Claude dbt connectorWhat Claude can do in your dbt account.
The Claude dbt connector lists 60 tools. 48 read your project, 6 can build models or start and stop job runs, and 6 are described without saying whether they write. Here: what the remote server the directory lists really runs, and where the sources disagree.
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Why an analytics team would plug dbt into Claude
You ask about your data project in plain English and Claude goes to dbt for the answer: which model feeds a dashboard, whether a source is fresh, what a metric returns for last month. It reads the metadata, lineage and Semantic Layer for you, and on the dbt platform it can also kick off or retry a job.
Trace a broken dashboard back to its source. A finance chart looks wrong. get_lineage returns the graph upstream of the model, get_model_health shows run status, test results and source freshness, all in one conversation.
Answer a metric question without writing SQL. list_metrics shows what your Semantic Layer defines, then query_metrics runs the metric with the filters and grouping you asked for, and Claude explains the figures.
Rescue a failed job. get_job_run_error pulls the error details of a run, and once the cause is fixed, retry_job_run retries it, or trigger_job_run starts a fresh run.
Now what to watch. The directory lists the remote server, and dbt says that server does not run CLI commands such as run, build or test, nor the code-generation tools, even though they appear on the sheet. Which tools you get also depends on your dbt plan. And nothing runs by itself: no tool reacts when a job fails at night. For alerts and scheduled pipelines, an automation tool does that job; our Integrations hub gathers that side.
Five words before you start
The vocabulary you will meet while connecting dbt to Claude.
- Connector
- The link you set up once between Claude and an account you already have, so Claude can work in it while it answers you.
- Tool
- One named action a connector opens to Claude. Claude picks the ones it needs on its own; the directory lists them all by name.
- Authorization
- The dbt sign-in screen where you hand Claude the access it will use. Granted once per person, and you can revoke it later.
- Approval
- The confirmation Claude waits for before it goes through with something that changes your account, shown in the chat.
- MCP
- The shared standard connectors are built on: it is what lets an assistant like Claude talk to an outside service such as dbt.
Plug dbt into Claude in three steps
- 01
Find dbt in Claude
In Claude's settings, open Customize, then Connectors, and look for dbt in the list. On a Team or Enterprise workspace, an Owner or Primary Owner has to enable the connector before each member can sign in.
- 02
Start the connection
Click Connect on its row, then sign in to dbt in the window dbt opens. If the link breaks one day, Disconnect and connect again; access can also be withdrawn from your dbt account.
- 03
Read the authorization screen
Read dbt's consent screen before confirming. It belongs to dbt, not to Claude, and it sets what the access covers, so check it against the projects you actually want Claude to see.
The 60 tools, grouped by what they do
dbt gives Claude 60 tools: 48 that read your account, 6 that change something in it, and 6 no official source describes.
Forty-eight read, six act on your project or jobs, six stay unclassified. Many tools on the sheet are deprecated or only work on the self-hosted server: the notes say which. Names stay as Claude shows them.
- 48 read
- 6 write
- 6 not documented
Tools index
- text_to_sql
- get_dimension_values
- get_dimensions
- get_entities
- get_metrics_compiled_sql
- list_metrics
- list_saved_queries
- query_metrics
- get_all_macros
- get_all_models
- get_all_sources
- get_exposure_details
- get_exposures
- get_lineage
- get_macro_details
- get_mart_models
- get_model_children
- get_model_details
- get_model_health
- get_model_parents
- get_model_performance
- get_related_models
- get_seed_details
- get_semantic_model_details
- get_snapshot_details
- get_source_details
- get_test_details
- search
- compile
- get_lineage_dev
- get_node_details_dev
- list
- parse
- test
- get_job_details
- get_job_run_details
- get_job_run_error
- list_job_run_artifacts
- list_jobs
- list_jobs_runs
- list_projects
- fusion.compile_sql
- fusion.get_column_lineage
- get_column_lineage
- get_product_doc_pages
- search_product_docs
- get_mcp_server_branch
- get_mcp_server_version
What Claude reads (48)
48 toolsForty-eight tools that look at metrics, models, lineage, jobs and docs without changing them.
text_to_sql
Turns a question in plain English into SQL, using your project's context so table and column names match.
get_dimension_values
Lists the distinct values of a dimension, optionally limited to certain metrics, so Claude knows what it can filter on.
get_dimensions
Returns the dimensions available for the metrics you name, the ways a number can be sliced.
