Import from dbt
What this covers
If your team already defines metrics in dbt, you can bootstrap a Tessallite model from a dbt project instead of building it by hand. The importer reads dbt's semantic_models and metrics and maps them onto Tessallite tables, dimensions, and measures, giving you a working model to review, connect, and deploy.
What gets imported
| dbt concept | Tessallite equivalent |
|---|---|
semantic_model | A model table (the entity it is defined on becomes the source table) |
entity (primary / foreign) | Join keys used to relate tables |
dimension (categorical) | A dimension |
dimension (time, with grain) | A time dimension with its grain |
measure | A measure with its aggregation (sum, count, average, and so on) |
metric (simple) | A measure or calculated measure |
metric (ratio / derived / cumulative) | Imported with a warning for manual review |
Run the import
Provide the dbt definitions either as a single schema.yml (or the project's semantic_models YAML) or as a zip of the dbt project. The importer accepts dbt v1.7 and later.
From the API:
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/v1/projects/<project_id>/import/dbt \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
-F "file=@my_dbt_project.zip"The response reports how many models, dimensions, and measures were created, and lists any metrics that need manual follow-up.
After importing
- Bind a connection. The imported model references table and column names from dbt but has no live credentials. Attach a data source so Tessallite can read the underlying tables — see Manage Connections.
- Review classifications. Confirm the fact and dimension tables, join keys, and measure aggregations are what you expect. Adjust on the canvas as needed.
- Resolve metric warnings. Ratio, derived, and cumulative metrics are imported as a best effort; rebuild them as Calculated Measures or time variants where the warning asks you to.
- Save and deploy. Once the model validates, save a version and deploy it so BI tools and the agent can query it — see Deploy a Model.
Limitations
- The importer maps structure and definitions, not data. You still bind a live connection to query.
- Complex metric types (ratio, derived, cumulative) generate warnings and may need to be re-expressed as calculated measures or time variants.
- dbt tests and freshness checks are not imported; use Data Quality Rules for equivalent validation in Tessallite.