How to Integrate PostgreSQL with dbt

Galaxy Glossary

How do I connect dbt to PostgreSQL and run models?

Connect dbt to PostgreSQL so you can version-control, test, and document SQL transformations in a repeatable workflow.

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Description

Why integrate PostgreSQL with dbt?

Pairing dbt with PostgreSQL turns raw tables into governed, version-controlled models. You keep SQL in Git, schedule repeatable builds, and surface trusted data for dashboards without moving data out of Postgres.

What prerequisites should I check?

Verify PostgreSQL is reachable, install dbt-postgres (pip install dbt-postgres), and create a service account with CREATE and USAGE on your target schema.

How do I configure `profiles.yml` for Postgres?

Create ~/.dbt/profiles.yml with a Postgres target. The profile name must match profile: in dbt_project.yml.

profiles.yml template

ecommerce: target: dev outputs: dev: type: postgres host: localhost user: analytics password: {{ env_var('PG_PASSWORD') }} port: 5432 dbname: warehouse schema: analytics threads: 4 keepalives_idle: 0

How do I run my first dbt model against Postgres?

Place a model file such as models/orders_enriched.sql in your dbt project, then run dbt run. dbt compiles the model and creates the target table or view in analytics.orders_enriched.

Sample model

-- models/orders_enriched.sql select o.id as order_id, c.name as customer_name, o.order_date, o.total_amount, date_part('dow', o.order_date) as weekday from {{ ref('orders') }} o join {{ ref('customers') }} c on c.id = o.customer_id;

How can I test and document my Postgres models?

Add YAML tests and descriptions. Run dbt test to validate uniqueness or foreign keys inside Postgres, and generate docs with dbt docs generate.

Best practices for Postgres + dbt

Use incremental models for large tables, apply grants: in dbt_project.yml for least privilege, and pin Postgres extensions in a pre-hook so deployments stay idempotent.

Common errors and quick fixes

psycopg2.OperationalError: confirm the host, port, and SSL settings. permission denied for schema: grant USAGE and CREATE on the target schema to the dbt role.

Full workflow example

1) Seed reference data with dbt seed. 2) Build models with dbt run --select orders_enriched+. 3) Run tests. 4) Schedule nightly runs through Cron or Airflow for fresh Postgres insights.

Why How to Integrate PostgreSQL with dbt is important

How to Integrate PostgreSQL with dbt Example Usage


-- dbt model: models/top_products.sql
select p.id,
       p.name,
       sum(oi.quantity) as total_units_sold,
       sum(oi.quantity * p.price) as total_revenue
from  p
join  oi on oi.product_id = p.id
group by p.id, p.name
order by total_revenue desc
limit 20;

How to Integrate PostgreSQL with dbt Syntax


# profiles.yml syntax for PostgreSQL
ecommerce:
  target: dev
  outputs:
    dev:
      type: postgres           # required
      host: &lt;host&gt;             # e.g. localhost or prod-db.company.com
      user: &lt;username&gt;
      password: &lt;password&gt;     # or env_var()
      port: 5432               # default Postgres port
      dbname: &lt;database&gt;
      schema: &lt;target_schema&gt;  # where dbt creates models
      threads: 1-8             # parallelism
      search_path: public,analytics  # optional
      keepalives_idle: 0          # optional

# CLI commands in a Postgres context
$ dbt debug                       # validate connection
$ dbt run                         # build all models
$ dbt run --models customers+     # build graph starting at customers
$ dbt test                        # execute data tests
$ dbt seed                        # load CSVs into Postgres
$ dbt docs generate && dbt docs serve

Common Mistakes

Using the Postgres superuser in profiles.yml. This works locally but breaks CI. Fix by creating a dedicated role with minimal privileges and adding GRANT statements to dbt pre-hooks.
Hard-coding passwords in profiles.yml. Instead, wrap credentials in <code>env_var()</code> so secrets stay out of Git and rotate cleanly in CI/CD.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Does dbt support SSL when connecting to PostgreSQL?

Yes. Add sslmode: require and related parameters under your Postgres output. dbt passes them to psycopg2.

Can I run dbt incrementally on Postgres?

Absolutely. Add materialized='incremental' to your model, define a unique_key, and dbt will merge only new or changed rows.

How do I deploy dbt-Postgres to production?

Store profiles.yml variables in a CI secret store, run dbt run in a container, and point the profile to your production Postgres host.

Want to learn about other SQL terms?

dbt tests

dbt tests are declarative assertions in dbt that automatically validate data quality during model builds.

dbt utils

dbt utils is a community-maintained dbt package that adds time-saving utility macros for analytics engineers, such as generating surrogate keys, safely unioning models, and automating date spines.

dbt Tutorial Glossary: Build, Test & Deploy SQL Models

dbt is an open-source framework that lets data teams transform raw warehouse tables into tested, documented, production-ready datasets using version-controlled SQL.

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