Column-Level Data Lineage: Follow Every Column, Free in Your Browser
Table-level lineage tells you which file fed which. When a number looks wrong you usually need the next level down: where did this column come from?
Column-level lineage follows each column of a dataset: the columns it was built from and every step that changed it. It answers three common questions quickly: where did this field come from, what depends on it if I change it, and was the personal data column masked before I shared the file.
In Data Utility the lineage is recorded as you work. Convert, trim, join, rename, mask or run SQL on your files, then save or download the result. Open Data Lineage and pick a column in Follow a column. Steps that never touched it fade out and the path it took lights up, with a small marker on each step: added, changed, renamed, moved or dropped.
The Column lineage table lists every column against every step. A new column such as full_name shows it was added from first_name and last_name, and following first_name also tells you it was used to build full_name. Renames made with the Rename step are followed, so a column keeps its history under its new name. In SQL on Your Files, a column created with AS, for example "company.name" AS "Company Name", is linked back to company.name.
A personal data check lists columns of the latest file whose names look personal, such as email, phone or name, and shows whether a Data Masking step handled each one. It guesses from names only and never reads your values, so treat it as a quick check before sharing, not a compliance guarantee.
Everything runs in your browser. Your data and your lineage history are never uploaded. The lineage covers the files you process in Data Utility; it does not read warehouses or pipelines.
Related tool pages
- Free Data Lineage Tool: A free data lineage tool for files: transform data, see input, transformations and result as a graph, and download a shareable HTML report. No signup.
- Data Lineage Report as HTML: Download a data lineage report as one HTML page: a tree from the input file through every transformation to the result, with a SHA-256 checksum.
- Share Your Data Together with Its Lineage: Send a result file and the proof of how it was made in one ZIP: your data, an HTML lineage report and a JSON copy. Free, made in your browser.
- Data Audit Trail for CSV and Excel Files: Keep an audit trail of what was done to a CSV or Excel file: conversions, cleaning, joins and masking, with the settings used. Free, in your browser.
- Data Provenance Tool for Files: Record where a data file came from and every transformation applied to it. See it as a graph and export an HTML provenance report. Free, no upload.
- What Is Data Lineage? Track It Free: Data lineage shows where data came from and what happened to it. Learn the basics and track it for free for any file you process.
How to use the Data Lineage: step by step
- Process your file in any Data Utility tool and save the result.
- Open Data Lineage and pick a column in Follow a column.
- Open the Column lineage table to compare all columns across steps.
- Download Result + lineage to share the full history.
When to use the Data Lineage
- Find where a field in a report came from
- Check which steps changed a column
- Confirm personal data columns were masked before sharing
- Show an auditor how a derived column was built
Example
Input: customers.csv → Data Masking → Format Converter
Output: customers.json + LINEAGE.html (input → transformations → result)
Frequently asked questions
What is data lineage?
It is the history of a file: where it came from and every step that changed it. Here you can see the input, each transformation with its settings, and the result.
Is there a free data lineage tool?
Yes. Data Utility records lineage as you transform data, shows it as a graph and lets you download it as an HTML report. It is free and needs no account.
Can I share the lineage with the result?
Yes. Click Result + lineage to download a ZIP with your file, a LINEAGE.html report and a lineage.json copy.
Where is the history stored?
Only in your browser, next to your Recent files. It is never uploaded, and deleting a file deletes its history.
Tip: Run the steps from the same saved file via Recent files so the whole chain stays in one lineage.