# Getting Started with External Catalogs

The how-to guides linked on this page illustrate how to link [an external catalog with Immuta](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/catalogs/reference-guides/pre-configuration.md) to ingest tags.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Best practice**: Use a single catalog; having more than one can lead to multiple truths and data leaks.
{% endhint %}

## Link an Alation external catalog

**Requirement**: A catalog with tags that correspond to your Immuta data sources

### Configuration process

1. [Connect your Alation catalog to Immuta](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/catalogs/configure.md#link-an-alation-catalog).
2. When changes are made to the external catalog, [refresh external tags](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/tags/how-to-guides/managing-tags.md#import-tags-from-an-external-catalog).

## Link a Collibra external catalog

**Requirements**:

* A physical data dictionary with assets that correspond to your Immuta data sources
* The Collibra global role `Catalog` or `Catalog Author`

### Configuration process

1. [Connect your Collibra catalog to Immuta](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/catalogs/configure.md#link-a-collibra-catalog).
2. When changes are made to the external catalog, [refresh external tags](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/tags/how-to-guides/managing-tags.md#import-tags-from-an-external-catalog).

## Link a Microsoft Purview external catalog

**Requirements**:

* A catalog with assets that correspond to your Immuta data sources
* The ability to create a registered app in the Azure portal

### Configuration process

1. [Connect your Microsoft Purview catalog to Immuta](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/catalogs/configure.md#link-a-microsoft-purview-external-catalog).
2. When changes are made to the external catalog, [refresh external tags](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/tags/how-to-guides/managing-tags.md#import-tags-from-an-external-catalog).

## Link a custom REST catalog

**Requirements**:

* A catalog with tags that correspond to your Immuta data sources
* [Authenticate with the Immuta API](/2025.1/developer-guides/api-intro/authentication.md)

### Configuration process

1. [Connect your custom REST Catalog to Immuta](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/catalogs/configure.md#link-a-custom-rest-catalog).
2. When changes are made to the external catalog, [refresh external tags](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/tags/how-to-guides/managing-tags.md#link-an-external-catalog-to-a-data-source).

## Link Databricks Unity Catalog for tag ingestion

**Requirements**:

* Fewer than 2,500 Databricks Unity Catalog data sources registered in Immuta
* Databricks privileges listed on the [Configure a Databricks Unity Catalog integration](/2025.1/configuration/integrations/databricks/databricks-unity-catalog/how-to-guides/configure.md#permissions) page

### Configuration process

1. [Configure Databricks Unity Catalog integration](/2025.1/configuration/integrations/databricks/databricks-unity-catalog/how-to-guides/configure.md).
2. [Configure Databricks Unity tag ingestion in Immuta](/2025.1/configuration/integrations/databricks/databricks-unity-catalog/how-to-guides/configure.md#opt-to-enable-databricks-unity-catalog-tag-ingestion).
3. [Register Databricks data sources in Immuta](/2025.1/configuration/integrations/registering-metadata/data-sources/register-data-sources/databricks-tutorial.md).

Once you register data sources, table and column tags from Databricks Unity Catalog will be ingested and applied to the corresponding data sources in Immuta.

## Link Snowflake for tag ingestion

**Requirements**:

* A Snowflake user who can set the following permissions:
  1. `GRANT IMPORTED PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE snowflake`
  2. `GRANT APPLY TAG ON ACCOUNT`
* Snowflake Enterprise Edition or higher

### Configuration process

1. [Configure Snowflake tag ingestion](/2025.1/configuration/integrations/snowflake/how-to-guides/enterprise.md#opt-to-enable-snowflake-tag-ingestion) in Immuta.
2. When changes are made to the tags in Snowflake, [refresh external tags](/2025.1/configuration/manage-data-metadata/tags/how-to-guides/managing-tags.md#import-tags-from-an-external-catalog).


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