Using get_lineage for Lineage Retrieval

This is the fallback method when get_lineage_dev is not available. The get_lineage (or mcp__dbt__get_lineage) MCP tool reads from the production manifest in dbt Cloud.

How to use

1. Call the get_lineage MCP tool with the model's unique_id

   • The unique_id follows the format: model.{project_name}.{model_name}
   • Must provide the full unique_id (not just the model name)

2. The tool returns a flat list of all nodes connected to the target resource (both upstream and downstream)

3. Each node in the list contains:

   • uniqueId: The resource's unique identifier
   • name: The resource name
   • resourceType: The type of resource (Model, Source, Seed, Snapshot, Exposure, Metric, Test, etc.)
   • parentIds: List of unique IDs that this resource directly depends on

4. To find parents and children, traverse the graph:

   • Direct parents: Look at the parentIds field of your target node
   • Direct children: Find all nodes where your target's uniqueId appears in their parentIds list

Example usage

# Get complete lineage (all connected nodes, all types, default depth of 5)
get_lineage(unique_id="model.jaffle_shop.customers")

# Get lineage filtered to only models and sources
get_lineage(
    unique_id="model.jaffle_shop.customers",
    types=["Model", "Source"]
)

# Get only immediate neighbors (depth=1)
get_lineage(
    unique_id="model.jaffle_shop.customers",
    depth=1
)

# Get deeper lineage for comprehensive analysis
get_lineage(
    unique_id="model.jaffle_shop.customers",
    depth=10
)

Example response structure

[
  {
    "uniqueId": "source.raw.users",
    "name": "users",
    "resourceType": "Source",
    "parentIds": []
  },
  {
    "uniqueId": "model.jaffle_shop.stg_customers",
    "name": "stg_customers",
    "resourceType": "Model",
    "parentIds": ["source.raw.users"]
  },
  {
    "uniqueId": "model.jaffle_shop.customers",
    "name": "customers",
    "resourceType": "Model",
    "parentIds": ["model.jaffle_shop.stg_customers"]
  }
]

Traversing the graph

Finding upstream dependencies (parents):

# What does this node depend on?
target_node = find_node_by_id(result, "model.jaffle_shop.customers")
direct_parents = target_node["parentIds"]
# Result: ["model.jaffle_shop.stg_customers"]

Finding downstream dependents (children):

# What depends on this node?
target_id = "model.jaffle_shop.customers"
direct_children = [
    node for node in result
    if target_id in node.get("parentIds", [])
]
# Result: nodes that list "model.jaffle_shop.customers" in their parentIds

Benefits

• ✅ Access to production lineage from dbt Cloud
• ✅ Fast - uses GraphQL API, no need to parse large JSON files
• ✅ Returns all nodes connected to the target (no disconnected nodes)
• ✅ Respects depth parameter for controlling graph traversal depth
• ✅ Can filter by resource types to reduce payload size
• ✅ Automatically filters out macros (which have large dependency graphs)

Limitations

• ❌ Only shows production state (not local uncommitted changes)
• ❌ Requires dbt Cloud connection and Discovery API access
• ❌ Must provide full unique_id (can't use just model name)
• ❌ Does NOT include file paths (only uniqueId, name, resourceType, parentIds)

Understanding the results

• The target node is always included in the response
• All returned nodes are connected to the target (directly or indirectly)
• To get full lineage, omit the types parameter
• To reduce payload size, specify relevant types like ["Model", "Source"]
• The depth parameter controls traversal:
  • depth=0: infinite (entire connected graph)
  • depth=1: immediate neighbors only
  • depth=5: default, goes 5 levels deep in both directions

When to use

Use this method when:

• The get_lineage MCP tool is available
• get_lineage_dev is NOT available
• You want to see the production lineage (not local changes)
• You have dbt Cloud with Discovery API enabled