# DBT Core

This article outlines the integration with the DBT Core connector, enabling streamlined metadata management through features such as crawling and lineage building (both automatic and manual).

The connector uses secure authentication through the Credential Manager to ensure controlled access. It connects to the data source using either an **S3 bucket** or an **NFS** path, allowing users to crawl manifest files and build data lineage.

<figure><img src="https://1813356899-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FhTnkoJQml0pok9awFDhx%2Fuploads%2FQ7HQqHkOWsY1Mb4gyBlF%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=924107b2-278e-4e86-8d57-f5e3db5ea1bb" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## **Overview**

### **Connector Details**

| Connector Category                                                      | ETL Tool                   |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| OvalEdge Release Supported                                              | Release6.1 to Release7.2.3 |
| <p>Connectivity</p><p><em>\[How OvalEdge connects to DBT Core]</em></p> | S3 Bucket/NFS              |
| Verified DBT Core Version                                               | 1.7.6                      |

{% hint style="info" %}
The DBT Core connector has been validated with the mentioned "Verified DBT Core Version" and is expected to be compatible with other supported DBT Core versions. If there are any issues with validation or metadata crawling, please submit a support ticket for investigation and feedback.
{% endhint %}

### **Connector Features**

| Feature                                      | Availability |
| -------------------------------------------- | :----------: |
| Crawling                                     |       ✅      |
| Delta Crawling                               |       ❌      |
| Profiling                                    |       ❌      |
| Data Preview                                 |       ❌      |
| Auto Lineage                                 |       ✅      |
| Manual Lineage                               |       ✅      |
| Secure Authentication via Credential Manager |       ✅      |
| Data Quality                                 |       ❌      |
| DAM (Data Access Management)                 |       ❌      |
| Bridge                                       |       ✅      |

#### Metadata Mapping

The following objects are crawled from DBT Core and mapped to the corresponding UI assets.

| DBT Core Object            | DBT Core Attribute         | OvalEdge Attribute | OvaEdge Category | OvalEdge Type |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------ | ---------------- | ------------- |
| Manifest.json              | Manifest.json File         | Code Name          | Codes            | DBT\_RUN      |
| SQL's inside Manifest file | SQL's inside Manifest file | Code Name          | Codes            | DBT\_RUN\_SQL |

## Set up a Connection

### Prerequisites

The following are the prerequisites to establish a connection:

#### **Service Account User Permissions**

{% hint style="warning" %}
It is recommended to use a separate service account to establish the connection to the data source, configured with the following minimum set of permissions.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
👨‍💻Who can provide these permissions? These permissions are typically granted by the DBT Core administrator, as users may not have the required access to assign them independently.
{% endhint %}

| Operations | Objects       | Access Permission |
| ---------- | ------------- | ----------------- |
| Crawling   | Datasets      | Read only         |
| Lineage    | Schema        | Read only         |
| Lineage    | Tables        | Read only         |
| Lineage    | Table Columns | Read only         |

### Connection Configuration Steps

{% hint style="warning" %}
Users are required to have the Connector Creator role in order to configure a new connection.
{% endhint %}

1. Log into OvalEdge, go to Administration > Connectors, click **+ (New Connector)**, search for **DBT Core,** and complete the required parameters.

{% hint style="info" %}
Fields marked with an asterisk (\*) are mandatory for establishing a connection.
{% endhint %}

<table><thead><tr><th width="219">Field Name</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Connector Type</td><td>By default, "DBT Core" is displayed as the selected connector type.</td></tr><tr><td>Credential Manager*</td><td><p>Select the desired credentials manager from the drop-down list. The corresponding parameters will be displayed based on the selected option.</p><p>Supported Credential Managers:</p><ul><li>OE Credential Manager</li><li>AWS Secrets Manager</li><li>HashiCorp</li><li>Azure Key Vault</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>License Add Ons</td><td>Select the checkbox for the Auto Lineage Add-On to build data lineage automatically.</td></tr><tr><td>Connector Environment</td><td>Select the environment (Example: PROD, STG) configured for the connector.</td></tr><tr><td>Connector Name*</td><td><p>Enter a unique name for the DBT Core connection              </p><p>(Example: "DBTCore").</p></td></tr><tr><td>Connector Description</td><td>Enter the description related to the connector.</td></tr><tr><td>DBT core repository type*</td><td><p>Select the type of DBT Core repository from the dropdown menu.</p><ul><li>NFS</li><li>S3</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="NFS" %}

<table><thead><tr><th width="191">Field Name</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Path*</td><td>Enter the path to the location where your DBT Core files are stored.</td></tr></tbody></table>
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="S3" %}

