Agent skill

Tracing Upstream Lineage

Trace upstream data lineage. An agent skill from astronomer/agents.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedData & Analytics

Install Tracing Upstream Lineage

skills CLI

$ npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install astronomer/agents tracing-upstream-lineage --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/astronomer/agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage .claude/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "tracing-upstream-lineage" agent skill from https://github.com/astronomer/agents/tree/main/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage into .claude/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "tracing-upstream-lineage", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/astronomer/agents/tree/main/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install astronomer/agents tracing-upstream-lineage --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/astronomer/agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage .agents/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "tracing-upstream-lineage" agent skill from https://github.com/astronomer/agents/tree/main/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage into .agents/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "tracing-upstream-lineage", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install astronomer/agents tracing-upstream-lineage --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/astronomer/agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage .cursor/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "tracing-upstream-lineage" agent skill from https://github.com/astronomer/agents/tree/main/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage into .cursor/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "tracing-upstream-lineage", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/astronomer/agents.git --path skills/tracing-upstream-lineage

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install astronomer/agents tracing-upstream-lineage --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/astronomer/agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage .gemini/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "tracing-upstream-lineage" agent skill from https://github.com/astronomer/agents/tree/main/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage into .gemini/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "tracing-upstream-lineage", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install astronomer/agents tracing-upstream-lineage

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/astronomer/agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage .github/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "tracing-upstream-lineage" agent skill from https://github.com/astronomer/agents/tree/main/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage into .github/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "tracing-upstream-lineage", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install astronomer/agents tracing-upstream-lineage --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/astronomer/agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage .opencode/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "tracing-upstream-lineage" agent skill from https://github.com/astronomer/agents/tree/main/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage into .opencode/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "tracing-upstream-lineage", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: tracing-upstream-lineage
GitHub stars: 451
Token cost: ~1.1k tokens
SKILL.md length: 447 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 34
Repo updated: Oct 7, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Apache-2.0

At a glance

Trace upstream data lineage. An agent skill from astronomer/agents.

Works in 5 steps: Identify the Target Type → Find the Producing DAG → Trace Data Sources → …
The user asks where data comes from
SKILL.md covers Lineage Investigation, Lineage for Columns and Output: Lineage Report
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Tracing Upstream Lineage is an agent skill from astronomer/agents. Trace upstream data lineage. Use when the user asks where data comes from, what feeds a table, upstream dependencies, data sources, or needs to understand data origins.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Data & Analytics, covering Data pipelines and ETL and Data governance. It works with Astro. The repository describes itself as: AI agent tooling for data engineering workflows. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

The user asks where data comes from
What feeds a table
Upstream dependencies
Needs to understand data origins

Example prompts

“/tracing-upstream-lineage”

Requirements

Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Identify the Target Type
Find the Producing DAG
Trace Data Sources
Build the Lineage Chain
Check Source Health

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 486ee63. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are python).
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Tracing Upstream Lineage loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 48 tokens; SKILL.md has 447 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~48
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from astronomer/agents at commit 486ee63, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© astronomer). 447 words, ~1,125 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: tracing-upstream-lineage
description: Trace upstream data lineage. Use when the user asks where data comes from, what feeds a table, upstream dependencies, data sources, or needs to understand data origins.

Upstream Lineage: Sources

Trace the origins of data - answer "Where does this data come from?"

Lineage Investigation

Step 1: Identify the Target Type

Determine what we're tracing:

Table: Trace what populates this table
Column: Trace where this specific column comes from
DAG: Trace what data sources this DAG reads from

Step 2: Find the Producing DAG

Tables are typically populated by Airflow DAGs. Find the connection:

Search DAGs by name: Use af dags list and look for DAG names matching the table name
- load_customers -> customers table
- etl_daily_orders -> orders table
Explore DAG source code: Use af dags source <dag_id> to read the DAG definition
- Look for INSERT, MERGE, CREATE TABLE statements
- Find the target table in the code
Check DAG tasks: Use af tasks list <dag_id> to see what operations the DAG performs

On Astro

If you're running on Astro, the Lineage tab in the Astro UI provides visual lineage exploration across DAGs and datasets. Use it to quickly trace upstream dependencies without manually searching DAG source code.

On OSS Airflow

Use DAG source code and task logs to trace lineage (no built-in cross-DAG UI).

