--- title: "Build a new table or view on trusted sources - Atlan MCP Cookbook" url: "https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/build-a-new-table-or-view-on-trusted-sources/" description: "Before you write the DDL, use Atlan to pick the right sources, confirm the grain and definitions, and avoid rebuilding something that already exists." --- > Atlan is hosting Context Conference, bringing together the leaders and builders at the frontier of giving AI the context it needs to understand their business. It runs online on October 28, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET. Atlan co-founder Prukalpa Sankar opens and closes the day. Leaders from AstraZeneca, BNY and Verizon share why they invest in context and what they get from it. Registrants get early access to The AI Context Gap, a new study from MIT Technology Review Insights. Register: https://atlan.com/context-conference/ Recipe 5 in [The Atlan MCP Cookbook](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/). Before you write the DDL, use Atlan to pick the right sources, confirm the grain and definitions, and avoid rebuilding something that already exists. Use case: Find & understand data / Action: Look up / Persona: AI Builder, Data Engineer / Effort: Moderate / Runs in: any AI tool Requires Atlan MCP connected to your AI tool: [set up Atlan MCP](https://docs.atlan.com/product/capabilities/atlan-ai/how-tos/remote-mcp-overview). ## 1. The task **Scenario.** You've been asked to build a new customer_360 view. The risk isn't the SQL, it's building on the wrong sources, at the wrong grain, or re-deriving a metric the company already has. Before you write a line of DDL, use Atlan to find the certified sources to build on, confirm what the key fields mean, and check that nothing equivalent already exists. The ask: - The certified source tables to build on - The governed definitions and grain of the key fields - Whether an equivalent table or view already exists Hero prompt: "I'm about to build a customer_360 view. Which certified tables should I build on, what are the governed definitions of the key fields, and does an equivalent view already exist?" Step by step: 1. Find the certified sources to build on, and flag lookalikes to avoid. Prompt: "I'm building a [new table/view] for [purpose] - which certified tables should I build on (with grain and owner), and which lookalikes should I avoid?" 2. Confirm the governed definitions of the key fields. Prompt: "Show the governed definitions of [key fields] so I model them correctly." 3. Check whether an equivalent already exists. Prompt: "Does an equivalent table or view already exist that I should reuse instead of rebuilding?" ## 2. What you'll give it Required context: - What you're building and its purpose - Lineage and certification populated for the candidate sources Optional context: - The metrics or fields it must include, so definitions can be confirmed - Your target schema or layer, so recommendations fit your stack ## 3. What Atlan creates Outputs: - The certified source tables to build on (grain, owner, certification), and the lookalikes to avoid - The governed definitions of the key fields - Any existing table or view that already covers this, so you reuse instead of rebuild **Summary.** You start the DDL from trusted sources, at the right grain, with the official definitions, and you don't rebuild what already exists. **Read-only.** Nothing is written. It reads sources, lineage, and definitions to inform the build; you write the table or view in your warehouse. ## 4. Follow-up prompts - **Map the joins:** "For those source tables, what join keys and filters do people already use?" - **Draft the outline:** "Draft a column list for the new view with the governed definition next to each field." - **Sanity-check the grain:** "At [grain], which source is the driving table and which are lookups?" ## 5. Tips & troubleshooting **Cook's note.** The expensive mistake isn't a slow query, it's building on the wrong source or re-deriving a metric that already exists. Five minutes here saves that. - Match the tool to the work. Run it in whatever AI tool you build in; it reads, so it's safe to run before you write any DDL. - Automate or chain it. Chain it to your modeling workflow so every new model starts from certified sources and governed definitions. - It only reads. Nothing is written to Atlan; you build the table or view in your warehouse from the answer. ## Related recipes - [Reuse before you rebuild](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/reuse-before-you-rebuild/): Before you write SQL to derive a metric, check whether it already exists - and reuse the governed one. - [Get build-ready for a new dashboard](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/get-build-ready-for-a-new-dashboard/): Before you build a dashboard: the trusted source, the confirmed definition, and how the data is really used - as the build recipe. - [See what a SQL change will break before you merge](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/see-what-a-sql-change-will-break-before-you-merge/): Find every downstream consumer of a changed column or table before merging. [Browse all recipes](https://atlan.com/mcp-cookbook/) / [Set up Atlan MCP](https://docs.atlan.com/product/capabilities/atlan-ai/how-tos/remote-mcp-overview)