How Frequently Do You Use "Get Metadata" in Your Data Pipelines?

[HamidBee]

Hi,

I'm interested to hear from the community about how frequently you incorporate the Get Metadata activity in your data pipelines. Roughly speaking, what percentage of your workflows make use of this activity? Also, what are some common use cases where you find it particularly helpful?.

On another note, would you say Get Metadata is crucial for designing a strong, adaptable pipeline, or is it more of a nice-to-have feature that you use only in certain cases?.

Thanks so much for any insights you can share.

[Anonymous]

Hi @HamidBee ,

In my experience, some common use cases include verifying the existence of a file or folder, checking file sizes, retrieving file structures, and listing sub-items in a folder. It is especially useful in scenarios where decisions need to be made based on metadata about the data being processed.

For more details, you can refer to below document:

Get Metadata activity - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Best Regards,
Adamk Kong

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[FabianSchut · Accepted solution]

I think I have used it in about 5% of my workflows. However, when I use it, it is more than just nice-to-have. I mainly use it to count child items within a directory, directory related checks or retrieve all files to create a loop. Those functionalities are crucial for efficiency and maintainability. So even though I don't use it often, I like to options Get Metadata provides. 

[HamidBee]

Thanks for the insight.