## Connect dbt Cloud with API token

URL: https://docs.atlan.com/apps/connectors/etl-tools/dbt/how-tos/connect-dbt-cloud-with-an-api-token

> Point Atlan at your dbt Cloud account using a token - four phases including the IP-restrictions network step most guides skip.

Connect Atlan to dbt Cloud using an API token to crawl metadata from your dbt Cloud projects.

## Prerequisites

- A dbt Cloud account with the projects you want in Atlan, and someone with **admin access** to it (to create a service token).
- Every dbt job you want cataloged runs `dbt docs generate` (add the command to the job steps, or enable the *Generate docs on run* checkbox). Without it, Atlan gets no `catalog.json` and column metadata is missing.
- Admin or connection admin privileges in Atlan.

## Four phases at glance

| Phase | What happens | Owner | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Token | Create a token with the right permissions | dbt Cloud admin | 15 minutes |
| 2. Network | Allowlist Atlan's NAT IP *if* dbt Cloud restricts by IP | dbt Cloud admin + Atlan support | 1–2 business days (ticket round-trip) |
| 3. Connect | Enter access URL + token in Atlan, test authentication | Atlan User | 15 minutes |
| 4. Scope & run | Pick projects/environments, set connection admins, crawl | Atlan User | 30 minutes |

## Phase 1 - create token

**Owner:** dbt Cloud admin

Create a **service account token** (recommended) in dbt Cloud with these permissions (see [Set up dbt Cloud](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/dbt/set-up-dbt-cloud/llms.txt)):

| Your dbt Cloud plan | Permission set on the token |
|---|---|
| Team | **Read-only** access to all projects you want in Atlan |
| Enterprise | **Job Viewer** access to all projects you want in Atlan |

No admin available? A **personal access token (PAT)** works if the person who creates it has **Job Viewer** access to all target projects - but it dies with that person's account, so treat it as temporary.

> **Tip: Also grab your access URL now**
>
>
> While logged into dbt Cloud, copy the address from your browser bar up to the domain—for example, `https://cloud.getdbt.com` or `https://ab123.us1.dbt.com` (single-tenant/regional accounts have their own). You'll enter it in Phase 3. Do **not** use any URL containing `metadata.`—that's the Discovery API host and Atlan's calls fail there with "Resource not found."
>

## Phase 2 - Open network path

**Owner:** dbt Cloud admin + Atlan support

**Skip this phase only if you are certain your dbt Cloud account has no IP restrictions** (ask your dbt admin to check **Account settings → IP restrictions**). If restrictions are on - increasingly common at security-conscious organizations - dbt Cloud silently rejects Atlan's calls, and the error you'll see in Atlan misleadingly blames the token.

1. *Atlan User* - [Raise a support ticket](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/platform/submit-request/submit-request/llms.txt): *"Please share the static outbound NAT IPs for tenant `<tenant URL>`; these need to be allowlisted in dbt Cloud IP restrictions."*
2. *dbt Cloud admin* - Add every IP support returns to the dbt Cloud IP-restrictions allowlist.
3. Re-run **Test Authentication** in Atlan (Phase 3).

> **Warning: The weeks-long failure with a one-line fix**
>
>
> A recurring pattern: the error *"Access forbidden. Please check your dbt Cloud token permissions."* leads teams to spend weeks regenerating tokens with ever-higher roles - while the actual cause is dbt Cloud IP restrictions, fixed immediately by allowlisting the tenant's NAT IP. If a token with correct permissions still gets "Access forbidden," **check IP restrictions before touching the token again.**
>

## Phase 3 - Connect in Atlan

**Owner:** Atlan User

1. In Atlan, open **New workflow → dbt Assets** and choose **Cloud** as the extraction method.
2. **Host Name** - your dbt Cloud access URL from Phase 1, including `https://`. Default is `https://cloud.getdbt.com`; single-tenant/regional accounts enter their own URL.
3. **Authentication type** - Service Account (or PAT, matching what you created).
4. **Token** - paste it.
5. Click **Test Authentication**.

| Test result | What it means |
|---|---|
| Success | Host, token, and network path all work. Continue to Phase 4. |
| "Access forbidden. Please check your dbt Cloud token permissions." | Token permissions *or* IP restrictions (Phase 2). See [troubleshooting](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/dbt/troubleshooting-dbt-connectivity/llms.txt). |
| "Resource not found. Please check your account/project/environment details." | Wrong host - usually a `metadata.` URL. Use your account access URL. |
| "Authentication failed. Please check your dbt Cloud token." | Token invalid for this host - wrong instance, revoked, or truncated on paste. |

## Phase 4 - Scope and run

**Owner:** Atlan User

1. Under dbt settings, **Include/Exclude Metadata** by project or environment. If you run DEV/TEST/PROD environments, scope deliberately - crawling all of them into one connection creates duplicate-looking assets (see [Special cases](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/dbt/special-cases/llms.txt)).
2. Set **Connection Admins**. If you leave it empty, *nobody* can manage the connection later - including you.
3. Run once, verify assets, then schedule.

### Success checklist

- **Test Authentication** passes
- A first run completes and dbt models appear in Atlan
- Models show columns (proves `dbt docs generate` is producing `catalog.json`)
- You've noted where the token lives and who rotates it - see [token rotation](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/dbt/special-cases/llms.txt)

## Next steps

[Crawl dbt](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/dbt/crawl-dbt/llms.txt): Configure and run the crawler to extract metadata from dbt

_Last updated: 2 September 2026._

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