[CT-1909] [CT-1903] Unable to generate docs from dbt core

[jaswanth-gaddipati]

Is this a new bug in dbt-core?

• I believe this is a new bug in dbt-core
• I have searched the existing issues, and I could not find an existing issue for this bug

Current Behavior

dbt docs generate
throwing error
cross-db references allowed only in Redshift RA3.

but dbt compile is working properly

Expected Behavior

dbt docs generate should generate docs

Steps To Reproduce

define sources across dbs in redshift in dbt project
develop and execute models in a particular database
run dbt docs generate

Relevant log output

No response

Environment

- OS: windows
- Python:3.9
- dbt: 1.3.2

Which database adapter are you using with dbt?

No response

Additional Context

No response

[dbeatty10]

Thanks for opening this issue @jaswanth-gaddipati !

Could you share more detail about the error it is throwing? i.e., could you share the relevant output and/or logs within logs/dbt.log?

[dbeatty10]

I did some more research @jaswanth-gaddipati. I see now that you mentioned precise error was something like:

Cross-db references allowed only in Redshift RA3.* node. Got X

Could you try adding ra3_node to your profiles.yml configuration like below (and demonstrated here and here)?

  target: dev
  outputs:
    dev:
      type: redshift
      ...
      ra3_node: true # enables cross-database sources

Apparently, this configuration should enable cross-database sources if you are not actually using RA3 nodes.

One known problem is that dbt Cloud users do not have access to custom profiles.yml fields today, so this option won't be a possibility if you are a dbt Cloud user.

[jaswanth-gaddipati]

Hi @dbeatty10

Thank you. I am able to generate docs.

One more question can we create models in redshift across DBs as it has cross db limitation.

[dbeatty10]

Thank you. I am able to generate docs.

🙌 Awesome @jaswanth-gaddipati !

can we create models in redshift across DBs

I don't think so due to the known limitations. I'm guessing you would need separate dbt projects per database. But if you discover that it does work somehow, please let us know!

Since generating the docs is working for you now, I'm going to close this issue. You can open a new one if you run into any bugs or have any feature requests.