dbt Cloud Connector | OpenMetadata Pipeline Integration

In this section, we provide guides and references to use the dbt Cloud connector. Configure and schedule dbt Cloud metadata workflows from the OpenMetadata UI:

• Requirements
• Metadata Ingestion
• Troubleshooting

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Requirements

Before configuring the dbt Cloud connector, make sure the following requirements are in place.

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dbt Cloud Versions

OpenMetadata is integrated with dbt Cloud up to version 1.8 and will continue to work for future dbt Cloud versions. The ingestion framework uses dbt Cloud APIs to connect to dbt Cloud and fetch metadata.

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dbt Cloud Permissions

The dbt Cloud API User token or Service account token must have the permission to fetch metadata. To know more about permissions required refer here.

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dbt Cloud Account

• dbt Cloud multi-tenant or single tenant account is required.
• You must be on a Team or Enterprise plan.
• Your projects must be on dbt version 1.0 or later. Refer to Upgrade dbt version in Cloud to upgrade.

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Metadata Ingestion

To ingest metadata from dbt Cloud, you need to create a service connection. The service connects dbt Cloud with OpenMetadata. Once you create a service, OpenMetadata automatically starts ingesting metadata.

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Step 1: Add New Service

1. Navigate to Settings > Services.
2. Click Add New Service.

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Step 2: Select a Service and Connector

From the service type dropdown, select Pipeline Services, then click the dbt Cloud connector tile.

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Step 3: Add Service Name and Description

• Enter a unique, descriptive Service Name. OpenMetadata identifies services by their service name. Enter a name that distinguishes this deployment from other dbt Cloud services you are ingesting metadata from.
• Optional: Enter a Description for the service.

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Step 4: Configure Connection Options

Specify your source credentials and verify the connection.

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Enter Connection Details

Enter the connection details for dbt Cloud. The right-hand panel in the UI displays inline help for each field.

• Host: dbt Cloud Access URL, for example https://abc12.us1.dbt.com. Go to your dbt Cloud account settings to find your Access URL.
• Discovery API URL: dbt Cloud Discovery API URL, for example https://metadata.cloud.getdbt.com/graphql. Go to your dbt Cloud account settings to find your Discovery API URL. Make sure you have /graphql at the end of your URL.
• Account Id: The Account ID of your dbt Cloud Project. Go to your dbt Cloud account settings to find your Account Id. This is a numeric value, but OpenMetadata parses it as a string.
• Job Ids (Optional): Job IDs of your dbt Cloud Jobs in your Project to fetch metadata for. Look for the segment after “jobs” in the URL. For instance, in a URL like https://cloud.getdbt.com/accounts/123/projects/87477/jobs/73659994, the job ID is 73659994. This is a numeric value, but OpenMetadata parses it as a string. If not passed, all Jobs under the Account Id will be ingested.
• Project Ids (Optional): Project IDs of your dbt Cloud Account to fetch metadata for. Look for the segment after “projects” in the URL. For instance, in a URL like https://cloud.getdbt.com/accounts/123/projects/87477/jobs/73659994, the project ID is 87477. This is a numeric value, but OpenMetadata parses it as a string. If not passed, all Projects under the Account Id will be ingested. Note that if both Job Ids and Project Ids are passed, jobs from the passed projects are filtered. Any Job Ids not belonging to the Project Ids are also filtered out.
• Token: The Authentication Token of your dbt Cloud API Account. To get your access token, follow the docs here. Make sure the token has the necessary permissions to run GraphQL queries and get job and run details.

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Test Connection

Once the credentials have been added, click on Test Connection and Save the changes.

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Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options

In the What to Ingest step, use filter patterns to control which assets OpenMetadata ingests from your dbt Cloud service. Filter patterns use regular expressions applied to pipeline names.

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How Filter Patterns Work

• Include: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. OpenMetadata ingests only assets whose names match at least one expression. Leave blank to include all assets.
• Exclude: Add one or more comma-separated regular expressions. OpenMetadata skips any asset whose name matches an expression. Leave blank to exclude nothing.

Rules match asset names using one of five expressions:

• contains: matches any name containing the value. For example, sales matches my_sales_data and sales_2024.
• starts with: matches names beginning with the value. For example, prod_ matches prod_db and prod_schema.
• ends with: matches names ending with the value. For example, _raw matches events_raw and logs_raw.
• is exactly: matches the exact name only. For example, analytics matches only analytics.
• matches regex: matches names using a regular expression. For example, ^prod_.*_v\d+$ matches prod_events_v1.

When both Include and Exclude are set, Exclude takes priority.

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Filter Options

The Pipeline section includes the following filter options:

• Pipeline: Controls which pipelines OpenMetadata ingests from dbt Cloud.

