Creating custom tests helps ensure your compliance checks reflect your real environment, but knowing what to test and how to structure a test can be challenging. The Resource Guide helps you understand what data is available, how it’s structured, and which attributes you can evaluate when building a custom test.

Use the Resource Guide to confidently design accurate tests and avoid unexpected results.

While creating a custom test, you can open the Resource Guide at any time. From the Resource Guide:

This view shows exactly what data Drata can evaluate for the selected resource.

To learn what each attribute represents, select View attribute dictionary.

The Attribute Dictionary provides:

You can use the search bar to find attributes by name or description, making it easier to locate the fields you need.

Some attributes contain nested attributes. These are displayed with vertical lines to indicate hierarchy.

For example:

Each vertical line represents a deeper level of nesting.

Use dot notation to reference nested attributes in the Test Builder:

Some attributes belong to objects within an array rather than being nested directly. These are shown as grouped blocks in alternating gray and white sections.

To evaluate attributes inside arrays, you’ll need to use the Advanced editor, which supports more complex logic and array-based evaluations.

Use the Advanced editor when your test needs to:

To learn more about GCP’s resources, go to Resource hierarchy.

To learn more about AWS’s resources, go to What are resource groups?

To learn more about Azure’s resources, go to What is Azure Resource Manager?