---
title: Generation Methods, Misata Python Synthetic Data
description: Six ways to generate synthetic data with Misata, plain English stories, YAML schemas, database introspection, Python dicts, LLM-assisted, and incremental generation.
---

# Generation Methods

Misata supports six ways to get data, choose the one that fits your workflow.

| Method | Best for | API key needed? |
|:--|:--|:--:|
| [Plain English](story.md) | Prototyping, demos, one-offs | No |
| [YAML schema](yaml.md) | Repeatable, team-shared schemas in git | No |
| [From a database](database.md) | Seeding a real app's dev/staging DB | No |
| [Python dict](dict.md) | Programmatic schema from existing code | No |
| [LLM-assisted](llm.md) | Complex domains with rich semantics | Yes |
| [Incremental](incremental.md) | Growing a dataset without re-seeding | No |
