---
title: "Best practices"
slug: "dev-catalog-best-practices-index"
updated: 2026-10-28T02:15:03Z
published: 2026-10-28T02:15:03Z
canonical: "docs.vastdata.com/dev-catalog-best-practices-index"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vastdata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Best practices

This section will recommend designs and starting settings for using the VAST Catalog and the audit log: how to query them on large namespaces, which columns and schedules to ask for, and how to build reports and dashboards on them. Recommendations are a starting point, based on benchmarks and deployments. Always measure with your own data before you rely on them.

## What this section will contain

- **Query patterns that stay fast on large namespaces:** projecting only the columns you need, always restricting by `search_path`, writing filters that push down, and where to do aggregation (client, Trino or Spark).
- **Choosing indexed and user-defined columns:** which tag, metadata and extended-attribute keys to index, and when the `user_tags` map is enough.
- **Snapshot frequency and retention:** trading freshness and history against cost, and how to match the schedule to reporting and change-detection needs.
- **Dashboards and scheduled reports:** building them on Trino, refresh intervals that match the snapshot schedule, and keeping your own history tables.
- **Audit log retention and query patterns:** how long to keep records for common compliance and investigation needs, and how to query large audit logs efficiently.
- **Access scoping by tenant and path:** designing identity policies for teams that should each see only their part of the Catalog.

Each page will say which VAST Cluster version and test setup its recommendations come from.

## Where to find how it works

The rest of the VAST Catalog docs explain how each feature works and what each setting does: [concepts](/develop/docs/dev-catalog-concepts-index), [find files](/develop/docs/dev-catalog-guides-find-files), [capacity reports](/develop/docs/dev-catalog-guides-capacity-reports), [snapshots and change detection](/develop/docs/dev-catalog-guides-snapshots-and-change-detection), [tags and metadata](/develop/docs/dev-catalog-guides-tags-and-metadata), [the audit log](/develop/docs/dev-catalog-guides-audit-log) and [access](/develop/docs/dev-catalog-operations-access). Best-practices pages link to those pages rather than repeat them.

## Status

This section is being written. Until its pages are published, start with the pages above, and ask your VAST account team for guidance on your workload.