Articles
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dlt: The Python-Native Data Loader That Changes the Build vs Buy Equation
dlt fills the gap between expensive managed ELT and building from scratch. Learn when this Python-first data loading library is the right choice for your team.
dlt bigquery python data engineering -
Defining Metrics in dbt: Best Practices and Patterns
Learn how to define metrics in dbt with MetricFlow. Covers all five metric types, naming conventions, organizational patterns, and common pitfalls to avoid.
dbt data modeling analytics -
Getting Started with the dbt Semantic Layer and MetricFlow
Set up the dbt Semantic Layer with MetricFlow: install the package, define semantic models and metrics in YAML, and query from the CLI in Core or Cloud.
dbt data modeling analytics -
The Semantic Layer Revolution: Why 2026 Is the Year
Semantic layers are becoming essential for AI-ready analytics. What's driving adoption, the three competing architectures, and whether you should invest.
dbt snowflake databricks data modeling -
Microbatch Incremental Strategy in dbt 1.9: A Practical Guide
Learn how dbt's microbatch strategy simplifies time-partitioned incremental models with built-in backfills, automatic filtering, and batch-level retries.
dbt incremental processing data engineering -
Late-Arriving Data in dbt: Patterns That Actually Work
Practical patterns for handling late-arriving data in dbt incremental models, from lookback windows and partition strategies to deduplication techniques.
dbt bigquery snowflake databricks -
Merge vs. Delete+Insert vs. Insert_Overwrite: Choosing the Right dbt Strategy
Compare dbt's incremental strategies across BigQuery, Snowflake, and Databricks. Learn when merge becomes a bottleneck and which alternatives cut costs.
dbt bigquery snowflake databricks -
Incremental Models in dbt: The Complete Guide
Complete reference for dbt incremental models covering all strategies, warehouse-specific behaviors, late-arriving data patterns, and decision frameworks.
dbt bigquery snowflake databricks -
MCP Ecosystem Overview: Servers, Clients, and SDKs
A practical guide to MCP servers, clients, and SDKs for data engineers. Which database servers to use and which clients work best.
mcp agents bigquery snowflake -
MCP Apps: Interactive Visualizations in Claude
Build interactive dashboards and charts that render directly in Claude conversations. A guide to MCP Apps for data teams.
mcp agents claude code data engineering -
Building Custom MCP Servers for Data Engineering
Build custom MCP servers with Python or TypeScript. Practical examples for data catalogs, pipeline monitoring, and data quality tools with full code.
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BigQuery MCP Server: Complete Setup Guide
Connect BigQuery to AI assistants with Google's official MCP options. Compare Remote Server vs self-hosted Toolbox with setup steps.
mcp agents bigquery gcp -
dbt MCP Server: Complete Setup Guide
Connect dbt to Claude Desktop or Claude Code via MCP. Query models, metrics, lineage, and run dbt commands through conversation.
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MCP Protocol Fundamentals: What Data Engineers Need to Know
Learn MCP architecture, core primitives, and the security model. Essential foundation for connecting AI assistants to your data infrastructure.
mcp agents data engineering integration -
Understanding the terminal: A complete guide for Claude Code beginners
Learn essential terminal commands and how Claude Code uses them. A practical guide for beginners who want to understand what's happening behind the scenes.
claude code automation -
GA4 + dbt: A Production-Ready Project Template
A complete dbt project template for GA4 BigQuery exports with incremental processing, sessionized event tables, testing patterns, and documentation.
dbt bigquery ga4 data modeling -
GA4 User Stitching: Handling Anonymous to Known Users
Build identity resolution pipelines in BigQuery to stitch anonymous GA4 users to authenticated identities across devices and sessions, with production dbt patterns.
bigquery ga4 dbt identity resolution -
Building Session Tables from GA4 Event Data
Learn to sessionize GA4 BigQuery exports by building enriched event tables with session identity, attribution, and sequence position using window functions.
bigquery dbt ga4 data modeling -
Unnesting GA4 Events: Patterns for Every Use Case
Production-ready SQL patterns for extracting GA4 data from nested arrays in BigQuery, covering e-commerce, engagement events, and dbt model templates.
bigquery dbt ga4 data modeling -
GA4 BigQuery Export: The Complete Schema Reference
A practical field guide to GA4's BigQuery export schema covering nested structures, traffic source fields, critical gotchas, and efficient query patterns.
