Why are CSV/JSON files not discovered in a Dataplex curated zone?

PDE By islever Editorial Last updated

Short answer

A Move the JSON and CSV files to the raw zone.

Question

You are managing a Dataplex environment with raw and curated zones. A data engineering team is uploading JSON and CSV files to a bucket asset in the curated zone but the files are not being automatically discovered by Dataplex. What should you do to ensure that the files are discovered by Dataplex?
  1. Move the JSON and CSV files to the raw zone. Correct Answer
  2. Enable auto-discovery of files for the curated zone.
  3. Use the bg command-line tool to load the JSON and CSV files into BigQuery tables.
  4. Grant object level access to the CSV and JSON files in Cloud Storage.

Key Takeaways

The question tests whether you know the supported file formats for Dataplex curated zones; the common trap is assuming auto-discovery is the fix when the real issue is that CSV/JSON files are not valid for curated zones.

In Google Cloud Dataplex, curated zones support only specific analytics-optimized formats like Parquet, Avro, ORC, and BigQuery tables. Community consensus indicates that moving CSV/JSON files to a raw zone is the correct action, since enabling auto-discovery alone cannot catalog unsupported formats in a curated zone.

Common mistake: Option B (Enable auto-discovery of files for the curated zone) is the most common wrong answer. Auto-discovery cannot make Dataplex catalog formats that curated zones are not designed to support; the root cause is the zone's format restriction, not a discovery setting.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

Dataplex curated zones are intended for data that has been transformed and organized for analytics. According to official documentation, curated zones support only Parquet, Avro, ORC, and BigQuery tables. CSV and JSON are semi-structured formats that are not in this allowed list. Therefore, when CSV/JSON files are placed in a curated zone, Dataplex cannot automatically discover and catalog them. Moving the files to a raw zone, which supports any file format including CSV and JSON, is the correct way to ensure discovery. This aligns with the highest-voted community answer and the official reference cited in the comments.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option B is incorrect because enabling auto-discovery does not relax the curated zone format restrictions; Dataplex will still not catalog unsupported formats. Option C is wrong because using the bq command-line tool loads data into BigQuery tables, which does not address automatic file discovery in the bucket asset. Option D is wrong because granting object-level access controls permissions, not discovery; the files are not discovered due to format incompatibility, not authorization.

Community Comment Notes

The community is split, with 66% favoring option A and 34% favoring option B. Comment 1 correctly points out that curated zones require Parquet, Avro, or ORC format, referencing the official docs. Comment 6 reinforces this by citing the same limitation. Comment 7 argues for option B but misunderstands the core issue: enabling auto-discovery only affects scanning, not whether a file format is eligible for cataloging in a curated zone. Overall, the weighted usefulness of the comments favors the format-restriction explanation.

Official Reference

https://cloud.google.com/dataplex/docs/add-zone#curated-zones

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

When a Dataplex question mentions discovery failures, first check the file formats against the zone type. Remember: raw zones accept almost any format, while curated zones only accept Parquet, Avro, ORC, and BigQuery tables. If you see CSV or JSON in a curated zone, the solution is to move the data to a raw zone, not to toggle discovery settings.

Community Votes

A
66%
B
34%

66% of anonymous learners picked answer A. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 19 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 19

