dbt-core_skill

Overview

This skill manages local dbt-core development workflows: installation, environment setup, project initialization, Snowflake configuration, package management, verification, and troubleshooting. It automates non-interactive diagnostic and install scripts, and provides sample configuration templates for profiles.yml and dbt_project.yml so you can get a reproducible local dbt environment quickly.

How this skill works

The skill runs an initial diagnostic to detect conda, Python, dbt, and curl, then presents tailored installation or upgrade options. Based on the user's choice it executes non-interactive scripts to install Miniforge/Miniconda, create a conda environment, or build a Python venv and install dbt and dbt-snowflake. After installation it guides configuration of ~/.dbt/profiles.yml using supplied samples and runs verification commands like dbt debug and adapter checks.

When to use it

• Setting up dbt-core and dbt-snowflake on a new machine
• Creating isolated environments with conda or venv for dbt development
• Configuring Snowflake authentication (PAT, SSO, key pair, OAuth)
• Initializing or upgrading a dbt project and installing packages
• Troubleshooting dbt installation, adapter, or connection issues

Best practices

• Use a virtual environment (conda or venv) for each dbt project to avoid dependency conflicts
• Keep profiles.yml out of version control; use samples/profiles.yml.sample and environment variables for secrets
• Test changes in a dev environment before upgrading production dbt versions
• Run the diagnostic script after any environment changes to verify dbt and adapter functionality
• Use packages.yml to manage dependencies and run dbt deps to pin package versions

Example use cases

• Automated setup: run the diagnostic, choose Miniforge, create a conda env, copy samples/profiles.yml.sample and run dbt debug
• Switching environments: detect existing conda, create a new dbt conda env from dbt-conda-env.yml, activate and verify
• Non-interactive CI bootstrapping: use venv setup with requirements.txt in scripted pipelines to install dbt-core and dbt-snowflake
• Troubleshooting Snowflake connectivity: follow dbt debug checks, verify DBT_ENV_SECRET_SNOWFLAKE_PAT and run snow sql connectivity test
• Project initialization: run dbt init --skip-profile-setup then populate dbt_project.yml from samples and run dbt deps