dbt-labs/dbt-core · error

Relation name ' ' is longer than characters

Error message

Relation name '{ident}' is longer than {max_len} characters

What it means

Relation::validate found that the relation identifier exceeds the adapter's maximum identifier length (from max_identifier_length for the active AdapterType), meaning the warehouse would reject or silently truncate the name. The message reports the identifier, its length, and the limit.

Solutions

1. Shorten the model name or configure an alias within the limit
2. Raise the adapter's max identifier length config if the warehouse tolerates longer names
3. Apply consistent, deterministic truncation before validation

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at crates/dbt-adapter/src/relation/relation_impl.rs:427 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of dbt-labs/dbt-core@0267ce9170 (2026-09-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/42da1f3b29e38ab5. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at crates/dbt-adapter/src/relation/relation_impl.rs:427

    }

    pub fn with_external(mut self, external: impl Into<String>) -> Self {
        self.external = Some(external.into());
        self
    }

    pub fn validate(self) -> Result<Self, minijinja::Error> {
        if let (Some(ident), Some(_relation_type), Some(max_len)) = (
            &self.path.identifier,
            &self.relation_type,
            max_identifier_length(self.adapter_type),
        ) {
            if ident.len() > max_len.into() {
                let message = format!(
                    "Relation name '{}' is longer than {} characters",
                    ident, max_len
                );
                return Err(minijinja::Error::new(
                    minijinja::ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,
                    message,
                ));
            }
        }

        Ok(self)
    }

    /// Create a relation that stubs some stuff to be used during `dbt parse`
    pub(crate) fn new_parse_time(adapter_type: AdapterType) -> Self {
        let path = RelationPath {
            database: Some("".to_string()),
            schema: Some("".to_string()),
            identifier: Some("".to_string()),
        };
        Self {
            is_parse_time: true,

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