Hightouch can communicate with two distinct Git repository types. The dbt extension interacts with Git repositories that contain dbt projects. These are separate from the Git repository used for Git Sync to version control your Hightouch settings.
If you've invested in building models with dbt, you likely want to use those models as the source of truth for your downstream data needs. At Hightouch, we use dbt to build most of our models for analytics and reporting.
Our dbt integration lets you define Hightouch models using your dbt models and analyses.
Connect to your Git repository
Navigate to the dbt extension configuration page and enter your Git credentials under Credentials.
If you're using GitHub, it's best to use Hightouch's GitHub App for the most up-to-date feature support.
To set it up, choose GitHub App as the Git Service, and then select Configure GitHub App.
This prompts you to install the Hightouch Connect app in the relevant GitHub repository.
For other Git services, you can choose to use either SSH or HTTP protocol. SSH protocol requires you provide an SSH private key and HTTP requires a username and token.
See GitHub documentation or GitLab documentation for instructions on creating personal access tokens.
Configure dbt model selector
When connecting dbt sources for the first time or making changes to your dbt model sync configuration, you usually only need to click Save and not Full Resync for Hightouch to create or update your configuration.
The Full Resync action is only necessary when making significant changes in your dbt Git repository. It restarts dbt compilation from a fresh state and can take a significant amount of time. After clicking this button, wait for the updated dbt models to compile before making any changes to your configuration.
You can use dbt models and analyses from your Git repository for any source in Hightouch.
The default schema is the schema where dbt materializes your tables to unless otherwise specified in project file. Some common examples are public, production, dbt_production.
Hightouch lets you optionally specify dbt selectors like tag:hightouch. Otherwise, we use * and sync all dbt models to Hightouch.
You can also specify which version of dbt you want to use. By default, Hightouch uses the most recent version available in the drop-down menu.
Hightouch's dbt integration automatically looks for your dbt_project.yml file in the repository directory. If your project file is named something else, for example, dbt_project.yaml, or you have multiple dbt_project.yml files, you can specify a relative path to your project file, for example, ./hightouch/dbt/dbt_project.yaml.
After saving your settings, it may take a one to two minutes for Hightouch to sync your dbt models and for the sync status to turn green.
Select a model
Once you've configured the dbt model selector, you can use dbt models and analyses in the Hightouch model creation process. Select the dbt model tab in the query explorer to view all your available dbt models and analyses.
The compiled SQL shown in the preview is only for preview purposes. When Hightouch queries the warehouse, we query the table built by dbt.
dbt observability layer
Hightouch lets you validate dbt model changes as they relate to Hightouch syncs and observe how Hightouch syncs are using your dbt models. Check out our dbt observability layer documentation for more information.
Supported dbt versions
Hightouch supports all dbt versions >= 0.19. You can set the version in the dbt setup page. If you need support for a version not listed, .
If you update your dbt version, return to Hightouch to update your dbt version selection. Once you've made the update, it may take up to 15 minutes for the changes to take effect.
Unsupported features
Hightouch doesn't support the following features:
- Private dependency packages
- Pre- and post-hooks (limited support, this may work depending on the hook)
Hightouch compiles the project using dbt compile to resolve your data warehouse's schema and generate compiled SQL for preview purposes. When running the model in Hightouch, we query the materialized table directly.
Tips and troubleshooting
Credential errors
If your Git credentials are out of date, you won't be able to connect your dbt models and analyses. We recommend using Hightouch's GitHub app for your credentials if you're using GitHub.