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10 BigQuery SQL Patterns Every Analytics Engineer Should Know
Production-ready BigQuery patterns for partitioning, materialized views, HLL sketches, nested data, window functions, dbt incrementals, and attribution.
bigquery dbt data modeling data engineering -
On-Demand vs. Editions Pricing: When to Switch
A practical guide to choosing between BigQuery On-Demand and Editions pricing models, with SQL queries to analyze your workload and calculate breakeven points.
bigquery data engineering -
BigQuery Slots and Reservations Explained
Learn how BigQuery slots work, understand the reservation hierarchy, compare Editions pricing tiers, and optimize slot usage for your dbt workflows.
bigquery dbt data modeling -
Partitioning vs. Clustering: The Decision Framework
A practical decision framework for choosing between BigQuery partitioning and clustering based on query patterns, table sizes, and dbt incremental strategies.
bigquery dbt data engineering data modeling -
BigQuery Architecture for Analytics Engineers: The Complete Guide
Learn BigQuery's resource hierarchy, regional constraints, multi-environment patterns, and IAM configuration to design scalable analytics systems.
bigquery dbt data engineering -
dbt-expectations: The Package Every Project Needs
Learn how dbt-expectations adds 50+ data quality tests to your dbt project: pattern matching, freshness checks, statistical validation, and more.
dbt data quality testing -
Unit Testing vs. Data Testing: When to Use Each
A decision framework for choosing between dbt unit tests, data tests, dbt-expectations, Elementary, and dbt-audit-helper based on what you're testing.
dbt bigquery testing -
Unit Testing dbt Models: Real-World Examples and Patterns
Copy-paste patterns for unit testing incremental models, snapshots, window functions, GA4 sessionization, and attribution models in dbt with BigQuery.
dbt bigquery testing -
Unit Testing in dbt 1.8+: Complete Implementation Guide
Learn to implement dbt unit tests from scratch. Covers YAML syntax, BigQuery-specific workarounds for STRUCTs and ARRAYs, mocking dependencies, and CI/CD integration.
dbt bigquery testing -
dbt Testing Strategy: A Framework for Every Project
A practical framework for dbt testing that scales from first projects to enterprise pipelines, covering data tests, unit tests, contracts, and packages.
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BigQuery Cost Optimization: The 80/20 Guide
Cut BigQuery costs by focusing on partitioning, clustering, and column selection. Includes dbt configs, INFORMATION_SCHEMA queries, and governance guardrails.
bigquery dbt data engineering cost optimization -
Your First GA4 dbt Models: From Raw Events to Sessions
Build event-level GA4 dbt models that preserve granularity. Learn the session key trap, nested event_params extraction, and a three-layer pattern for flexible analytics.
dbt bigquery ga4 data engineering -
Base, Intermediate, Marts: When to Use Each Layer
Learn when to use base, intermediate, and mart layers in dbt. Clear rules for where joins, business logic, and aggregations belong in your transformation project.
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dbt Project Structure: The Definitive Guide
A complete guide to dbt project structure: three-layer architecture, entity naming, table materialization, and marketing analytics examples.
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Connecting Claude Code to Your Data Warehouse (And Why You Might Not Need MCP)
Cloudflare and Anthropic discovered LLMs write better code than tool calls. For BigQuery users, that means CLI might beat MCP. Here's the evidence for it.
bigquery claude code gcp agents -
Advanced Claude Code Workflows: Testing, Documentation, and Debugging for Analytics Engineers
Three production-ready workflows for testing, documentation, and debugging that turn Claude Code into an integrated part of your analytics engineering process.
dbt bigquery claude code agents -
Automating the Boring Parts: Hooks and Custom Commands for Analytics Engineers
Learn how to use Claude Code hooks and custom slash commands to automate dbt workflows — from auto-formatting SQL to blocking dangerous production commands.
claude code dbt automation -
Claude Code - Skills vs. Commands
Skills activate automatically only 20% of the time. For repeatable data workflows like dbt audits and lineage docs, commands give you the consistency you need.
claude code dbt data engineering -
How to set up CLAUDE.md for your dbt project (and actually make it useful)
Learn how to configure CLAUDE.md for dbt projects. Practical tips for naming conventions, BigQuery gotchas, and keeping it minimal.
claude code dbt data engineering -
How I Use Claude Code for dbt Development
Practical guide to using Claude Code with dbt. From base model generation to refactoring: what actually works in day-to-day analytics engineering.
claude code dbt llm agents -
Claude Code for Data People: What It Is and Why You Should Care
70% of analytics engineers use AI for coding. Meet Claude Code, the agentic tool that reads your dbt codebase and writes code based on your patterns.
llm agents claude code data engineering -
Your First Hour with Claude Code as an Analytics Engineer
Install and master Claude Code in one hour. Practical guide for analytics engineers: setup, authentication, first dbt models, and essential tips to get started.
claude code llm agents data engineering -
n8n RSS to Notion
Transform your RSS feeds into an automated knowledge base with n8n and ChatGPT. No more manual cleanup: fetch and organize articles in Notion effortlessly.
n8n notion llm automation -
Deploying dbt core on Google Cloud Function
Let's look at how to deploy dbt Core on a Google Cloud Function.
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How to Pass the dbt Certification
Here is my experience passing the dbt developer certification.
dbt data engineering -
dbt core vs dbt cloud
Let's look at the differences between dbt Core and dbt Cloud.
dbt data engineering -
Loading Data Made Simple: A Hands-on Guide to dlt
Learn how to build data pipelines with dlt (data load tool). From basic API extraction to incremental loading: a practical tutorial using the GitHub API.
dlt python data engineering etl