get_entities
Brings back the entities tied to the metrics you specify, which is what links a number to customers, orders or accounts.
get_metrics_compiled_sql
Shows the compiled SQL behind a metric query without running it, so you can see exactly what the Semantic Layer would run.
list_metrics
Retrieves every metric defined in your Semantic Layer, the governed catalog of what can be queried.
list_saved_queries
Lists all saved queries in the Semantic Layer, the reusable requests your team already agreed on.
query_metrics
Runs a metric query with the filters and grouping you ask for, and returns the result for Claude to read out.
get_all_macros
Retrieves the macros in your project, with an option to filter by package or return only package names.
get_all_models
Returns the name and description of every model in the project, a quick table of contents of the project.
get_all_sources
Lists your sources together with their freshness status, optionally filtered by source name.
get_exposure_details
dbt's README marks this one deprecated and points you to a broader node-details tool that the directory sheet does not list. The sheet still carries the old name, so it gets a note here, without a current description of its own.
get_exposures
Gets all exposures, the downstream dashboards, apps or analyses that depend on your models.
get_lineage
Returns a bounded lineage graph around a resource, filtered by type, depth and direction.
get_macro_details
Still on the directory sheet, yet flagged deprecated in dbt's README. The documentation names a general node-details tool as the replacement, and that replacement is not among the 60 tools the sheet lists.
get_mart_models
Retrieves all mart models of the project, as a list of its own.
get_model_children
Deprecated according to dbt's README, which redirects to get_lineage, listed on this page with its type, depth and direction filters. The old name survives on the directory sheet only.
get_model_details
The README gives no live description for this name any more: it is deprecated, with a general node-details tool as the stated successor, one the directory sheet does not show.
get_model_health
Gathers health signals for a model: run status, test results and the freshness of its upstream sources.
get_model_parents
Like the entry for children, this one is deprecated in dbt's README in favor of get_lineage, the bounded lineage tool listed further up. Only the directory sheet keeps the old entry.
get_model_performance
Fetches a model's execution history, with an option to include test results alongside.
get_related_models
Finds models similar to the one you name, using semantic search rather than exact names.
get_seed_details
Another entry the README labels deprecated. dbt names a general node-details tool as the one to use instead, though it is absent from the directory sheet, which still lists this legacy name.
get_semantic_model_details
Deprecated per dbt's README, with a general node-details tool given as the replacement. Since the directory sheet does not list that replacement, this page can only report the status of the old name, not describe what it once returned.
get_snapshot_details
Flagged deprecated in the README, which points to a general node-details tool instead. The directory sheet keeps listing it; the documentation no longer explains it beyond that flag.
get_source_details
dbt's README lists it as deprecated and names a general node-details tool as the way forward. The old name stays on the directory sheet, while source freshness remains covered by get_all_sources, which is not deprecated.
get_test_details
The last deprecated detail tool in dbt's README, again with a general node-details tool as the named successor, absent from the directory sheet. The sheet's list keeps the old name regardless.
search
Searches for resources across the dbt project. dbt labels it alpha and says it is not generally available.
compile
Turns models, tests and analyses into executable SQL, handy for checking Jinja logic before anything runs.
get_lineage_dev
Reads lineage from the local manifest file, with type and depth filters, rather than from the dbt platform.
get_node_details_dev
Pulls details for models, seeds, snapshots or sources from the local manifest file instead of the platform.
list
Lists resources in the project by type, with dbt's selector syntax to narrow the set.
parse
Parses and validates the project files for syntax correctness, a quick sanity check on the whole project.
test
Runs your data tests to validate data and model integrity, and reports which ones pass or fail.
get_job_details
Gets a job's configuration: its triggers, its schedule and the dbt commands it runs.
get_job_run_details
Retrieves the details of one job run: status, timing, steps and artifacts.
get_job_run_error
Pulls the error details of a job run, with an option to include warnings or show warnings only.
list_job_run_artifacts
Lists the artifacts available from a job run, such as the files dbt produces after it finishes.
list_jobs
Lists the jobs in your dbt platform account, optionally filtered by project or environment.
list_jobs_runs
Lists job runs, with filters by job or status and ordering by a field of your choice.
list_projects
Lists all projects in your dbt platform account, as far as the account you connected can see them.
fusion.compile_sql
Compiles SQL in the context of your project, through the dbt platform rather than locally.
fusion.get_column_lineage
Traces lineage at the column level through the dbt platform, finer than model-level lineage.
get_column_lineage
Traces column-level lineage locally, which requires dbt's language server from the dbt Labs VS Code extension.
get_product_doc_pages
Fetches the full Markdown content of one or more pages from dbt's public documentation at docs.getdbt.com, by path or URL.
search_product_docs
Searches dbt's public documentation and returns matching page titles, URLs and descriptions ranked by relevance.
get_mcp_server_branch
Returns the current git branch of the running dbt server, a debugging detail more than a daily tool.
get_mcp_server_version
Reports the current version of the dbt server Claude is connected to.
