dbt-labs/dbt-core · error · minijinja::Error::InvalidOperation

dataset in a GrantAccessToTarget cannot be empty

Error message

dataset in a GrantAccessToTarget cannot be empty

What it means

grant_access_to() also requires a non-empty `dataset` in the GrantAccessToTarget: the dataset identifies the target BigQuery dataset being granted access. If grant_target.dataset is missing or None after deserialization, this InvalidOperation error is raised stating the dataset cannot be empty.

Solutions

1. Include `dataset` (not `schema`) with a string value in the grant target dict.
2. Fix the key name if you used `schema` — GrantAccessToTarget expects `project` and `dataset`.
3. Check the error and preceding grant configuration in macros/grants to ensure both fields are populated.
4. Validate the grant target dict shape before calling the adapter.

Example fix

// before
{% do adapter.grant_access_to(entity, 'view', 'viewer', {'project': 'my-project', 'schema': 'shared'}) %}

// after
{% do adapter.grant_access_to(entity, 'view', 'viewer', {'project': 'my-project', 'dataset': 'shared'}) %}

{% if grant_target.get('dataset') is defined and grant_target.get('dataset') is not none %}
  {% do adapter.grant_access_to(entity, 'view', 'viewer', grant_target) %}
{% else %}
  {{ exceptions.raise_compiler_error("grant target requires a non-empty dataset") }}
{% endif %}

When it happens

Trigger: adapter.grant_access_to(entity, entity_type, role, {'project': 'my-project'}) — project present but dataset key absent or null; passing {'project': ..., 'schema': ...} using the wrong key name so dataset deserializes to None.

Common situations: BigQuery grant macros using `schema` terminology instead of BigQuery's `dataset`; grant configs copied from other warehouses that use schema/database naming; typos in the grants configuration.

Understand the failure class

Background: "must not be empty", "cannot be empty" — required-field validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• project in a GrantAccessToTarget cannot be empty
• adapter.add_time_ingestion_partition_column failed on…
• adapter.parse_partition_by failed on
• An unexpected error occurred during package installation
• 'api_endpoint' is missing a trailing '/', which dbt appends…

AI-assisted analysis of dbt-labs/dbt-core@0267ce9170 (2026-09-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d8beda4c60c95991. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/dbt-adapter/src/adapter/mod.rs:2302

                let grant_target = minijinja_value_to_typed_struct::<GrantAccessToTarget>(
                    grant_target_dict.clone(),
                )
                .map_err(|e| {
                    minijinja::Error::new(
                        minijinja::ErrorKind::SerdeDeserializeError,
                        e.to_string(),
                    )
                })?;
                iter.finish()?;

                let database = grant_target.project.as_deref().ok_or_else(|| {
                    minijinja::Error::new(
                        minijinja::ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,
                        "project in a GrantAccessToTarget cannot be empty",
                    )
                })?;
                let schema = grant_target.dataset.as_deref().ok_or_else(|| {
                    minijinja::Error::new(
                        minijinja::ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,
                        "dataset in a GrantAccessToTarget cannot be empty",
                    )
                })?;

                let role = if role_val.is_none() || role_val.is_undefined() {
                    None
                } else {
                    Some(role_val.as_str().ok_or_else(|| {
                        minijinja::Error::new(
                            minijinja::ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,
                            "role must be a string",
                        )
                    })?)
                };

                let entity = downcast_value_to_dyn_base_relation(entity_val)?;

View on GitHub (pinned to 0267ce9170)