drt-core 0.7.2

Reverse ETL for the code-first data stack

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drt — data reverse tool

Reverse ETL for the code-first data stack.

drt syncs data from your data warehouse to external services — declaratively, via YAML and CLI. Think dbt run → drt run. Same developer experience, opposite data direction.

pip install drt-core          # core (DuckDB included)
drt init && drt run

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Why drt?

Problem	drt's answer
Census/Hightouch are expensive SaaS	Free, self-hosted OSS
GUI-first tools don't fit CI/CD	CLI + YAML, Git-native
dbt/dlt ecosystem has no reverse leg	Same philosophy, same DX
LLM/MCP era makes GUI SaaS overkill	LLM-native by design

What's always free? All connectors, CLI, MCP server, and sync engine. See OPEN_CORE.md for the open core boundary.

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Quickstart

No cloud accounts needed — runs locally with DuckDB in about 5 minutes.

1. Install

pip install drt-core

For cloud sources: pip install drt-core[bigquery], drt-core[postgres], etc.

2. Set up a project

mkdir my-drt-project && cd my-drt-project
drt init   # select "duckdb" as source

3. Create sample data

python -c "
import duckdb
c = duckdb.connect('warehouse.duckdb')
c.execute('''CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users AS SELECT * FROM (VALUES
  (1, 'Alice', '[e-mail]'),
  (2, 'Bob',   '[e-mail]'),
  (3, 'Carol', '[e-mail]')
) t(id, name, email)''')
c.close()
"

4. Create a sync

# syncs/post_users.yml
name: post_users
description: "POST user records to an API"
model: ref('users')
destination:
  type: rest_api
  url: "https://httpbin.org/post"
  method: POST
  headers:
    Content-Type: "application/json"
  body_template: |
    { "id": {{ row.id }}, "name": "{{ row.name }}", "email": "{{ row.email }}" }
sync:
  mode: full
  batch_size: 1
  on_error: fail

5. Run

drt run --dry-run   # preview, no data sent
drt run             # run for real
drt status          # check results

See examples/ for more: Slack, Google Sheets, HubSpot, GitHub Actions, etc.

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CLI Reference

drt init                    # initialize project
drt list                    # list sync definitions
drt sources                 # list available source connectors
drt destinations            # list available destination connectors
drt run                     # run all syncs
drt run --select <name>     # run a specific sync
drt run --all               # discover and run all syncs
drt run --select tag:<tag>  # run syncs matching a tag
drt run --threads 4         # parallel sync execution
drt run --dry-run           # dry run
drt run --verbose           # show row-level error details
drt run --output json       # structured JSON output for CI/scripting
drt run --log-format json   # structured JSON logging to stderr
drt run --profile prd       # override profile (or DRT_PROFILE env var)
drt run --cursor-value '…'  # override watermark cursor for backfill
drt test                    # run post-sync validation tests
drt test --select <name>    # test a specific sync
drt validate                # validate sync YAML configs
drt status                  # show recent sync status
drt status --output json    # JSON output for status
drt serve                   # start HTTP webhook endpoint
drt mcp run                 # start MCP server (requires drt-core[mcp])
drt --install-completion    # install shell completion (bash/zsh/fish)
drt --show-completion       # show completion script

Shell completion

Shell completion is supported for bash, zsh, and fish:

# Recommended: auto-install for your current shell (idempotent)
drt --install-completion

# Or manually add to your shell config (run once from the target shell)
drt --show-completion >> ~/.bashrc   # bash
drt --show-completion >> ~/.zshrc    # zsh
drt --show-completion > ~/.config/fish/completions/drt.fish  # fish

Note: --show-completion outputs the script for your current shell. Run it from the shell you want to configure. The manual >> append is not idempotent — run it once only.

After installation, restart your shell and tab-complete commands and options.

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MCP Server

Connect drt to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client so you can run syncs, check status, and validate configs without leaving your AI environment.

pip install drt-core[mcp]
drt mcp run

Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drt": {
      "command": "drt",
      "args": ["mcp", "run"]
    }
  }
}

Available MCP tools:

Tool	What it does
drt_list_syncs	List all sync definitions
drt_run_sync	Run a sync (supports dry_run)
drt_get_status	Get last run result(s)
drt_validate	Validate sync YAML configs
drt_get_schema	Return JSON Schema for config files
drt_list_connectors	List available sources and destinations

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AI Skills for Claude Code

Install the official Claude Code skills to generate YAML, debug failures, and migrate from other tools — all from the chat interface.

