Feature Request: Add “Sample Data Preview” Capability for Sources

[Ramanathan (ramanathanv)]

Summary

Provide a mechanism to fetch a small, representative sample of data from a source connector.

Motivation / Use Case

Users often want to:

• Validate connector configuration
• Preview column names and data types
• Confirm query filters
• Understand schema before designing pipelines

Today, users must run a full sync or manually query the source outside Airbyte.

Proposed Behavior

• Add a “Sample Data” button on the source configuration page
• Connectors return e.g., 10–100 rows
• No state changes; purely exploratory

Community Benefit

• Reduces trial-and-error in onboarding new connectors
• Makes Airbyte more approachable for non-technical users
• Improves data discovery and quality control

Willingness to Contribute

We are ready to contribute the implementation for this feature and can start development once maintainers confirm the direction and any design constraints.