  1. GCP001 👍 26 Answered A
    Should be A. Curated zone need Parquet, Avro, ORC format not CSV or JSON. Check the ref - https://cloud.google.com/dataplex/docs/add-zone#curated-zones
  2. raaad 👍 8 Answered B
    - Auto-Discovery Feature: Dataplex has an auto-discovery feature that, when enabled, automatically discovers and catalogs data assets within a zone. - Appropriate for Both Raw and Curated Zones: This feature is applicable to both raw and curated zones, and it should be tailored to the specific data governance and cataloging needs of the organization.
  3. Anudeep58 👍 4 Answered A
    While none of the original options (A, B, C, or D) directly address the issue, the closest solution is: Move the JSON and CSV files to a raw zone. (This was previously marked as the most voted option, but it's not ideal due to data organization disruption) Here's why this approach might be necessary (but not ideal): Dataplex curated zones currently don't support native processing of JSON and CSV formats. They are designed for structured data formats like Parquet, Avro, or ORC.
  4. Matt_108 👍 4 Answered B
    I'd go for Option B, auto-discovery is enabled by default for any zone, including curated ones, so if a file is not automatically discovered it's due to the disabled auto-discovery
  5. dungct 👍 3 Answered B
    Discovery raises the following administrator actions whenever data-related issues are detected during scans : Inconsistent data format in a table. For example, files of different formats exist with the same table prefix. Inconsistent data format in a table. For example, files of different formats exist with the same table prefix.
Show 14 more comments
  1. Sofiia98 👍 3 Answered A
    I will go with A, check the ref. Curated zones only store Parquet, Avro, and ORC in CS, and well-defined schema and Hive-style partitions in the BigQuery: https://cloud.google.com/dataplex/docs/add-zone#curated-zones
  2. rajnairds 👍 2 Answered B
    Discovery configuration Discovery is enabled by default when you create a new zone or asset. You can disable Discovery at the zone or asset level. For each Dataplex asset with Discovery enabled, Dataplex does the following: Scans the data associated with the asset. Groups structured and semi-structured files into tables. Collects technical metadata, such as table name, schema, and partition definition. For unstructured data, such as images and videos, Dataplex Discovery automatically detects and registers groups of files sharing media type as filesets. For example, if gs://images/group1 contains GIF images, and gs://images/group2 contains JPEG images, Dataplex Discovery detects and registers two filesets. For structured data, such as Avro, Discovery detects files only if they are located in folders that contain the same data format and schema. Reference : https://cloud.google.com/dataplex/docs/discover-data#exclude-files-from-Discovery
  3. Pime13 👍 2 Answered B
    Auto-discovery needs to be enabled for the curated zone to ensure that Dataplex can scan and register the files. You can configure this setting at the zone or asset level. Option A, moving the JSON and CSV files to the raw zone, would not solve the issue of automatic discovery in the curated zone. The problem lies in the configuration of the curated zone, not the location of the files.
  4. daidai75 👍 2 Answered B
    According to this URL: https://cloud.google.com/dataplex/docs/discover-data, the auto-discovery can support CSV and Json in both Raw-Zone and Curated-Zone. I also open a console the verify it, both Raw and Curated zone can set up csv&json auto-discovery.
  5. hussain.sain 👍 2 Answered B
    While JSON and CSV can technically be stored in curated zones, it is not a common practice due to the reasons mentioned above. no where in the mention link its mention that there is a restriction.
  6. Moss2011 👍 2 Answered A
    The answer can be found reading a common config of Dataplex in this URL: https://medium.com/google-cloud/google-cloud-dataplex-part-1-lakes-zones-assets-and-discovery-5f288486cb2f
  7. scaenruy 👍 2 Answered A
    A. Move the JSON and CSV files to the raw zone.
  8. juliorevk 👍 1 Answered A
    - Raw zones store structured data, semi-structured data such as CSV files and JSON files, and unstructured data in any format from external sources. Raw zones are useful for staging raw data before performing any transformations. Data can be stored in Cloud Storage buckets or BigQuery datasets. - Curated Zones do not support JSON / CSV
  9. SamuelTsch 👍 1 Answered A
    Raw zones store structured data, semi-structured data such as CSV files and JSON files, and unstructured data in any format from external sources. Curated zones store structured data. Data can be stored in Cloud Storage buckets or BigQuery datasets. Supported formats for Cloud Storage buckets include Parquet, Avro, and ORC.
  10. MBNR 👍 1 Answered A
    Answer is A Data Format supported: Data in curated zones is typically columnar, Hive-partitioned, and stored in formats like Parquet, Avro, or ORC Restrictions: Dataplex does NOT allow users to create CSV files within a "curated zone
  11. chrissamharris 👍 1 Answered A
    Option A https://cloud.google.com/dataplex/docs/add-zone#raw-zones Raw zones are the only zones that support CSV & JSON
  12. joao_01 👍 1
    Its B guys, i encounter this in my job, and I had to do B to make it work
  13. kck6ra4214wm 👍 1 Answered A
    Dataplex does not allow users to create CSV files within a “curated zone”
  14. demoro86 👍 2 Answered A
    GCP001 agree with him

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