dbt Fusion support#

Note

Available since Cosmos 1.11 when using ExecutionMode.LOCAL.

Context#

dbt Labs launched dbt Fusion on 28 May 2025. dbt Fusion is the next-generation dbt engine that enables real-time model validation, improved SQL parsing and state-aware orchestration. It is a unified approach that aims to merge dbt Core and dbt Cloud features via a completely new CLI, implemented in a different programming language (Rust, as opposed to Python). As part of this, dbt Labs are rewriting all dbt adapters (equivalent to Airflow providers) in Rust, starting from Snowflake. They are also changing the licensing model to a hybrid Open-Source and commercial license. We’re supporting dbt Fusion with a license-complaint integration. This integration enables teams to:

  • Use dbt Fusion locally for enhanced development experience with real-time validation

  • Deploy dbt Fusion on Astro for production compliance with ELv2 licensing restrictions

  • Maintain consistent workflows across development and production environments

Some reported dbt Fusion features include:

  • Lightning-fast performance: Up to 30× faster parsing speeds

  • Smarter orchestration: Build only what’s changed, thanks to Fusion’s state-awareness

  • Real-time dev experience: Catch errors instantly and explore lineage as you code, if you’re using the VS Code extension

  • Multi-dialect support: Instant error detection across Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, and Redshift SQL dialects

Note

dbt Fusion is in public beta with current support for Snowflake and Databricks projects, with additional data platforms coming soon.

Support#

Cosmos 1.11 adds initial support to running dbt Fusion with Cosmos when using ExecutionMode.LOCAL.

We do not have a solution for using ExecutionMode.AIRFLOW_ASYNC.

How to use#

  1. Install dbt Fusion in your Airflow deployment

End-users should install the dbt Fusion package themselves. An example of how to do this in Astro would be to add the following lines in your Dockerfile:

USER root
RUN apt install -y curl
RUN curl -fsSL https://public.cdn.getdbt.com/fs/install/install.sh | sh -s -- --update

  1. Update your DbtDag or DbtTaskGroup to use the dbt Fusion binary

Example:

DbtDag(
    ...,
    execution_config=ExecutionConfig(
        dbt_executable_path="/home/astro/.local/bin/dbt"
    )
)

Limitations#

  • Currently (23 June 2025) dbt Fusion is still in beta

  • dbt Fusion only supports Snowflake

  • Cosmos does not support dbt Fusion when using ExecutionMode.AIRFLOW_ASYNC

  • To support dbt Fusion, Cosmos changed how it interacts with dbt. This works with the latest versions of dbt-core, but may not work with older versions. If you want to continue using dbt-core and was affected, set the environment variable AIRFLOW__COSMOS__PRE_DBT_FUSION=1 and Cosmos interaction with dbt-core will work as previous versions.