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Overview

With every invocation, dbt generates and saves one or more artifacts. Several of these are JSON files (manifest.json, catalog.json, run_results.json, and sources.json) that are used to power:

They could also be used to:

  • calculate project-level test coverage
  • perform longitudinal analysis of run timing
  • identify historical changes in table structure
  • do much, much more

dbt has produced artifacts since the release of dbt-docs in v0.11.0. Starting in dbt v0.19.0, we are committing to a stable and sustainable way of versioning, documenting, and validating dbt artifacts.

When are artifacts produced?​

Most dbt commands (and corresponding RPC methods) produce artifacts:

  • manifest: produced by commands that read and understand your project
  • run results: produced by commands that run, compile, or catalog nodes in your DAG
  • catalog: produced by docs generate
  • sources: produced by source freshness

Common metadata​

▶Changelog

All artifacts produced by dbt include a metadata dictionary with these properties:

  • dbt_version: Version of dbt that produced this artifact.
  • dbt_schema_version: URL of this artifact's schema. See notes below.
  • generated_at: Timestamp in UTC when this artifact was produced.
  • adapter_type: The adapter (database), e.g. postgres, spark, etc.
  • env: Any environment variables prefixed with DBT_ENV_CUSTOM_ENV_ will be included in a dictionary, with the prefix-stripped variable name as its key.
  • invocation_id: Unique identifier for this dbt invocation

In the manifest, the metadata may also include:

  • send_anonymous_usage_stats: Whether this invocation sent anonymous usage statistics while executing.
  • project_id: Project identifier, hashed from project_name, sent with anonymous usage stats if enabled.
  • user_id: User identifier, stored by default in ~/dbt/.user.yml, sent with anonymous usage stats if enabled.

Notes:​

  • The structure of dbt artifacts is canonized by JSON schemas, which are hosted at schemas.getdbt.com.
  • Artifact versions may change in any minor version of dbt (v1.x.0). Each artifact is versioned independently.
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