What Claude changes (6)
6 toolsSix tools that materialize models or start, retry and cancel job runs. No source describes a confirmation specific to any of them: the general rule below applies.
build
Approval: see the ruleRuns models, tests, snapshots and seeds in dependency order, the full dbt build that materializes them in your warehouse.
clone
Approval: see the ruleCopies selected nodes from a given state into the target schema, a quick way to mirror production objects elsewhere.
run
Approval: see the ruleExecutes models to materialize them in the database, the classic dbt run.
cancel_job_run
Approval: see the ruleStops a job run that is currently in progress on the dbt platform.
retry_job_run
Approval: see the ruleRetries a failed job run on the dbt platform, picking it up again rather than starting a brand-new run.
trigger_job_run
Approval: see the ruleStarts a job run, with options to override the git branch, the schema or other settings for that run.
Described, not classified (6)
6 toolsdbt gives each of these one line, but no source says whether they only return results or also save or alter something.
execute_sql
dbt's README describes it as executing SQL on dbt platform infrastructure, with Semantic Layer support. No source says whether a statement may alter your warehouse, so this page keeps it unclassified. The general approval rule further down applies to it.
docs
dbt describes it in one line: it generates documentation for the project. No source says whether files are saved or altered in the process, so it stays unclassified here.
show
The README says it executes SQL against the database and returns results. No source states whether that can alter anything, so it sits among the unclassified tools.
generate_model_yaml
dbt's one-line description: it generates model YAML with columns, optionally inheriting upstream descriptions. No source says whether the result is saved into your project or only returned, so it stays unclassified.
generate_source
Per the README, it produces source YAML by inspecting database schemas, with columns if you want them. Nothing in the documentation tells whether that YAML lands in your files, hence its place in this group.
generate_staging_model
The README sums it up as producing staging model SQL from a source table. No source documents whether a file is saved in the project, so this page does not classify it.
What Claude asks you before it acts
By default, Claude stops and asks for your go-ahead before each action it takes on an account for you. The request shows in the conversation at the moment it matters.
On Team and Enterprise, workspace owners decide whether a member can let some actions through without being asked again. They can also cap what a connector may do for the whole organization, keeping reads open and closing writes, and nobody bypasses that from their own account. Claude works with your rights and nothing more: a project your dbt account cannot see stays closed to Claude. The official per-tool label (read-only versus write and delete) only shows in a connected account's settings.
Which plans it works on
Across the 819 sheets of the official directory, 0 shows plan availability. The connector-by-connector answer is published nowhere: it is a real gap in the catalog.
The general rule is published: remote connectors are open to all users on Claude, Cowork, Claude Desktop and mobile. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner or Primary Owner opens the connector for the organization before members can connect. The plans sold on the dbt side are a separate question: they decide which tools work, as the limits below explain. For this connector's current state, check its sheet in the official directory.
Where this connector stops
A connector is not an automation. Claude calls these tools while it answers you: nothing starts when a job fails or a source goes stale overnight.
Only dbt documents this connector; no Claude help page covers it. dbt's documentation also calls the server a read-only access layer that stores no production data or job run results, while the same documentation lists tools that trigger, retry and cancel job runs. The partner badge is not a security audit, and Anthropic states on every sheet that it does not choose the tools a publisher exposes or vouch for how they behave. Every directory connector has its own page with us, such as the Claude affinity connector.
Can Claude run dbt run, build or test through the directory connector?
- Claude directory sheet ↗October 2026Remote connector; 60 tools listed, including build, clone, compile, run, show, test and the code-generation tools.
- dbt documentation, About the dbt MCP server ↗October 2026The self-hosted server is required for CLI commands and Codegen; the remote server does not support local development or CLI commands.
What this page followsBoth are current but describe different things: the sheet lists every tool of the dbt server, while dbt explains what the remote one, the one in the directory, actually runs. We follow dbt for the remote server. Check the tool list Claude shows after you connect.
Need help connecting dbt to Claude?
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