. Set **Case-sensitive match** to **No** and **Match type** to **Partial** so the app can find matches even when capitalization differs and when term names appear inside longer asset names such as `tbl_customer_orders_view`. For advanced matching options or stricter matching, see the [Asset-term link reference](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/governance/glossary/asset-term-link/llms.txt).

5. If your asset names always use a consistent prefix or suffix, fill in **Name prefix** and **Name suffix** so adjusted term names line up with that pattern. For example, you might use:

 ```text
 tbl_
 ```

 For more advanced renaming using regular expressions, see the regex options in the [Asset-term link reference](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/governance/glossary/asset-term-link/llms.txt).

6. In **In scope assets**, enter the asset types you want the app to consider, such as `Table, View, MaterialisedView`, so the app evaluates only those types when generating matches.

7. In **Business Graph list (term filter)**, enter the glossary or glossaries that contain the terms you want to link, so only those glossaries are used when finding matches.

8. In **Output type**, select **Preview** so the app generates a CSV of all potential matches without changing any links in Atlan.

9. Run the workflow. When it completes, download the CSV file of term–asset matches and review it to confirm that the scope and matches look correct. If the results aren't what you expect, adjust your matching or filters and rerun the workflow in **Preview** mode.

## Generate links

After you are satisfied with the preview results, you can switch the workflow to generate links in Atlan.

1. Open the existing **Asset-term link** workflow configuration that you used for previewing matches.

2. Review all matching, regex, and filter settings to confirm they still reflect the subset of assets and terms you want to process.

3. In **Output type**, change the value from **Preview** to **Generate**.

4. Run the workflow. The app processes each match that passes your filters and creates term–asset relationships in Atlan. Existing links that were created manually or by other workflows are preserved.

5. If you later need to clean up links that were created by this app, set **Output type** to **Delete** with the same filters and run the workflow again. Only relationships that were created by **Asset-term link** are removed.

## Verify linked terms and assets

After the workflow runs in **Generate** mode, verify that links were created as expected.

1. From the left sidebar, click on **all assets** and then view the glossary.
 * If you are using the **Old UI (Classic)**, click on **Glossary** from the left sidebar.

2. Under **Business Graph**, click the name of the glossary that contains the terms you processed.

3. Open a term that you expect to be linked, and then on the term profile click **Linked assets** to view the list of connected assets.

4. Optionally, filter by asset type or export the linked assets if you want to review them offline.

5. To validate from the asset side, open an asset that now has terms attached, and in the asset sidebar review the **Terms** section.

If you see unexpected links, refine your filters or matching rules and either run another workflow in **Generate** mode to add missing links, or use **Delete** mode to remove links created by the app.

## Need help?

If you run into issues while using the Asset-term link app, contact [Atlan support](https://docs.atlan.com/support/submit-request) for assistance.

## See also

- [Asset-term link](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/governance/glossary/asset-term-link/llms.txt): Configuration reference for all Asset-term link options, matching rules, and filters.
- [Link terms to assets](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/governance/glossary/link-terms-to-assets/llms.txt): Learn how to create and manage links directly in the asset and glossary interfaces.
- [Asset Import for glossaries](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/governance/glossary/asset-import-glossaries/llms.txt): Import and manage glossary content such as terms and categories from CSV files.

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