Install via Plugin Marketplace (recommended)

/plugin marketplace add drt-hub/drt
/plugin install drt@drt-hub

Tip: Enable auto-update so you always get the latest skills when drt is updated: /plugin → Marketplaces → drt-hub → Enable auto-update

Manual install (slash commands)

Copy the files from .claude/commands/ into your drt project's .claude/commands/ directory.

Skill	Trigger	What it does
/drt-create-sync	"create a sync"	Generates valid sync YAML from your intent
/drt-debug	"sync failed"	Diagnoses errors and suggests fixes
/drt-init	"set up drt"	Guides through project initialization
/drt-migrate	"migrate from Census"	Converts existing configs to drt YAML

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Connectors

Sources

Connector	Status	Install	Auth
BigQuery	✅ v0.1	pip install drt-core[bigquery]	Application Default / Service Account Keyfile
DuckDB	✅ v0.1	(core)	File path
PostgreSQL	✅ v0.1	pip install drt-core[postgres]	Password (env var)
Snowflake	✅ v0.5	pip install drt-core[snowflake]	Password (env var)
SQLite	✅ v0.4.2	(core)	File path
Redshift	✅ v0.3.4	pip install drt-core[redshift]	Password (env var)
ClickHouse	✅ v0.4.3	pip install drt-core[clickhouse]	Password (env var)
MySQL	✅ v0.5	pip install drt-core[mysql]	Password (env var)
Databricks	✅ v0.6	pip install drt-core[databricks]	Access Token (env var)
SQL Server	✅ v0.6	pip install drt-core[sqlserver]	Password (env var)

Destinations

Connector	Status	Install	Auth
REST API	✅ v0.1	(core)	Bearer / API Key / Basic / OAuth2
Slack Incoming Webhook	✅ v0.1	(core)	Webhook URL
Discord Webhook	✅ v0.4.2	(core)	Webhook URL
GitHub Actions	✅ v0.1	(core)	Token (env var)
HubSpot	✅ v0.1	(core)	Token (env var)
Google Ads	✅ v0.6	(core)	OAuth2 Client Credentials
Google Sheets	✅ v0.4	pip install drt-core[sheets]	Service Account Keyfile
PostgreSQL (upsert)	✅ v0.4	pip install drt-core[postgres]	Password (env var)
MySQL (upsert)	✅ v0.4	pip install drt-core[mysql]	Password (env var)
ClickHouse	✅ v0.5	pip install drt-core[clickhouse]	Password (env var)
Parquet file	✅ v0.5	pip install drt-core[parquet]	File path
Microsoft Teams Webhook	✅ v0.5	(core)	Webhook URL
CSV / JSON / JSONL file	✅ v0.5	(core)	File path
Jira	✅ v0.5	(core)	Basic (email + API token)
Linear	✅ v0.5	(core)	API Key (env var)
SendGrid	✅ v0.5	(core)	API Key (env var)
Notion	✅ v0.6	(core)	Bearer Token (env var)
Twilio SMS	✅ v0.6	(core)	Basic (Account SID + Auth Token)
Intercom	✅ v0.6	(core)	Bearer Token (env var)
Email SMTP	✅ v0.6	(core)	Username / Password (env var)
Salesforce Bulk API 2.0	✅ v0.6	(core)	OAuth2 (username-password)
Staged Upload	✅ v0.6	(core)	Configurable per provider
Snowflake	✅ v0.7	pip install drt-core[snowflake]	Password (env var)

Integrations

Connector	Status	Install
Dagster	✅ v0.4	pip install dagster-drt
Prefect	✅ v0.6	(core)
Airflow	✅ v0.6	(core)
dbt manifest reader	✅ v0.4	(core)

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Roadmap

Upcoming releases → ROADMAP.md (scope, themes, targets) Issue-level tracking → GitHub Milestones Looking to contribute? → Good First Issues

Shipped:

