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google-bigquerydbt

Permission denied when using BigQuery public data set as a source

When setting up a source that points to a Big Query public data set and using the source() function to reference it in my dbt model, I get this error on dbt run:

Database Error
  Access Denied: Table bigquery-public-data:INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SCHEMATA: User does not have permission to query table bigquery-public-data:INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SCHEMATA.

It appears to be trying to query the information schema from the public data set. Is it possible to use a public data set as a source in my dbt project?

Solution

  • This is expected on earlier versions of dbt — it has to do with the fact that you can't grant permissions on bigquery-public-data.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.SCHEMATA to the public (related SO question).

    Fortunately, this issue was resolved in dbt v0.17.0 (relevant PR)— try upgrading to that version and the error should disappear!