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dbt-nova

High-performance MCP server for dbt manifest search and analysis.

DBT Nova bridges raw dbt artifacts to agent-ready intelligence by normalizing manifest and meta.nova metadata into indexed, queryable representations and exposing them through MCP tools for discovery, lineage, scoring, and governance.

  • Get Started in 5 Minutes

    Install dbt-nova and connect it to your favorite AI assistant

    Quick Start

  • Powerful Search

    Hybrid search with BM25, vector embeddings, and ML reranking

    Search Features

  • Metadata Scoring

    Automated quality scoring for documentation, governance, and more

    Metadata Scoring

  • Nova Meta 101

    The schema and field map that power search, scoring, and governance

    Nova Meta Overview

  • Persona Workflows

    Tailored experiences for analysts, engineers, and governance teams

    Personas

  • Analysis Recipes

    Deterministic, reusable SQL workflows for recurring reporting topics

    Recipe Guide

Which Persona Are You?

If you need to... You're a... Start here
Find datasets, validate metrics, create reports Analyst Analyst Guide
Debug models, assess impact, fix tests Engineer Engineer Guide
Audit compliance, find gaps, track ownership Governance Governance Guide

Quick Install

# Download and install (supported prebuilt release targets)
# Linux (x86_64, Cloud Run compatible)
gh release download --repo joe-broadhead/dbt-nova \
  --pattern dbt-nova-linux-x86_64.tar.gz --output dbt-nova-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
tar -xzf dbt-nova-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
sudo mv dbt-nova /usr/local/bin/

# macOS (Apple Silicon)
# gh release download --repo joe-broadhead/dbt-nova \
#   --pattern dbt-nova-macos-arm64.tar.gz --output dbt-nova-macos-arm64.tar.gz
# tar -xzf dbt-nova-macos-arm64.tar.gz
# sudo mv dbt-nova /usr/local/bin/

# Other platforms: build from source
# git clone https://github.com/joe-broadhead/dbt-nova.git
# cd dbt-nova && cargo build --release

# Set manifest path
export DBT_MANIFEST_PATH=/path/to/manifest.json

# Run server
dbt-nova

Features

Feature Description
26 MCP Tools Search, lineage, coverage, scoring, SQL execution, recipes
Hybrid Search Tantivy BM25 + vector + sparse + reranking
Multi-Source Local files, HTTP, S3, GCS, DBFS
Personas Analyst, Engineer, Governance profiles
Production Ready Rate limiting, caching, circuit breakers

Nova Meta 101

Nova meta is the foundation of high‑signal search, scoring, and governance. If you only read one guide, start here:

Nova Meta Overview

Documentation

  • Configuration

    All configuration options and environment variables

    Configuration

  • Tools Reference

    Complete reference for all MCP tools

    Tools

  • Architecture

    System design, data flow, and internals

    Architecture

  • Operations

    Troubleshooting, monitoring, and maintenance

    Operations