dbt-docs-mcp

[](https://mseep.ai/app/ad4aaf73-63ce-42e0-b27c-8541ae1fbab8) [](https://archestra.ai/mcp-catalog/mattijsdp__dbt-docs-mcp) # dbt-docs-mcp Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with dbt project metadata, including dbt Docs artifacts (`manifest.json`, `catalog.json`). This server exposes dbt graph information and allows querying node details, model/column lineage, and related metadata. ## Key Functionality This server provides tools to: * **Search dbt Nodes:** * Find nodes (models, sources, tests, etc.) by name (`search_dbt_node_names`). * Locate nodes based on column names (`search_dbt_column_names`). * Search within the compiled SQL code of nodes (`search_dbt_sql_code`). * **Inspect Nodes:** * Retrieve detailed attributes for any given node unique ID (`get_dbt_node_attributes`). * **Explore Lineage:** * Find direct upstream dependencies (predecessors) of a node (`get_dbt_predecessors`). * Find direct downstream dependents (successors) of a node (`get_dbt_successors`). * **Column-Level Lineage:** * Trace all upstream sources for a specific column in a model (`get_column_ancestors`). * Trace all downstream dependents of a specific column in a model (`get_column_descendants`). * **Suggested extensions:** * Tool that allows executing SQL queries. * Tool that retrieves table/view/column metadata directly from the database. * Tool to search knowledge-base. ## Getting Started 1. **Prerequisites:** Ensure you have Python installed and [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) 2. **Clone the repo:** ```bash git clone <repository-url> cd dbt-docs-mcp ``` 3. **Optional: parse dbt manifest for column-level lineage:** - Setup the required Python environment, e.g.: ```bash uv sync ``` - Use the provided script `scripts/create_manifest_cl.py` and simply provide the path to your dbt manifest, dbt catalog and the desired output paths for your schema and column lineage file: ```bash python scripts/create_manifest_cl.py --manifest-path PATH_TO_YOUR_MANIFEST_FILE --catalog-path PATH_TO_YOUR_CATALOG_FILE --schema-mapping-path DESIRED_OUTPUT_PATH_FOR_SCHEMA_MAPPING --manifest-cl-path DESIRED_OUTPUT_PATH_FOR_MANIFEST_CL ``` - Depending on your dbt project size, creating column-lineage can take a while (hours) 4. **Run the Server:** - If your desired MCP client (Claude desktop, Cursor, etc.) supports mcp.json it would look as below: ```json { "mcpServers": { "DBT Docs MCP": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "run", "--with", "networkx,mcp[cli],rapidfuzz,dbt-core,python-decouple,sqlglot,tqdm", "mcp", "run", "/Users/mattijs/repos/dbt-docs-mcp/src/mcp_server.py" ], "env": { "MANIFEST_PATH": "/Users/mattijs/repos/dbt-docs-mcp/inputs/manifest.json", "SCHEMA_MAPPING_PATH": "/Users/mattijs/repos/dbt-docs-mcp/outputs/schema_mapping.json", "MANIFEST_CL_PATH": "/Users/mattijs/repos/dbt-docs-mcp/outputs/manifest_column_lineage.json" } } } } ```