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Version: 0.15.50

How to configure a Validation Result store on a filesystem

By default, Validation ResultsGenerated when data is Validated against an Expectation or Expectation Suite. are stored in the uncommitted/validations/ directory. Since Validation Results may include examples of data (which could be sensitive or regulated) they should not be committed to a source control system. This guide will help you configure a new storage location for Validation Results on your filesystem.

This guide will explain how to use an ActionA Python class with a run method that takes a Validation Result and does something with it to update Data DocsHuman readable documentation generated from Great Expectations metadata detailing Expectations, Validation Results, etc. sites with new Validation Results from CheckpointThe primary means for validating data in a production deployment of Great Expectations. runs.

Prerequisites: This how-to guide assumes you have:

Steps​

1. Configure a new folder on your filesystem where Validation Results will be stored​

Create a new folder where you would like to store your Validation Results, and move your existing Validation Results over to the new location. In our case, the name of the Validation Result is npi_validations and the path to our new storage location is shared_validations/. 

# in the great_expectations/ folder
mkdir shared_validations
mv uncommitted/validations/npi_validations/ uncommitted/shared_validations/

2. Identify your Data Context Validation Results Store​

As with other StoresA connector to store and retrieve information about metadata in Great Expectations., you can find your Validation Results StoreA connector to store and retrieve information about objects generated when data is Validated against an Expectation Suite. by using your Data ContextThe primary entry point for a Great Expectations deployment, with configurations and methods for all supporting components.. In your great_expectations.yml, look for the following lines. The configuration tells Great Expectations to look for Validation Results in a Store called validations_store. The base_directory for validations_store is set to uncommitted/validations/ by default. 

validations_store_name: validations_store

stores:
   validations_store:
       class_name: ValidationsStore
       store_backend:
           class_name: TupleFilesystemStoreBackend
           base_directory: uncommitted/validations/

3. Update your configuration file to include a new store for Validation results on your filesystem​

In the example below, Validation Results Store is being set to shared_validations_filesystem_store, but it can be any name you like. Also, the base_directory is being set to uncommitted/shared_validations/, but it can be set to any path accessible by Great Expectations. 

validations_store_name: shared_validations_filesystem_store

stores:
   shared_validations_filesystem_store:
       class_name: ValidationsStore
       store_backend:
           class_name: TupleFilesystemStoreBackend
           base_directory: uncommitted/shared_validations/

4. Confirm that the location has been updated by running great_expectations store list​

Notice the output contains two Validation Result Stores: the original validations_store and the shared_validations_filesystem_store we just configured. This is ok, since Great Expectations will look for Validation Results in the uncommitted/shared_validations/ folder as long as we set the validations_store_name variable to shared_validations_filesystem_store. The config for validations_store can be removed if you would like. 

great_expectations store list

- name: validations_store
  class_name: ValidationsStore
  store_backend:
    class_name: TupleFilesystemStoreBackend
    base_directory: uncommitted/validations/

- name: shared_validations_filesystem_store
  class_name: ValidationsStore
  store_backend:
    class_name: TupleFilesystemStoreBackend
    base_directory: uncommitted/shared_validations/

5. Confirm that the Validation Results Store has been correctly configured​

Run a Checkpoint to store results in the new Validation Results Store on in your new location then visualize the results by re-building Data Docs.