Problem
The dbt-core(and CLI) tools (build, run, test, compile, etc.) currently support a limited set of flags:
--select, --full-refresh, --vars, --resource-type
Common flags used in local development are missing:
--defer / --state (slim CI, defer to production)--exclude--target--fail-fast--threads
This makes workflows like this impossible through MCP, especially ones leveraging only dbt-core:
dbt run -s my_model --defer --state /path/to/prod/manifest
dbt build -s state:modified+ --defer --state ./target-prod
dbt run -s +my_model --exclude my_other_model --target dev
### Describe the solution you'd like
Proposed Solution
Add typed parameters for these flags to the tool functions:
```bash
async def build(
selector: str | None = None,
exclude: str | None = None, # NEW
defer: bool = False, # NEW
state: str | None = None, # NEW
target: str | None = None, # NEW
fail_fast: bool = False, # NEW
threads: int | None = None, # NEW
...
)
Also add environment variables for defaults:
- DBT_MCP_STATE_PATH - default state path for --defer
- DBT_MCP_TARGET - default target profile
Priority
┌─────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┐
│ Flag │ Use Case │ Priority │
├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ --defer │ Slim CI, local dev against prod │ High │
├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ --state │ Required for defer, state:modified │ High │
├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ --exclude │ Fine-grained selection │ High │
├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ --target │ Multi-environment workflows │ Medium │
├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ --fail-fast │ Quick feedback loops │ Medium │
├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ --threads │ Performance tuning │ Low │
└─────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┘
Happy to contribute a PR for this.
### Describe alternatives you've considered
Simply using dbt-core commands and instructing Claude(or agent of choice) to just leverage these through claude skills - however every user has a slightly different workflow and these can be overhead to try to "share" throughout the team
### Additional context
_No response_
Problem
The dbt-core(and CLI) tools (build, run, test, compile, etc.) currently support a limited set of flags:
--select,--full-refresh,--vars,--resource-typeCommon flags used in local development are missing:
--defer/--state(slim CI, defer to production)--exclude--target--fail-fast--threadsThis makes workflows like this impossible through MCP, especially ones leveraging only
dbt-core:dbt run -s my_model --defer --state /path/to/prod/manifest dbt build -s state:modified+ --defer --state ./target-prod dbt run -s +my_model --exclude my_other_model --target dev ### Describe the solution you'd like Proposed Solution Add typed parameters for these flags to the tool functions: ```bash async def build( selector: str | None = None, exclude: str | None = None, # NEW defer: bool = False, # NEW state: str | None = None, # NEW target: str | None = None, # NEW fail_fast: bool = False, # NEW threads: int | None = None, # NEW ... ) Also add environment variables for defaults: - DBT_MCP_STATE_PATH - default state path for --defer - DBT_MCP_TARGET - default target profile Priority ┌─────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┐ │ Flag │ Use Case │ Priority │ ├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤ │ --defer │ Slim CI, local dev against prod │ High │ ├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤ │ --state │ Required for defer, state:modified │ High │ ├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤ │ --exclude │ Fine-grained selection │ High │ ├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤ │ --target │ Multi-environment workflows │ Medium │ ├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤ │ --fail-fast │ Quick feedback loops │ Medium │ ├─────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤ │ --threads │ Performance tuning │ Low │ └─────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┘ Happy to contribute a PR for this. ### Describe alternatives you've considered Simply using dbt-core commands and instructing Claude(or agent of choice) to just leverage these through claude skills - however every user has a slightly different workflow and these can be overhead to try to "share" throughout the team ### Additional context _No response_