<table><thead><tr><th width="191">Field Name</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Authentication*</td><td><p>Select the type of Authentication from the dropdown menu.</p><ul><li>IAM User Authentication</li><li>Role-Based Authentication</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>S3 Bucket name*</td><td>Enter the name of the S3 bucket where the DBT Core files are stored.</td></tr><tr><td>S3 zip pathname name</td><td>Enter the path name where the zip file was extracted from the manifest file in the project folder.</td></tr><tr><td>Access key*</td><td><p>Enter the AWS Access Key ID used to authenticate the IAM user.</p><p>Note: This field is available only when the Authentication is set to “IAM User Authentication”.</p></td></tr><tr><td>Secret key*</td><td><p>Enter the AWS Secret Access Key associated with the Access Key ID.</p><p>Note: This field is available only when the Authentication is set to “IAM User Authentication”.</p></td></tr><tr><td>Cross-Account Role ARN</td><td><p>Enter the ARN (Amazon Resource Name) of the role used for cross-account access.</p><p>Note: This field is available only when the Authentication is set to “Role-Based Authentication”.</p></td></tr><tr><td>Filter by tags</td><td>Enter one or more tags to narrow down and display only the items associated with those tags.</td></tr><tr><td>Region</td><td>Enter the region where the DBT Core files or resources are located.</td></tr></tbody></table>
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

**Default Governance Roles**

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="220"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Default Governance Roles*</td><td>Select the appropriate users or teams for each governance role from the drop-down list. All users configured in the security settings are available for selection.</td></tr></tbody></table>

**Admin Roles**

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="220"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Admin Roles*</td><td>Select one or more users from the dropdown list for Integration Admin and Security &#x26; Governance Admin. All users configured in the security settings are available for selection.</td></tr></tbody></table>

**No of Archive Objects**

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="220"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>No Of Archive Objects*</td><td><p>This shows the number of recent metadata changes to a dataset at the source. By default, it is off. To enable it, toggle the Archive button and specify the number of objects to archive.</p><p>Example: Setting it to 4 retrieves the last four changes, displayed in the 'Version' column of the 'Metadata Changes' module.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

**Bridge**

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="220"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Select Bridge*</td><td><p>If applicable, select the bridge from the drop-down list.</p><p>The drop-down list displays all active bridges that have been configured. These bridges facilitate communication between data sources and the system without requiring changes to firewall rules.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

2. After entering all connection details, the following actions can be performed:
   1. Click **Validate** to verify the connection.
   2. Click **Save** to store the connection for future use.
   3. Click **Save & Configure** to apply additional settings before saving.
3. The saved connection will appear on the Connectors home page.

## Manage Connector Operations

### Crawl

{% hint style="warning" %}
To perform crawl and profile operations, users must be assigned the Integration Admin role.
{% endhint %}

The Crawl/Profile button allows users to select one or more schemas for crawling.&#x20;

1. Navigate to the Connectors page and click **Crawl/Profile**.
2. Select the schemas to crawl.
3. The **Crawl** option is selected by default.
4. Click **Run** to collect metadata from the connected source and load it into the **Data Catalog**.
5. After a successful crawl, the information appears in the **Data Catalog > Databases/<>Codes** tab.

The Schedule checkbox allows automated crawling at defined intervals, from a minute to a year.

1. Click the **Schedule** checkbox to enable the **Select Period** drop-down.
2. Select a time interval for the operation from the drop-down menu.
3. Click **Schedule** to initiate metadata collection from the connected source.
4. The system will automatically execute the **crawl** operation at the scheduled time.

### Other Operations

The Connectors page provides a centralized view of all configured connectors, along with their health status.

**Managing connectors includes:**

* **Connector Health:** Displays the current status of each connector using a green icon for active connections and a red icon for inactive connections, helping to monitor the connectivity with data sources.
* **Viewing**: Click the **Eye icon** next to the connector name to view connector details, including databases, tables, columns, and codes.

**Nine Dots Menu Options:**

To view, edit, validate, build lineage, configure, or delete connectors, click on the Nine Dots menu.

* **Edit Connector:** Update and revalidate the data source.
* **Validate Connector:** Check the connection's integrity.
* **Settings**: Modify connector settings.
  * **Crawler**: Configure data extraction.
  * **Access Instructions:** Add notes on how data can be accessed.
  * **Business Glossary Settings**: Manage term associations at the connector level.
  * **Others**: Configure notification recipients for metadata changes.
* **Build Lineage**: Automatically build data lineage using source code parsing.
* **Delete Connector**: Remove a connector with confirmation.

## Connectivity Troubleshooting

If incorrect parameters are entered, error messages may appear. Ensure all inputs are accurate to resolve these issues. If issues persist, contact the assigned support team.

<table><thead><tr><th width="86">S.No.</th><th width="165">Error Message(s)</th><th>Error Description &#x26; Resolution</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Invalid File Path</td><td><p><strong>Description</strong>: The specified NFS or S3 file path is incorrect or not accessible.</p><p><strong>Resolution</strong>:</p><ul><li>Verify the file path is correct.</li><li>Ensure the path exists and is accessible.</li><li>Check required permissions for the path.</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Authentication Failed</td><td><p><strong>Description</strong>: The provided credentials are invalid or not authorized.</p><p><strong>Resolution</strong>:</p><ul><li>Validate access key and secret key.</li><li>Verify mount or connection credentials.</li><li>Ensure the credentials have required access permissions.</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

***

Copyright © 2026, OvalEdge LLC, Peachtree Corners GA USA
