dbt Labs open-sources dbt Charts, a declarative YAML language for dashboards

Charts built for Chat

dbt Labs unbundles charts from BI tools with dbt Charts, an open-source declarative YAML language. One file defines a full dashboard—variables, SQL queries, and 16 chart types with over 1,100 config options. The CLI renders to SVG, HTML, PNG, PDF, or terminal. It integrates deeply with dbt projects: a charts/ directory sits next to models/ in the same repo, so model and chart changes ship on one branch through one CI run, and ref() catches renamed models or missing columns at PR time. The team designed it for chat agents—strict YAML and SQL validation gives agents a tight feedback loop, flagging problems before anyone sees the board. The post does not disclose a release timeline; it points to the GitHub repo and docs.

Why it matters: dbt Labs open-sourced a declarative charting language that turns dashboard definitions into YAML files renderable via CLI. The angle matters for AI agents generating auditable charts, but the product is beta and the audience skews data-engineering. H and K both hit, R is weak ...