🔨 dbt Forge

A smoother dbt workflow, without leaving VS Code — and without your SQL ever leaving your machine.

What is dbt Forge?

dbt Forge is a VS Code extension for data engineers working on dbt projects (built and tested against dbt-fabric / Microsoft Fabric, but not tied to it). It fills the gaps left by existing dbt tooling — column-level autocomplete, an interactive lineage graph, and one-click build shortcuts — while keeping everything 100% local.

Nothing is sent anywhere. No account, no API key, no third-party backend. dbt Forge only reads the files your own dbt already produces (manifest.json, catalog.json, compiled SQL) and runs dbt through your own project's Python environment.

Features

	Feature	Description
🔗	ref()/source() autocomplete	Suggests model and source names as you type inside `{{ ref('...` / `{{ source('...', '...`
⚡	Snippet expansion	Type `ref` or `source` in plain SQL to expand into the full `{{ ref("") }}` tag, cursor ready to autocomplete
🧭	Go to Definition	Ctrl+click a `ref()`/`source()` call to jump straight to the model's `.sql` file
🔤	Column autocomplete	Suggests column names after `alias.`, resolved from `catalog.json` (built models) and from same-file CTEs
🌳	Parents / Children / Tests panel	Sidebar view of the current model's direct dependencies and dependents, from the manifest's dependency graph
🕸️	Interactive lineage graph	Click-to-expand upstream/downstream graph (React Flow) — starts at the current model, no giant unreadable diagram dumped on you
👁️	Compiled SQL preview	Read-only, side-by-side preview of the compiled SQL dbt actually runs
🚀	Build / Test shortcuts	CodeLens and sidebar buttons for Build Upstream, Build Downstream, Test, and Build Project — run through your project's own venv

Getting Started

Prerequisites

VS Code 1.85+
A dbt project (dbt_project.yml) with its own Python virtual environment (dbt-core + your adapter installed inside it)
manifest.json generated at least once (dbt compile or dbt build) for autocomplete/lineage/panels to have data
catalog.json generated (dbt docs generate) for column autocomplete on already-built models

Installation

# From source (not yet published to the marketplace)
git clone https://github.com/Y0hannH/dbtforge
cd dbtforge
npm install
npm run compile

Then press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host with dbt Forge loaded, and open your dbt project in that window.

First Run

Open your dbt project folder (containing dbt_project.yml, or nested inside a larger workspace)
Set dbtForge.pythonPath to your project's venv Python (e.g. C:/path/to/project/.venv/Scripts/python.exe)
Run dbt compile (or dbt build) at least once so manifest.json exists
Open a model .sql file — autocomplete, CodeLens, and the Parents/Children/Tests panel activate automatically

Architecture

Layer	Stack
Extension Host	TypeScript + VS Code Extension API
Lineage Webview	React + React Flow + dagre (auto-layout), bundled locally — no CDN
Data Source	Reads `manifest.json` / `catalog.json` / `target/compiled/*.sql` directly, with a file watcher to stay in sync
dbt Execution	Runs the `dbt` executable from your configured venv (`Scripts/`/`bin/`) in the integrated terminal

Commands

Command	Description
`dbtForge.refreshIndex`	Reload manifest.json / catalog.json
`dbtForge.buildUpstream`	`dbt build --select +model` for the open model
`dbtForge.buildDownstream`	`dbt build --select model+` for the open model
`dbtForge.testModel`	`dbt test --select model` for the open model
`dbtForge.buildProject`	`dbt build` for the whole project
`dbtForge.previewCompiledSql`	Open the compiled SQL for the open model, read-only
`dbtForge.showLineage`	Open the interactive lineage graph for the open model

Configuration

Setting	Default	Description
`dbtForge.pythonPath`	`""`	Path to the Python executable inside your dbt project's venv. Empty falls back to `dbt` on PATH
`dbtForge.projectDir`	`""`	Path to the dbt project root. Auto-detected (including nested inside a larger workspace) if left empty
`dbtForge.manifestPath`	`target/manifest.json`	Path to manifest.json, relative to the project root
`dbtForge.catalogPath`	`target/catalog.json`	Path to catalog.json, relative to the project root
`dbtForge.compiledDir`	`target/compiled`	Path to the compiled models directory, relative to the project root

Local Data & Privacy

dbt Forge does not collect any data and has no network calls of its own:

Reads manifest.json, catalog.json, and compiled SQL directly from your project's target/ folder
Runs dbt through your own configured Python environment, in your own integrated terminal
No telemetry, no backend, no external service — everything happens on your machine

Roadmap

✅ Core (v1)

ref()/source() autocomplete, Go to Definition, column autocomplete (aliases + CTEs), Parents/Children/Tests panel, build/test shortcuts, compiled SQL preview, interactive lineage graph.

🔲 Next

Configurable lineage depth / filtering for very large projects
Multi-project workspace polish (multiple dbt projects in one workspace)
Marketplace publication

Contributing

The project is under active development.

Fork → branch → PR
Open an issue to discuss a feature before coding
Follow the existing naming conventions

License

Built with ♥ by Evolve

dbt Forge

Evolve Data