ClarityNow! Tags (CNTags)

License: PRO+ (Professional Edition or higher)
Plugin Type: Post-Index Plugin
Author: Diskover Data, Inc.

Overview

The ClarityNow! Tags plugin bridges metadata from ClarityNOW's data classification system into Diskover, enabling unified search, reporting, and workflow automation across both platforms. If you've been using ClarityNOW to classify and govern your data, this plugin ensures that all of that valuable metadata becomes searchable and actionable within Diskover.

The plugin works by discovering .cntag marker files that ClarityNOW creates, extracting the key-value metadata encoded in their filenames, and then propagating that metadata to the containing directory and all of its descendants in the Elasticsearch index.

Use Cases

ClarityNOW Metadata Synchronization

For organizations already using ClarityNOW for data classification, this plugin eliminates the need to maintain separate search interfaces. Your existing ClarityNOW classifications—whether for compliance requirements, retention policies, or departmental ownership—become immediately searchable in Diskover alongside all your other file metadata.

Workflow Automation Triggers

Use .cntag files to flag datasets for processing by downstream automation systems. For example, marking a directory with workflow.readyforarchive.cntag signals that its contents are ready for archival, while workflow.pending.cntag indicates work still in progress. Diskover's search and reporting capabilities can then identify and act on these workflow states.

How It Works

ClarityNOW creates marker files following the naming convention key.value.cntag. The plugin parses these filenames to extract metadata:

Filename	Extracted Key	Extracted Value
`environment.production.cntag`	environment	production
`compliance.gdpr.cntag`	compliance	gdpr
`workflow.readyforarchive.cntag`	workflow	readyforarchive
`retention.7years.cntag`	retention	7years

When multiple .cntag files exist in the same directory, their key-value pairs are combined into a single metadata object that gets applied to the directory and all its contents.

Installation

DNF Installation (Linux RPM)

On Linux systems using DNF package management, this plugin can be installed via RPM:

sudo dnf install diskover-plugin-postindex-cntag

Note: Ensure your system is configured with the Diskover RPM repository before running the install command.

Prerequisites

Component	Requirement
Python	3.9 or higher
Diskover	Core installation with plugin support
Elasticsearch	7.x or 8.x (as supported by Diskover)
License	Professional Edition or higher
Storage Access	Read access to storage containing `.cntag` files

Installation Steps

The ClarityNow! Tags plugin is included with Diskover Professional Edition and higher. The plugin files are located in the post-index plugins directory.

Linux:

/opt/diskover/plugins_postindex/diskover_cntag/

Windows:

C:\Program Files\Diskover\plugins_postindex\diskover_cntag\

Verify Installation

Confirm the plugin is available by checking the version:

Linux:

python3 /opt/diskover/plugins_postindex/diskover_cntag/diskover_cntag.py --version

Windows:

python "C:\Program Files\Diskover\plugins_postindex\diskover_cntag\diskover_cntag.py" --version

Configuration

Configuration is managed through the Diskover Admin Panel. Navigate to Plugins → Post Index → CNTag to access the settings.

Sample Configuraiton in Diskover Admin:

Here is the beginning of our sample configuration There are many other configuraitons for the CNTag plugin - covered in detail below!

Configuration Parameters

Field	Type	Default	Description
`cntag_extension`	string	`cntag`	File extension to recognize as CNTag marker files. Change only if using a custom extension.
`cntag_field_name`	string	`cntags`	Elasticsearch field name for storing extracted key-value pairs. Leave empty to add attributes at the document root level.
`cntag_add_to_files`	boolean	`true`	When enabled, applies metadata to both files and directories. When disabled, only directories receive metadata.
`cntag_max_retries`	integer	`2`	Maximum retry attempts for failed Elasticsearch update operations.
`cntag_retry_delay`	integer	`1`	Initial retry delay in seconds. Doubles with each subsequent retry attempt.
`maxthreads`	integer	`4`	Number of parallel processing threads. Set to `0` for automatic detection based on CPU count.
`use_cache`	boolean	`true`	Enable SQLite caching of scan results to accelerate repeat runs.
`cachedir`	string	`/opt/diskover/plugins_postindex/__diskover_cntag_cache__/`	Directory for SQLite cache database storage.
`cache_expire_time`	integer	`0`	Cache entry expiration time in seconds. Set to `0` for entries that never expire.

Recommended Settings for High-Volume Environments

For environments with many .cntag files or large directory structures:

Setting	Recommended Value	Reason
`maxthreads`	`8`	Increases parallelism for faster processing
`use_cache`	`true`	Avoids re-processing unchanged files
`cntag_max_retries`	`5`	Handles transient Elasticsearch conflicts in busy clusters
`cntag_retry_delay`	`2`