Deploying DbtProjectComponent to Dagster Cloud: Missing manifest.json Error

Last updated: November 3, 2025

Using DBT Selectors with DbtProjectComponent

Issue Overview

Users frequently ask whether the DbtProjectComponent supports filtering DBT projects using DBT selectors, as the documentation primarily shows examples using select and exclude parameters.

Current Status

As of Dagster 1.12.0: The DbtProjectComponent does not directly support DBT selectors through a selector parameter. However, there are several effective workarounds available.

Available Solutions

Use @dbt_assets with Selectors (Recommended)
The @dbt_assets decorator fully supports DBT selectors:

  from dagster_dbt import dbt_assets, DbtCliResource
  from dagster import AssetExecutionContext

  @dbt_assets(
      manifest=dbt_manifest_path,
      selector="my_selector_name"  # ✅ Supported
  )
  def my_dbt_assets(context: AssetExecutionContext, dbt: DbtCliResource):
      yield from dbt.cli(["build"], context=context).stream()

Use Select/Exclude with Tag-based Selection
In your DbtProjectComponent, use tags to achieve selector-like behavior:

  # defs.yaml
  type: dagster_dbt.DbtProjectComponent
  attributes:
    project:
      project_dir: "{{ project_root }}/path/to/dbt_project"
    select: "tag:my_tag"          # ✅ Works like a selector
    exclude: "tag:exclude_tag"

Create DBT Selectors and Reference by Tag
In your DBT project, create selectors.yml:

  # selectors.yml in your DBT project
  selectors:
    - name: my_business_logic
      description: "Core business models"
      definition:
        method: tag
        value: business_core
        children: true

Then use the tag in your component:

  type: dagster_dbt.DbtProjectComponent
  attributes:
    project:
      project_dir: "{{ project_root }}/dbt_project"
    select: "tag:business_core"  # References your selector logic

Path-based Selection
Use path selection which mimics selector functionality:

  type: dagster_dbt.DbtProjectComponent
  attributes:
    project:
      project_dir: "{{ project_root }}/dbt_project"
    select: "path:models/marts/"     # Select specific paths
    exclude: "path:models/staging/"  # Exclude others

Upstream Dependencies with DbtProjectComponent

Setting Up Cross-Code-Location Dependencies

You can establish dependencies between non-DBT assets and DbtProjectComponent assets across different code locations:

Step 1: Define your ingestion asset:

  # In your ingestion code location
  @asset(key_prefix=["my_ingestion"])
  def my_table():
      # API ingestion logic
      return data

Step 2: Create DBT source configuration:

  # sources.yml in your DBT project
  sources:
    - name: my_ingestion
      tables:
        - name: my_table
          meta:
            dagster:
              asset_key: ["my_ingestion", "my_table"]

Step 3: Reference in DBT models:

  -- models/my_model.sql
  select * from {{ source('my_ingestion', 'my_table') }}

Result: Dagster automatically establishes dependencies across code locations based on matching asset keys.

Deployment Considerations

Missing Manifest Error

When deploying DbtProjectComponent to Dagster+, you may encounter:

DagsterDbtManifestNotFoundError: /path/to/target/manifest.json does not exist.

Solution: Add DBT parsing to your CI/CD:

  # GitHub Actions example
  - name: Prepare DBT projects
    run: |
      cd path/to/dbt/project
      dbt deps
      dbt parse

  - name: Deploy to Dagster Cloud
    run: |
      dagster-cloud ci deploy --location-name=$DAGSTER_CODE_LOCATION_NAME

For Docker deployments, add to your Dockerfile:

  # Install DBT dependencies and generate manifest
  RUN cd /path/to/dbt/project && \
      dbt deps && \
      dbt parse

Column Lineage with DbtProjectComponent

Configuration:

  type: dagster_dbt.DbtProjectComponent
  attributes:
    project:
      project_dir: "{{ project_root }}/dbt_project"
    include_metadata:
      - column_metadata  # ✅ Available in Dagster 1.11.13+

Important: Column lineage appears after materializing the DBT assets, not immediately upon loading the definitions.

When to Use Each Approach

  | Use Case                    | Recommendation                    | Reason                              |
  |-----------------------------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
  | Need DBT selectors          | @dbt_assets                       | Full selector support               |
  | Simple tag/path filtering   | DbtProjectComponent               | Easier configuration                |
  | Cross-location dependencies | Either (with proper source setup) | Works with both approaches          |
  | Large projects              | DbtProjectComponent               | Better performance, modern approach |
  | Complex customization       | @dbt_assets                       | More flexibility                    |

Future Roadmap

The Dagster team is working to ensure that components support all features currently available in the @dbt_assets decorator, including native selector support.

For now, the tag-based and path-based selection approaches provide equivalent functionality to DBT selectors when used with DbtProjectComponent.