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

— or try it in your browser, zero local setup.

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.

Quickstart

No cloud accounts needed — DuckDB + httpbin.org, three commands.

pip install drt-core
mkdir my-drt-project && cd my-drt-project
drt init --template duckdbtorest

That scaffolds a runnable syncs/duckdbtorest.yml. Seed a tiny DuckDB table and run:

python -c "
import duckdb
c = duckdb.connect('warehouse.duckdb')
c.execute('''CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users AS SELECT * FROM (VALUES
  (1, 'Alice', 'alice@example.com'),
  (2, 'Bob',   'bob@example.com'),
  (3, 'Carol', 'carol@example.com')
) t(id, name, email)''')
c.close()
"
drt run --dry-run   # preview, no data sent
drt run             # POST each row to httpbin.org
drt status          # check results

Other starter templates

drt init --template list             # see all available templates
drt init --template postgrestoslack
drt init --template duckdbtohubspot

Each template prints next-steps for the env vars / source data it needs. See examples/ for the full collection (Discord, Google Sheets, GitHub Actions, MySQL, ClickHouse, BigQuery, …) and docs/connectors/ for per-connector reference.

Customizing your sync

For a guided wizard that walks you through profile + project setup:

drt init   # interactive — picks a source, configures profile, scaffolds project

Both flows produce the same project shape (drt_project.yml, syncs/, .drt/). drt sources --detailed and drt destinations --detailed print every connector's required env vars and a sample YAML stanza — useful when hand-authoring beyond the templates.

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 profile list            # list credential profiles in ~/.drt/profiles.yml
drt profile show <name>     # show a profile (secrets masked)
drt profile test <name>     # verify a profile's source connectivity
drt profile add <name>      # interactively add a profile
drt profile remove <name>   # remove a profile
drt serve                   # start HTTP webhook endpoint
drt docs generate --format mermaid  # print project DAG as Mermaid
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

Visualize your syncs

Generate a Mermaid DAG from your local drt_project.yml and syncs/*.yml files:

drt docs generate --format mermaid > dag.md

graph LR
    subgraph Sources
        srcbigqueryprod["bigquery_prod<br/><i>bigquery</i>"]
    end
    subgraph Syncs
        syncuserstohubspot{{"usersto_hubspot<br/><i>upsert</i>"}}
        syncaccountstohubspot{{"accountsto_hubspot<br/><i>upsert</i>"}}
    end
    subgraph Destinations
        dsthubspotcontacts["hubspot (contacts)<br/><i>hubspot</i>"]
    end
    srcbigqueryprod -->|extract| syncusersto_hubspot
    srcbigqueryprod -->|extract| syncaccountsto_hubspot
    syncuserstohubspot -->|load| dsthubspot_contacts
    syncaccountstohubspot -->|load| dsthubspot_contacts
    syncuserstohubspot -.lookup.-> syncaccountstohubspot

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.

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/claudedesktopconfig.json):

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

Available MCP tools:

| Tool | What it does | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | drtlistsyncs | List all sync definitions | | drtrunsync | Run a sync (supports dryrun + computediff for --diff parity) | | drtruntest | Run post-sync validation tests (mirrors drt test) | | drtgetstatus | Get last run result(s) | | drtgethistory | Get recent sync run history | | drt_validate | Validate sync YAML configs | | drtgetschema | Return JSON Schema for config files | | drtlistconnectors | List available sources and destinations | | drt_dlq | Inspect a sync's Dead Letter Queue (depth + failed records) | | drt_retry | Replay a sync's Dead Letter Queue (mirrors drt retry) | | drtgetmanifest | Machine-readable sync catalog + lineage (drt docs JSON) | | drtlistprofiles | List credential profiles (name + type, no secrets) | | drttestprofile | Connectivity check for a credential profile | | drt_doctor | Environment diagnostics (mirrors drt doctor) |

