AWS Glue DataBrew Diagnostics
When to use
Any AWS Glue DataBrew investigation — project setup, recipe authoring, profile jobs, dataset configuration, data quality, scheduling, output formatting, or S3 access issues.
Investigation workflow
Step 1 — Collect and triage
aws databrew list-projects
aws databrew list-jobs
aws databrew list-datasets
aws databrew list-schedules
aws databrew list-rulesets
Step 2 — Domain deep dive
aws databrew describe-project --name <project-name>
aws databrew describe-job --name <job-name>
aws databrew describe-dataset --name <dataset-name>
aws databrew list-job-runs --name <job-name> --max-results 5
Step 3 — Detailed investigation
aws databrew describe-job-run --name <job-name> --run-id <run-id>
aws logs filter-log-events --log-group-name /aws-glue-databrew/<job-name> --limit 50
aws cloudtrail lookup-events --lookup-attributes AttributeKey=EventSource,AttributeValue=databrew.amazonaws.com --max-results 20
Read references/guardrails.md before concluding on any DataBrew issue.
Tool quick reference
| Tool / API | When to use |
|---|---|
list-projects |
Enumerate projects |
describe-job |
Check job configuration |
list-job-runs |
Check recent job executions |
describe-job-run |
Get job run details and errors |
describe-dataset |
Check dataset configuration |
list-rulesets |
Check data quality rules |
| CloudWatch Logs | Analyze job execution logs |
| CloudTrail | Audit configuration changes |
Gotchas: AWS Glue DataBrew
- DataBrew is a visual data preparation tool, NOT the same as AWS Glue ETL. They share the Glue service but have different APIs, IAM actions, and job types.
- DataBrew jobs require an IAM role with S3 access. The role must have both read access to input and write access to output locations.
- Recipe jobs apply transformations; profile jobs analyze data. They are different job types with different configurations and outputs.
- DataBrew datasets reference S3 locations, database connections, or Data Catalog tables. The dataset itself doesn't store data.
- Data quality rulesets are separate from recipes. They define validation rules checked during profile jobs.
- Output format and compression are configured per job, not per project. Each job can have different output settings.
Anti-hallucination rules
- Always cite specific project names, job names, or API responses as evidence.
- DataBrew APIs use
databrew:prefix, NOTglue:. Never confuse DataBrew IAM actions with Glue ETL actions. - Recipe steps are NOT Glue ETL transforms. Never suggest Glue ETL syntax for DataBrew recipes.
- DataBrew does NOT support streaming data. It processes batch data only.
- Profile jobs and recipe jobs are different. Never confuse their configurations.
- Spend no more than 2 minutes on any single hypothesis. Pivot if inconclusive.
Runbooks
| Category | IDs | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| A — Projects | A1–A2 | Project creation, project configuration |
| B — Recipe Jobs | B1–B2 | Recipe job failures, recipe steps |
| C — Profile Jobs | C1–C2 | Profile job failures, data quality |
| D — Datasets | D1–D2 | Dataset creation, connection issues |
| E — Output | E1–E2 | Output format, S3 permissions |
| F — Scheduling | F1–F2 | Schedule creation, schedule failures |
| Z — Catch-All | Z1 | General troubleshooting |