dbt Core Tools

A VS Code extension that wraps dbt Core CLI. No language server — just direct CLI integration with six focused features.

Publisher: TEAMSchools
Activation: Opens automatically when a workspace contains a dbt_project.yml file.

Requires: YAML (Red Hat)

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Installation

Install from the VS Code Marketplace by searching for dbt Core Tools (publisher: TEAMSchools), or install the .vsix directly:

Extensions: Install from VSIX...

dbt Core must be installed and accessible from your shell. By default the extension calls dbt; adjust dbtCoreTools.dbtCommand if you use a wrapper like uv run dbt.

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Features

Command Runner

Run, build, test, and show models from the editor title bar or the command palette. Each action also has an "Options" variant that lets you pick upstream (+model), downstream (model+), and full-refresh before executing.

Lifecycle commands available from the command palette:

Command	Description
Setup Project	dbt deps + dbt parse for the current project
Setup All Projects	Same for every discovered project
Install Dependencies	dbt deps
Parse Project	dbt parse
Clean Project	dbt clean
Debug	dbt debug
Retry	Re-run the last failed command
Stage External Sources	Run dbt-external-tables stage macro

Compiled SQL Viewer

Opens compiled SQL from the manifest in a side-by-side diff view. Stays current when parse-on-save is enabled.

Command: dbt Core Tools: Show Compiled SQL

Lineage Viewer

DAG visualization using React Flow. Nodes expand and collapse; right-click for context actions. A lock toggle keeps the view pinned to a specific model.

Command: dbt Core Tools: Show Lineage

Jump to Properties / Model

Toggle between a .sql model file and its corresponding .yml properties file. If no properties file exists it can scaffold one. Also provides a Sync Columns command to write column names from the manifest into the YAML.

Commands: dbt Core Tools: Toggle SQL/Properties, dbt Core Tools: Sync Columns

Model Preview

Run dbt show and display results in a sortable HTML table inside VS Code.

Command: dbt Core Tools: Show Model
Row limit controlled by dbtCoreTools.showLimit.

Code Intelligence

Powered by the parsed manifest:

• Go to definition — jump to the model or source referenced by ref() or source()
• Hover — show column descriptions from the manifest
• Autocomplete — suggestions for ref(), source(), macro(), and config() arguments

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Settings

All settings are under the dbtCoreTools namespace.

Setting	Type	Default	Description
dbtCoreTools.dbtCommand	string	"dbt"	Command used to invoke dbt. Use "uv run dbt" or similar if needed.
dbtCoreTools.projectDirectories	array	[]	Explicit project paths. When empty, projects are auto-discovered from the workspace.
dbtCoreTools.profilesDir	string	""	Path to the directory containing profiles.yml.
dbtCoreTools.compileOnSave	boolean	true	Run dbt compile automatically when a .sql file is saved.
dbtCoreTools.deferManifestPath	object	{}	Per-project path to a manifest used for --defer. Keys are project names.
dbtCoreTools.stageExternalSourcesVars	object	{}	Vars passed to stage_external_sources. Supports ${projectName} interpolation.
dbtCoreTools.showLimit	integer	5	Row limit passed to dbt show.

Example workspace settings

{
  "dbtCoreTools.dbtCommand": "uv run dbt",
  "dbtCoreTools.profilesDir": "/home/user/.dbt",
  "dbtCoreTools.compileOnSave": true,
  "dbtCoreTools.deferManifestPath": {
    "my_project": "/ci/target/manifest.json"
  },
  "dbtCoreTools.showLimit": 10
}

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Multi-project workspaces

Projects are discovered automatically by locating dbt_project.yml files (excluding dbt_packages/ and dbt_modules/). To pin specific directories instead of relying on auto-discovery, set dbtCoreTools.projectDirectories.

Per-project settings (deferManifestPath, stageExternalSourcesVars) use the project name as the key, matching the name field in dbt_project.yml. Target selection is available via the status bar and resets to the profile default on window reload.

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YAML validation

The extension registers JSON schema validation for dbt_project.yml, selectors.yml, and packages.yml via the Red Hat YAML extension (schemas sourced from dbt-labs/dbt-jsonschema).

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Build & Publish

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22+
• A Personal Access Token for the TEAMSchools publisher on the VS Code Marketplace

Build

npm install
npm run build

Package as VSIX

npx @vscode/vsce package --allow-missing-repository

This produces a .vsix file that can be installed manually via Extensions: Install from VSIX... in VS Code.

Publish to Marketplace

npx @vscode/vsce publish --allow-missing-repository

You will be prompted for the PAT. To avoid the prompt, set the VSCE_PAT environment variable or log in first:

npx @vscode/vsce login TEAMSchools
npx @vscode/vsce publish --allow-missing-repository

Version bumps

Update version in package.json before publishing. The marketplace rejects duplicate version numbers.

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License

MIT