Understand how your dbt models power Metabase dashboards and questions.
Know exactly which Metabase assets will be affected before you change a column in your dbt project.
Features
DBT Model Browser
Browse all your dbt models and columns in a convenient tree view, organized by your project structure.
Column Usage Tracking
Select any column to instantly see which Metabase dashboards and questions depend on it. Click to open them directly in Metabase.
Impact Analysis
Before making schema changes, understand the downstream effects. See at a glance how many dashboards and questions will be impacted.
dbt Cloud Support
Works with both local dbt projects and dbt Cloud. Fetch manifests directly from your dbt Cloud environment without needing local files.
Auto-Refresh
Stays in sync with your dbt project. When your manifest changes, the extension automatically updates.
Secure
Your Metabase API credentials are stored securely using VS Code's built-in secrets API. They never touch your filesystem.
Quick Start
Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
Configure Metabase - Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and run:
DBT-Metabase: Configure Settings
Enter your Metabase URL and API key.
Open your dbt project in VS Code (the folder containing dbt_project.yml)
Click the DBT-Metabase icon in the Activity Bar to view your models and column usage
Requirements
- dbt project with compiled
manifest.json (run dbt compile or dbt run)
- Metabase instance with API access enabled
- VS Code 1.85 or higher
Configuration
Open VS Code Settings and search for "DBT-Metabase" to configure:
| Setting |
Description |
dbtProjectPath |
Path to dbt_project.yml (auto-detected if empty) |
modelPathFilter |
Filter models by path pattern (e.g., dm/ for data marts only) |
metabaseUrl |
Your Metabase instance URL |
autoRefresh |
Automatically refresh when dbt manifest changes |
cacheEnabled |
Cache Metabase data between sessions |
cacheTTLMinutes |
How long to cache data (default: 60 minutes) |
manifestSource |
Use local files or fetch from cloud |
dbt Cloud Configuration
To use dbt Cloud as your manifest source:
- Set
manifestSource to cloud
- Run
DBT-Metabase: Configure dbt Cloud from the Command Palette
- Enter your Account ID, Environment ID, and API token
Supported regions:
- North America:
https://cloud.getdbt.com/api/v2
- EMEA:
https://emea.dbt.com/api/v2
- APAC:
https://au.dbt.com/api/v2
Commands
Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) to access:
| Command |
Description |
DBT-Metabase: Configure Settings |
Set up Metabase connection |
DBT-Metabase: Configure dbt Cloud |
Set up dbt Cloud connection |
DBT-Metabase: Refresh Lineage |
Refresh all lineage data |
DBT-Metabase: Force Refresh (Clear Cache) |
Clear cache and fetch fresh data |
DBT-Metabase: Fetch All Metabase Metadata |
Pre-fetch all Metabase data |
DBT-Metabase: Show Metabase Fetch Status |
View fetch progress |
DBT-Metabase: Show Column Usage |
Show usage for selected column |
DBT-Metabase: Show Diagnostics |
View extension diagnostics |
DBT-Metabase: Show Debug Log |
View detailed debug output |
Troubleshooting
"manifest.json not found"
Run dbt compile or dbt run in your dbt project to generate the manifest file.
- Verify your Metabase URL is correct and accessible
- Check that your API key is valid (get one from Metabase Admin > Settings > API Keys)
- Ensure your network allows connections to Metabase
- Confirm your dbt models have been deployed to the database
- Verify Metabase has synced with your database (Admin > Databases > Sync)
- Check that database and schema names match between dbt and Metabase
"dbt Cloud connection failed"
- Verify your Account ID and Environment ID are correct
- Ensure your API token has the required permissions
- Check you're using the correct regional API URL
