# Reported issues for dbt-plan Pod holds 10 of 10 GitHub reports that passed its relevance review. This can include external user reports, maintainer-confirmed bugs, and concrete feature gaps. Treat them as evidence to inspect, not a count of distinct defects. Back to [dbt-plan](/mcp/dbt-plan). ## Most discussed ### dbt-plan run --format json prints a non-JSON line before the JSON ``` $ dbt-plan run --format json Snapshot saved to .dbt-plan/base { "summary": { ... ``` The first line is not JSON. `_do_snapshot` prints "Snapshot saved to ..." to stdout (`cli.py:234`) on the way to `_do_check` printing the report (`cli.py:1198`), so `json.loads` on `run`'s stdout fails. `check --format json` is clean — the difference is that `run` calls `snapshot` first. This matters because `docs/llms.txt:64-66` lists `run` and `check` side by side as the two commands an agent can… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/165) · 2026-09-06 · open · 1 comment ### The MCP server and the Action cannot reach --target-dir, and the MCP has no way to make a baseline `dbt-plan check` takes `--target-dir`. Neither wrapper passes it: - MCP `plan` and `snapshot` take `project_dir` and nothing else (`server.py:66-70`, `145`) - `action.yml` never passes it either (`:109`, `:118`, `:120`) A project with `target-path: build` in `dbt_project.yml`, or `DBT_TARGET_PATH` set, gets `No compiled SQL found` — which the MCP turns into `verdict: error` and the Action turns into a failed step under `set -eu`. Both are loud rather than falsely safe, and both are avoidable:… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/148) · 2026-09-06 · open · 1 comment ### Non-UTF-8 compiled SQL crashes with a traceback and exit 1, which the Action reports as destructive `diff.py` handles non-UTF-8 compiled SQL on purpose: ```python except UnicodeDecodeError: # Non-UTF-8 file: treat as modified with no cached SQL. # Callers will see base_sql=None / current_sql=None and # produce REVIEW REQUIRED — consistent with the false-safe-ban rule. diffs.append(ModelDiff(name, "modified", base_path, current_path)) continue ``` `cli.py:990` responds to that `None` by reading the same file again, unguarded: ```python if diff.current_sql is not None:… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/173) · 2026-09-06 · open · 0 comments ### The workflow ci-setup generates fails on warnings and never reaches its own Gate step, and the committed example is a different file `dbt-plan ci-setup` writes `_CI_WORKFLOW` (`cli.py`). Its last two steps: ```yaml - name: Check current run: | git checkout ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }} dbt compile dbt-plan check --format github >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY - name: Gate run: dbt-plan check ``` GitHub runs a `run:` block as `bash -e {0}`. `dbt-plan check` exits 2 on any warning, so on a warning: - **"Check current" fails**, and the job is red - **"Gate" never… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/166) · 2026-09-06 · open · 0 comments ### The MCP server calls an acknowledged DROP COLUMN safe, and never passes on a stale target #135 is one of three ways the MCP server's `verdict` disagrees with the report it was built from. The other two are not fixed by deriving the verdict from `refusals`, because in both of them `refusals` is empty. Measured, dbt-core 1.11.7 + dbt-duckdb 1.10.1, an incremental with `sync_all_columns` dropping `tax`. ### 1. An acknowledged drop becomes `safe` with nothing in `refusals` ```yaml # .dbt-plan.yml acknowledge_models: - fct ``` ``` $ dbt-plan check DESTRUCTIVE fct (incremental,… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/162) · 2026-09-06 · open · 0 comments ### A partial or empty baseline reports the whole project SAFE, because every model looks newly added A baseline missing compiled SQL is not detected. Every model it lacks is treated as newly added, and an added model is `SAFE` by rule (`predictor.py:237-238`). Measured on dbt-core 1.11.7 + dbt-duckdb 1.10.1. `src` drops `tax`; `reader` selects it: ``` baseline: .dbt-plan/base/{manifest.json, compiled/models/src.sql, compiled/models/reader.sql} $ dbt-plan check # intact DESTRUCTIVE src (view) >> BROKEN_REF reader: reads dropped column(s): tax exit=1 $ rm… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/158) · 2026-09-06 · open · 0 comments ### A unit test whose given input is a versioned model is never checked, because two names for one model never meet #43 taught cascade to check unit-test fixtures against dropped columns. It misses whenever the fixture's `given` input is a versioned model. Measured on dbt-core 1.11.7 + dbt-duckdb 1.10.1: ```yaml models: - name: stg_orders latest_version: 2 versions: [{v: 2}] unit_tests: - name: t_fct model: fct given: - input: ref('stg_orders', v=2) rows: [{id: 1, amount: 2, tax: 3}] ``` `stg_orders_v2` drops `tax`. The fixture still supplies it. ``` $ dbt-plan check… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/157) · 2026-09-06 · open · 0 comments ### A corrupt or missing base manifest silently turns off deleted-model detection, and exit 0 comes back `check` reads the base manifest best-effort. When it cannot be read, `base_node_index` becomes `{}` and everything that depends on it turns off — including the deleted-model detection #129 added — with nothing printed, not even under `-v`. Measured on dbt-core 1.11.7 + dbt-duckdb 1.10.1. A model deleted from the project, its orphan still in `target/compiled/` as #127 describes: ``` $ dbt-plan check # base manifest intact DESTRUCTIVE doomed (view) MODEL REMOVED… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/155) · 2026-09-06 · open · 0 comments ## Most recent ### One unnamed projection discards every column name in the model, and since #131 that means exit 2 `extract_columns` returns `None` for the whole model when any single projection has no name (`columns.py:225-228`). Measured: ``` aliased everything -> ['id', 'total'] unaliased count(*) -> None <-- whole model unreadable unaliased coalesce -> None unaliased case -> None unaliased arithmetic -> None unaliased lower() -> None unaliased window fn -> None unaliased column ref -> ['id', 'amount'] qualified unaliased col ->… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/154) · 2026-09-06 · open · 0 comments ### The MCP server answers safe when warning_exit_code is 0, including for refusals The MCP server's module docstring sets the rule it is built around: > If this ever answers `{"safe": true}` for something dbt-plan actually declined to > judge, it is worse than not existing. It can, with one line of config. `server.py:47` maps the exit code straight to a verdict: ```python _VERDICTS = {0: "safe", 1: "destructive", 2: "review_required"} ``` `.dbt-plan.yml` can set what that 2 is: ```yaml warning_exit_code: 0 ``` `_exit_code_for` (`cli.py:455`) then returns 0 for every… [Read the thread](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues/135) · 2026-09-05 · open · 0 comments The remaining reports are on [the project's issue tracker](https://github.com/PresentJay/dbt-plan/issues).