name: checking-freshness
description: Quick data freshness check. Use when the user asks if data is up to date, when a table was last updated, if data is stale, or needs to verify data currency before using it.

Data Freshness Check

Quickly determine if data is fresh enough to use.

Freshness Check Process

For each table to check:

1. Find the Timestamp Column

Look for columns that indicate when data was loaded or updated:
- _loaded_at, _updated_at, _created_at (common ETL patterns)
- updated_at, created_at, modified_at (application timestamps)
- load_date, etl_timestamp, ingestion_time
- date, event_date, transaction_date (business dates)

Query INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS if you need to see column names.

2. Query Last Update Time

SELECT
    MAX(<timestamp_column>) as last_update,
    CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() as current_time,
    TIMESTAMPDIFF('hour', MAX(<timestamp_column>), CURRENT_TIMESTAMP()) as hours_ago,
    TIMESTAMPDIFF('minute', MAX(<timestamp_column>), CURRENT_TIMESTAMP()) as minutes_ago
FROM <table>

3. Check Row Counts by Time

For tables with regular updates, check recent activity:

SELECT
    DATE_TRUNC('day', <timestamp_column>) as day,
    COUNT(*) as row_count
FROM <table>
WHERE <timestamp_column> >= DATEADD('day', -7, CURRENT_DATE())
GROUP BY 1
ORDER BY 1 DESC

Freshness Status

Report status using this scale:

If Data is Stale

Check Airflow for the source pipeline:

1. Find the DAG: Which DAG populates this table? Use list_dags and look for matching names.

2. Check DAG status:

3. Is the DAG paused? Use get_dag_details
4. Did the last run fail? Use get_dag_stats

5. Is a run currently in progress?

6. Diagnose if needed: If the DAG failed, use the debugging-dags skill to investigate.

Output Format

Provide a clear, scannable report:

FRESHNESS REPORT
================

TABLE: database.schema.table_name
Last Update: 2024-01-15 14:32:00 UTC
Age: 2 hours 15 minutes
Status: Fresh

TABLE: database.schema.other_table
Last Update: 2024-01-14 03:00:00 UTC
Age: 37 hours
Status: Very Stale
Source DAG: daily_etl_pipeline (FAILED)
Action: Investigate with **debugging-dags** skill

Quick Checks

If user just wants a yes/no answer:
- "Is X fresh?" -> Check and respond with status + one line
- "Can I use X for my 9am meeting?" -> Check and give clear yes/no with context