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 a specific error and suggests fixes | | /drt-troubleshoot | "drt isn't working" | Walks a full top-to-bottom diagnostic checklist | | /drt-init | "set up drt" | Guides through project initialization | | /drt-migrate | "migrate from Census" | Converts existing configs to drt YAML |

Connectors

Per-connector reference: docs/connectors/ · Discoverable from the CLI: drt sources --detailed / drt destinations --detailed

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) | | Delta Lake | ✅ v0.8 | pip install drt-core[deltalake] | Storage options (env var) | | Iceberg | ✅ v0.8 | pip install drt-core[iceberg] | Catalog properties (env var) | | SQL Server | ✅ v0.6 | pip install drt-core[sqlserver] | Password (env var) | | REST API | ✅ v0.7 | (core) | Bearer / API Key / Basic / OAuth2 |

Destinations

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) |

Roadmap

Upcoming releases → ROADMAP.md (scope, themes, targets)

Issue-level tracking → GitHub Milestones

Looking to contribute? → Good First Issues

Shipped: now on v0.7.10 — co-writer-safe mirror · Delta Lake + Iceberg sources · PII masking · Klaviyo + Airtable · VS Code extension. Grouped milestones below; the full per-release changelog lives in CHANGELOG.md and GitHub Releases.

| Milestone | Highlights | | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | v0.1–0.3 | Core CLI · BigQuery / DuckDB / Postgres sources · REST / Slack / HubSpot destinations · incremental sync · MCP server + AI Skills for Claude Code | | v0.4–0.6 | 20+ destinations (Sheets, SQL upserts, Notion, Twilio, Salesforce…) · dagster-drt / Airflow / Prefect · drt test · parallel --threads · JSON Schema validation | | v0.7 ✅ | Production Ready — graceful shutdown · sync history · atomic table swaps · drt doctor · opt-in telemetry · sync.mode: mirror · DLQ + drt profile | | v0.7.9–0.7.10 ✅ | Cloud destinations (S3 / GCS / Azure / Databricks / BigQuery / Elasticsearch) · Delta Lake + Iceberg sources · tracked & scoped mirror · PII masking · VS Code extension |

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

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 dagsterdrt import drtassets, DagsterDrtResource
@drtassets(projectdir="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).

CI/CD: GitHub Action

Run drt syncs straight from CI/CD with the official drt-hub/drt-action — no infrastructure, just a few lines of YAML. Trigger on a schedule, on every push, or right after dbt finishes.

- uses: drt-hub/drt-action@v1
  with:
    select: '*'
    extras: postgres
  env:
    PGPASSWORD: ${{ secrets.PGPASSWORD }}

Inputs cover sync selection (select), connector extras, profile, dry-run and threads; outputs expose status, succeeded, failed and duration-seconds (plus a step-summary table). Secrets are passed via env: and resolved by drt's *env keys. See the action README for the secrets pattern and more examples (run-after-dbt, PR preview).

---

Ecosystem

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

---

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
DONOTTRACK=1 drt run                    # universal kill switch — overrides everything

When opted in, drt sends one synccompleted event per sync. The only properties we collect are these 9 fields: drtversion, pythonversion, os, sourcetype, destinationtype, syncmode, rowssynced, durationseconds, status. The wire envelope additionally carries event, distinctid (a per-machine random UUID at ~/.drt/.anonymousid), timestamp, and apikey. 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 DRTTELEMETRYENDPOINT and DRTTELEMETRYAPI_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 ✨

Every contribution — code, docs, bug reports, ideas — makes drt better. Thank you 💜

Full credits by contribution type (emoji key)

K.Masuda 💻 📖 🚧 🤔 🔧 📆 👀 🧑‍🏫	yodakanohoshi 💻 📖 🚧 🤔 👀 📆	Moavia Amir 💻 📖 🚇 🚧 🤔	Khush Domadiya 💻	Pawan Singh Kapkoti 💻	PFCAaron12 💻	Semy Ingle 💻 🚧
きわみざむらい 💻 🐛	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.