Glossary · letter D
dbt
data build toolData transformation tool for the analytics layer
Definition
An open-source tool for writing data transformations as SQL models with tests, documentation and a dependency graph. dbt doesn't load data (that's Airflow or Fivetran's job) — dbt transforms data already loaded into the Data Warehouse.
Business application
A data team writing reports as long SQL queries in Power BI rarely tests its transformations. dbt enforces discipline: every transformation is a separate model with tests that compile before execution.