Each section provides the following controls:

• Scan Mode: Choose between the following scan modes:
  • Scan all: Ingests every asset of that type the connector can access. This is the default.
  • Only specific: Enables include rules so only assets matching at least one rule are ingested.
• Always exclude: Add permanent exclusion rules (shown in red). Assets matching these rules are never ingested, regardless of include rules.
• Preview: Shows a real-time summary of what will be in scope based on your current rules.
• Include rules (available only in Only specific mode): Click + Add to define a rule. Added rules appear as chips; an asset is included if it matches any rule.

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Step 6: Create & Deploy

Click Create & Deploy to deploy the agent and start the first metadata ingestion run. OpenMetadata saves the service configuration and immediately begins pulling metadata from the source. To monitor ingestion progress or view the service you just added, go to Settings > Services and select your service.

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Configure Metadata Agent and Schedule Ingestion

The Metadata Agent extracts pipelines, tasks, and other structural metadata from your source and keeps your OpenMetadata catalog in sync. It powers discovery, lineage, and governance across your data assets. When you click Create & Deploy, OpenMetadata automatically deploys a Metadata Agent for this service and triggers the first ingestion run. View its status and run history from the Agents tab on the service detail page. To configure the additional Metadata Agent and schedule ingestion, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings > Services and select the service type.
2. Click the service you have added.
3. Select the Agents tab and click Add Agent > Metadata. For some services, the dropdown is not available and clicking Add Agent takes you directly to the agent configuration page.
4. On the Configure Ingestion page, do the following and click Next.
   • Name this Ingestion: Enter a unique recognizable name for this ingestion pipeline.
   • Agent Setup: Configure the core parameters for this agent. The following fields are available:

     Field	Default	Description
     Ownership Update Mode	replace	Set how owners from source metadata update Pipeline owners. In replace mode, resolved owners from the current source replace existing owners. In append mode, resolved owners are appended to active existing Pipeline owners.
     Db Service Names	—	List of database service names used for lineage resolution.
     Storage Service Names	—	List of storage service names used for lineage resolution.
     Messaging Service Names	—	List of messaging service names used for lineage resolution.
     Status Lookback Days	1	Number of days of pipeline run status history to ingest. Only runs within the last N days will be fetched.
     Include Lineage	On	Turn off to stop fetching lineage from pipelines.
     Mark Deleted Pipeline	On	Soft-delete pipelines in OpenMetadata when they are removed from the source. Associated entities like lineage are also deleted.
     Include UnDeployed Pipelines	On	Toggle whether un-deployed pipelines should be ingested. If set to false, only deployed pipelines will be ingested.

     
   • Filter Patterns: Apply include or exclude rules to scope which pipelines this agent ingests. These follow the same filter options described in Step 5: Configure Ingestion Options.
   • Scope & Behaviour: Control what metadata to include and how to handle deletions. Toggle each option on or off based on your needs:

     Toggle	Default	Description
     Enable Debug Log	Off	Sets the ingestion log level to DEBUG. Useful for troubleshooting.
     Override Metadata	Off	When on, source values overwrite existing descriptions, tags, owners, and display names in OpenMetadata. When off, OpenMetadata only updates fields that have no existing value.
     Override Lineage	Off	When on, existing lineage is replaced with newly extracted lineage on each run.

     
5. On the Schedule Interval page, set when the agent runs:
   • Schedule: Choose a preset interval (Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly) or enter a custom cron expression.
   • On-Demand: No automatic schedule; trigger the agent manually when needed.
   
6. Click Add to deploy the agent.

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Displaying Lineage Information

Steps to retrieve and display the lineage information for a dbt Cloud service. Note that only the metadata from the last run will be used for lineage.

1. Ingest Source and Sink Database Metadata: Identify both the source and sink database used by the dbt Cloud service, for example Redshift. Ingest metadata for these databases.
2. Ingest dbt Cloud Service Metadata: Finally, ingest your dbt Cloud service.

By successfully completing these steps, the lineage information for the service will be displayed.

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Missing Lineage

If lineage information is not displayed for a dbt Cloud service, follow these steps to diagnose the issue.

1. dbt Cloud Account: Make sure that the dbt Cloud instance you are ingesting has the necessary permissions to fetch jobs and run GraphQL queries over the API.
2. Metadata Ingestion: Ensure that metadata for both the source and sink database is ingested and passed to the lineage system. This typically involves configuring the relevant connectors to capture and transmit this information.
3. Last Run Successful: Ensure that the Last Run for a Job is successful, as OpenMetadata gets the metadata required to build the lineage using the last Run under a Job.

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