Step 3: Trace Data Sources

From the DAG code, identify source tables and systems:

SQL Sources (look for FROM clauses):

python

# In DAG code:
SELECT * FROM source_schema.source_table  # <- This is an upstream source

External Sources (look for connection references):

S3Operator -> S3 bucket source
PostgresOperator -> Postgres database source
SalesforceOperator -> Salesforce API source
HttpOperator -> REST API source

File Sources:

CSV/Parquet files in object storage
SFTP drops
Local file paths

Step 4: Build the Lineage Chain

Recursively trace each source:

TARGET: analytics.orders_daily
    ^
    +-- DAG: etl_daily_orders
            ^
            +-- SOURCE: raw.orders (table)
            |       ^
            |       +-- DAG: ingest_orders
            |               ^
            |               +-- SOURCE: Salesforce API (external)
            |
            +-- SOURCE: dim.customers (table)
                    ^
                    +-- DAG: load_customers
                            ^
                            +-- SOURCE: PostgreSQL (external DB)

Step 5: Check Source Health

For each upstream source:

Tables: Check freshness with the checking-freshness skill
DAGs: Check recent run status with af dags stats
External systems: Note connection info from DAG code

Show full SKILL.md (163 more words)Show less

Lineage for Columns

When tracing a specific column:

Find the column in the target table schema
Search DAG source code for references to that column name
Trace through transformations:
- Direct mappings: source.col AS target_col
- Transformations: COALESCE(a.col, b.col) AS target_col
- Aggregations: SUM(detail.amount) AS total_amount

Output: Lineage Report

Summary

One-line answer: "This table is populated by DAG X from sources Y and Z"

Lineage Diagram

[Salesforce] --> [raw.opportunities] --> [stg.opportunities] --> [fct.sales]
                        |                        |
                   DAG: ingest_sfdc         DAG: transform_sales

Source Details

Source	Type	Connection	Freshness	Owner
raw.orders	Table	Internal	2h ago	data-team
Salesforce	API	salesforce_conn	Real-time	sales-ops

Transformation Chain

Describe how data flows and transforms:

Raw data lands in raw.orders via Salesforce API sync
DAG transform_orders cleans and dedupes into stg.orders
DAG build_order_facts joins with dimensions into fct.orders

Data Quality Implications

Single points of failure?
Stale upstream sources?
Complex transformation chains that could break?

Check source freshness: checking-freshness skill
Debug source DAG: debugging-dags skill
Trace downstream impacts: tracing-downstream-lineage skill
Add manual lineage annotations: annotating-task-lineage skill
Build custom lineage extractors: creating-openlineage-extractors skill

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/tracing-upstream-lineage of astronomer/agents.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 486ee63

Compare with similar skills

Tracing Upstream Lineage next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Tracing Upstream Lineage compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Tracing Upstream Lineage this skillastronomer/agents	451	—	~1.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	3 days ago
Chart Testsastronomer/airflow-chart	297	—	~2.8k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	3 days ago
Functional Testsastronomer/airflow-chart	297	—	~2.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	3 days ago
Data Quality Frameworkswshobson/agents	40k	11 repos	~1.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	6 days ago
Helm Chartastronomer/airflow-chart	297	—	~6.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	3 days ago
Monte Carlo Preventsickn33/agentic-awesome-skills	47k	1 repos	~3.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday

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Questions about Tracing Upstream Lineage

What does Tracing Upstream Lineage do?

Trace upstream data lineage. An agent skill from astronomer/agents. Tracing Upstream Lineage is an agent skill from astronomer/agents. Trace upstream data lineage.

When should I use Tracing Upstream Lineage?

Tracing Upstream Lineage fits situations like: the user asks where data comes from; what feeds a table; upstream dependencies; needs to understand data origins.

How do I install Tracing Upstream Lineage in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/tracing-upstream-lineage in astronomer/agents) into .claude/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Tracing Upstream Lineage in Codex?

Run `npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/tracing-upstream-lineage in astronomer/agents) into .agents/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Tracing Upstream Lineage in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add astronomer/agents --skill tracing-upstream-lineage -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage, .gemini/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage, .github/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage and .opencode/skills/tracing-upstream-lineage in your project.

What does Tracing Upstream Lineage need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Tracing Upstream Lineage is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Tracing Upstream Lineage access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Tracing Upstream Lineage safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Tracing Upstream Lineage use?

Tracing Upstream Lineage is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Tracing Upstream Lineage use?

About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.5k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Tracing Upstream Lineage?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Tracing Upstream Lineage: Chart Tests (astronomer/airflow-chart, 297 stars), Functional Tests (astronomer/airflow-chart, 297 stars), Data Quality Frameworks (wshobson/agents, 40k stars) and Helm Chart (astronomer/airflow-chart, 297 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Tracing Upstream Lineage?

astronomer (a GitHub organization) maintains it in astronomer/agents, which has 451 GitHub stars. The repository holds 34 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: astronomer/agents on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Tracing Upstream Lineage

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Upstream Lineage: Sources

Lineage Investigation

Step 1: Identify the Target Type

Step 2: Find the Producing DAG

On Astro

On OSS Airflow

Step 3: Trace Data Sources

Step 4: Build the Lineage Chain

Step 5: Check Source Health

Lineage for Columns

Output: Lineage Report

Summary

Lineage Diagram

Source Details

Transformation Chain

Data Quality Implications

Related Skills

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from astronomer/agents

Related

Questions about Tracing Upstream Lineage