dbt-labs/dbt-core · error

Adapter must be configured for the parse phase

Error message

Adapter must be configured for the parse phase

What it means

A panic from `.expect()` in `process_model_chunk_for_unsafe_detection` (called from `collect_adapter_identifiers_detect_unsafe`). After rendering a model chunk, the code queries the parse adapter's state to check `unsafe_nodes()`; if the adapter has no parse-phase state configured, the expect panics. Like its sibling, this asserts the adapter was fully initialized (not just present) for the parse phase.

Source

Thrown at crates/dbt-parser/src/renderer.rs:966

            .out_dir
            .join(&model.common().original_file_path)
            .exists()
        {
            PathBuf::from(DBT_TARGET_DIR_NAME).join(&model.common().original_file_path)
        } else {
            arg.io.in_dir.join(&model.common().original_file_path)
        };
        // TODO: Potentially catch rendering warning on second pass and notify user / add file as unsafe by default
        let _res = render_sql(
            &sql,
            jinja_env,
            &render_resolved_context,
            &DefaultRenderingEventListenerFactory::default(),
            &display_path,
        );
        let is_unsafe = parse_adapter
            .parse_adapter_state()
            .expect("Adapter must be configured for the parse phase")
            .unsafe_nodes()
            .contains(&model.common().unique_id);
        nodes.push((model, is_unsafe));
    }
    Ok(nodes)
}

fn chunk_vec<T>(mut v: Vec<T>, chunk_size: usize) -> Vec<Vec<T>> {
    let mut chunks = Vec::new();
    while !v.is_empty() {
        let chunk: Vec<T> = v.drain(..chunk_size.min(v.len())).collect();
        chunks.push(chunk);
    }
    chunks
}

/// Collect refs and sources from pre and post hooks in any resource config
/// by rendering them into the existing sql_resources collection

View on GitHub (pinned to 0267ce9170)

Solutions

1. Initialize the parse adapter state (`set_parse_adapter_state`) before running resolution
2. Use the built-in parse entry points rather than invoking chunk processors directly
3. Ensure the adapter implementation forwards the parse-state methods required by dbt-parser
4. Update custom adapter scaffolding to match the current parse-phase setup API

Example fix

// before
jinja_env.set_adapter(adapter.clone());
process_model_chunk_for_unsafe_detection(...); // panics: no parse state

// after
jinja_env.set_adapter(adapter.clone());
adapter.set_parse_adapter_state(ParseAdapterState::default());
process_model_chunk_for_unsafe_detection(...);

if adapter.parse_adapter_state().is_none() {
    return Err("adapter parse state must be initialized before chunk processing".into());
}

fn parse_state_ready(adapter: &ParseAdapter) -> bool {
    adapter.parse_adapter_state().is_some()
}

When it happens

Trigger: Model chunk processing during unsafe-node detection when `parse_adapter.parse_adapter_state()` returns None — the adapter object exists in the env but was never given a `ParseAdapterState`.

Common situations: Custom adapters or test harnesses that call `set_adapter` but skip parse-state initialization; partial migration after crate upgrades changed how parse state is attached.

Understand the failure class

Background: "This is a bug, please report it": internal invariant violations, unreachable panics, and SNH errors explained — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

• Adapter should be available during parse phase
• Starburst
• Athena
• Trino
• Dremio

AI-assisted analysis of dbt-labs/dbt-core@0267ce9170 (2026-09-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f43f69fd3c535f16. Report an issue: GitHub.