FAQ

General Questions link

What is Central-Set? link

Central-Set is a dynamic, SQL-driven application platform and data governance layer designed to build secure data APIs, manage metadata, enforce access control, and expose analytical interfaces — all from configuration.

It combines:

• Dynamic REST APIs
• ETLX-powered data workflows
• OData v4 endpoints
• Apache Arrow Flight support
• Fine-grained access control (RLA / field-level security)

All managed through a unified Admin interface.

What problem does Central-Set solve? link

Central-Set addresses common challenges in modern data platforms:

• Hard-coded APIs that are difficult to evolve
• Poorly governed data access
• Fragmented authentication and authorization
• Limited metadata visibility
• Complex integration between transformation engines and APIs
• Inconsistent security enforcement across services

Central-Set provides:

• A dynamic API layer
• Centralized governance and access control
• Built-in multi-tenant security
• Unified analytical data exposure

Who is Central-Set for? link

Central-Set is designed for:

• Data platform engineers
• Backend engineers building data APIs
• Analytics engineers
• Data architects
• SaaS builders
• Governance and compliance teams
• Organizations building internal data platforms

If you want to build secure, metadata-driven, SQL-first APIs without hardcoding every endpoint, Central-Set is for you.

How do I get started? link

Start with the documentation:

👉 https://realdatadriven.github.io/central-set-go/

You can:

• Run it as a standalone server
• Use SQLite for quick local setup
• Connect PostgreSQL or other databases
• Enable ETLX workflows
• Expose data via OData or Arrow Flight

Technical Questions link

What technologies does Central-Set use? link

Central-Set is built primarily in Go and uses:

• SQL databases (SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server)
• DuckDB (for ETLX and analytical workloads)
• Apache Arrow Flight
• OData v4
• JWT-based authentication
• Dynamic routing engine (/dyn_api/{ctrl}/{act})

It is designed to be:

• Engine-agnostic
• Metadata-driven
• Configurable via environment variables

What is the Dynamic API (/dyn_api)? link

Central-Set exposes a dynamic endpoint:

  
POST /dyn_api/{ctrl}/{act}
  

Where:

• ctrl acts like a namespace (similar to a class)
• act acts like a method

Requests follow a standard structure:

  {
  "lang": "en",
  "app": { ... },
  "data": { ... }
}
  

Responses follow a standard format:

  {
  "success": true,
  "msg": "message",
  "data": { ... }
}
  

This allows new capabilities to be added without hardcoding new REST routes.

Does Central-Set support fine-grained access control? link

Yes.

Central-Set supports:

• Role-based access control
• Application-level access
• Table-level access
• Field-level access
• Row-Level Access (RLA)
• Scope-based filtering
• Token-based access keys

These rules apply consistently across:

• REST APIs
• OData v4
• Arrow Flight

How does Central-Set integrate with ETLX? link

Central-Set uses ETLX as its data integration engine.

ETLX allows:

• SQL-first data transformations
• Multi-source integration
• Metadata-driven workflows
• Governance artifact generation

ETLX outputs can be:

• Queried internally
• Exposed via OData
• Exposed via Arrow Flight
• Governed by Central-Set access rules

Can Central-Set expose analytical data? link

Yes.

Central-Set supports:

OData v4 link

• HTTP-based
• Filterable ($filter)
• Good for transactional and moderate workloads

Apache Arrow Flight link

• High-performance
• Columnar
• Ideal for BI and data science tools
• Backed by DuckDB
• Supports schema/table/field/scope-level restrictions

Is Arrow Flight secure? link

Yes.

Arrow Flight requires:

• Authorization header
• Valid access token
• Proper role permissions
• Optional Row-Level Access

It can also run in:

• Direct DuckDB mode
• Application-aware mode (CRUD-layer enforced)

TLS is supported via:

  ENABLE_TLS=true
TLS_CERT_FILE=ssl/server-cert.pem
TLS_KEY_FILE=ssl/server-key.pem
TLS_CA_CERT_FILE=ssl/ca-cert.pem
  

Can Central-Set be multi-tenant? link

Yes.

Multi-tenancy is supported through:

• App isolation
• Database isolation
• Role-based permissions
• Row-Level Access
• Scoped tokens

Is Central-Set just an API server? link

No.

Central-Set is:

• A dynamic API engine
• A governance layer
• A metadata manager
• A data integration orchestrator (via ETLX)
• An analytical data server (via Arrow Flight)
• An OData provider

Support Questions link

How can I get help? link

You can get support by:

• Reading the documentation
• Opening GitHub issues
• Participating in discussions

👉 https://github.com/realdatadriven/central-set-go

Are there examples? link

Yes.

The documentation includes:

• Configuration examples
• OData usage examples
• Arrow Flight examples
• ETLX integration examples
• Dynamic API templates

👉 https://realdatadriven.github.io/central-set-go/

How do I report a bug? link

Please open an issue:

👉 https://github.com/realdatadriven/central-set-go/issues

Include:

• Version
• Environment details
• Minimal reproduction
• Expected vs actual behavior

Licensing Questions link

What license does Central-Set use? link

Central-Set is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

This allows:

• Commercial use
• Modification
• Distribution

With proper attribution.

Can Central-Set be used commercially? link

Yes.

Central-Set is designed for:

• SaaS platforms
• Internal enterprise data platforms
• Data product architectures
• Regulated environments

How should Central-Set be attributed? link

Please reference the project as:

Central-Set — https://github.com/realdatadriven/central-set-go by RealDataDriven

Future & Roadmap Questions link

Is Central-Set stable? link

Yes.

Central-Set is production-ready and actively used, although the documentation is still evolving.

What is currently evolving? link

Ongoing work includes:

• Enhanced Arrow Flight governance
• Improved schema introspection
• Expanded ETLX integration
• Performance optimizations
• Better dynamic API documentation generation

How can I suggest features? link

You can:

• Open a GitHub issue
• Start a discussion
• Propose architectural improvements
• Contribute documentation

Will Central-Set receive regular updates? link

Yes.

Central-Set follows an incremental, transparent development approach. Changes and improvements are tracked publicly in GitHub.