Version	Focus
v0.1 ✅	BigQuery / DuckDB / Postgres sources · REST API / Slack / GitHub Actions / HubSpot destinations · CLI · dry-run
v0.2 ✅	Incremental sync (cursor_field watermark) · retry config per-sync
v0.3 ✅	MCP Server (drt mcp run) · AI Skills for Claude Code · LLM-readable docs · row-level errors · security hardening · Redshift source
v0.4 ✅	Google Sheets / PostgreSQL / MySQL destinations · dagster-drt · dbt manifest reader · type safety overhaul
v0.5 ✅	Snowflake / MySQL sources · ClickHouse / Parquet / Teams / CSV+JSON / Jira / Linear / SendGrid destinations · drt test · --output json · --profile · ${VAR} substitution · dbt manifest · secrets.toml · Docker
v0.5.4 ✅	destination_lookup — resolve FK values by querying destination DB during sync (MySQL / Postgres / ClickHouse)
v0.6 ✅	Databricks / SQL Server sources · Notion / Twilio / Intercom / Email SMTP / Salesforce Bulk / Staged Upload destinations · Airflow / Prefect integrations · drt serve · drt sources / drt destinations · --threads parallel execution · --log-format json · --cursor-value · watermark.default_value · test validators (freshness, unique, accepted_values) · JSON Schema validation · GOVERNANCE.md
v0.7 ✅	Production Ready — graceful shutdown on SIGTERM/SIGINT · per-destination retry override · sync execution history · zero-downtime atomic table swap · json_columns config · FK existence check (lookups.check_only) · Slack/webhook failure alerts · drt doctor · --quiet flag · drt test --output json / --dry-run · Snowflake destination · GitHub Codespaces playground · OPEN_CORE.md
v0.7.1 ✅	drt run --dry-run --diff for record-level preview · tz-aware cursor stringification fix · on_error=fail alignment for Notion / REST API / Email SMTP · VERSIONING.md semver & deprecation policy
v0.7.2 ✅	Opt-in anonymous telemetry (PostHog Cloud EU, off by default, allow-list payload, DO_NOT_TRACK honored) · deprecation warnings in drt validate · Postgres destination psycopg2.sql SQL composition

Next: v0.8 Cloud Destinations & Growth → v0.9 Enterprise Foundation → v1.0 Stable Release → v1.x Rust Engine

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Orchestration: dagster-drt

Community-maintained Dagster integration. Expose drt syncs as Dagster assets with full observability.

pip install dagster-drt

from dagster import AssetExecutionContext, Definitions
from dagster_drt import drt_assets, DagsterDrtResource

@drt_assets(project_dir="path/to/drt-project")
def my_syncs(context: AssetExecutionContext, drt: DagsterDrtResource):
    yield from drt.run(context=context)

defs = Definitions(
    assets=[my_syncs],
    resources={"drt": DagsterDrtResource(project_dir="path/to/drt-project")},
)

See dagster-drt README for full API docs (Translator, Pipes support, DrtConfig dry-run, MaterializeResult).

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Ecosystem

drt is designed to work alongside, not against, the modern data stack:

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Telemetry

drt collects no telemetry by default. Opting in helps us understand which sources / destinations / sync modes are actually used, so we can prioritise.

drt config set telemetry.enabled true     # opt in
drt config show-telemetry                 # preview the exact payload that would be sent
drt config set telemetry.enabled false    # opt out
DO_NOT_TRACK=1 drt run                    # universal kill switch — overrides everything

When opted in, drt sends one sync_completed event per sync. The only properties we collect are these 9 fields: drt_version, python_version, os, source_type, destination_type, sync_mode, rows_synced, duration_seconds, status. The wire envelope additionally carries event, distinct_id (a per-machine random UUID at ~/.drt/.anonymous_id), timestamp, and api_key. Sync names, model SQL, destination URLs, credentials, and project paths are never transmitted — the allow-list is enforced at the function-signature level in drt/telemetry.py. By default events go to PostHog Cloud (EU region); override with DRT_TELEMETRY_ENDPOINT and DRT_TELEMETRY_API_KEY for self-hosted PostHog or a custom collector.

Note: drt itself never transmits your IP, but the receiving PostHog backend records the TCP source IP as $ip. See docs/telemetry.md for details and how to disable / substitute the backend.

For full details see docs/telemetry.md.

Contributing

We welcome contributions of all sizes — from typo fixes to new connectors. drt has a transparent contributor ladder so your work builds toward greater trust and responsibility over time.

• Get started: CONTRIBUTING.md — setup, workflow, and your first connector tutorial
• Pick something to work on: Good First Issues
• Understand how decisions are made: GOVERNANCE.md
• What's free vs. enterprise: OPEN_CORE.md
• Versioning & breaking changes: VERSIONING.md

Contributors ✨

Thanks goes to these wonderful people (emoji key):

K.Masuda 💻	Moavia Amir 💻	Khush Domadiya 💻	Pawan Singh Kapkoti 💻	PFCAaron12 💻	armorbreak001 💻	pureqin 💻
Wahaj Ahmed 💻	cian-ps 💻	Erik Estrella 💻	Ai (藍) 💻	GokulKashyap 💻 ⚠️
Add your contributions

Disclaimer

drt is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by dbt Labs, dlt-hub, or any other company.

"dbt" is a registered trademark of dbt Labs, Inc. "dlt" is a project maintained by dlt-hub.

drt is designed to complement these tools as part of the modern data stack, but is a separate project with its own codebase and maintainers.

License

Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE.