---

name: data-pipeline-cicd description: > Use this skill when asked about data pipeline CI/CD, dbt Cloud CI/CD, SQLFluff, SQL linting, Atlantis for SQL, data pipeline testing, environment promotion, schema change management, dbt test, data quality in CI, dataops, or database change management. This skill enforces: dbt Cloud CI/CD with environment promotion gates, SQL linting with SQLFluff in CI, schema change management with migration scripts, data pipeline testing (dbt test, data diff), and Atlantis-style SQL review workflows. Do NOT use for: application CI/CD, infrastructure CI/CD, standard Terraform Atlantis, or API pipeline testing. version: "1.0.0" author: "j4flmao" license: "MIT" compatibility: claude-code: true cursor: true codex: true windsurf: true tags: [data, cicd, dataops, dbt, sqlfluff, phase-11]

Data Pipeline CI/CD

Purpose

Establish continuous integration and delivery for data pipelines covering SQL code quality, dbt model testing, schema change management, and environment promotion from dev to production.

Agent Protocol

Trigger

Exact user phrases: "data pipeline CI/CD", "dbt CI/CD", "SQLFluff", "SQL linting", "Atlantis SQL", "data pipeline testing", "environment promotion", "schema change management", "dbt test", "data CI", "database CI/CD", "data quality CI", "SQL review", "data deployment".

Input Context

Before activating, verify:

• Data transformation framework (dbt, SQLMesh, Dataform, custom SQL)
• Data warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, Postgres)
• CI platform (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI, Jenkins)
• Environments (dev, staging, prod) and promotion strategy
• Testing framework (dbt test, Great Expectations, data-diff, Soda)
• Schema migration tool (Alembic, Flyway, dbt migrations)

Output Artifact

CI/CD pipeline configuration with SQL linting rules, dbt test setup, environment promotion workflow, and schema change management as YAML, SQL, and configuration.

Response Format

# CI/CD pipeline configuration

# SQLFluff config

-- dbt test example

-- dbt Cloud job config

No preamble. No postamble. No explanations. No filler/hedging/transitions. Compress output.

Completion Criteria

• CI pipeline with SQLFluff linting configured
• dbt test suite with singular and generic tests
• Environment promotion workflow (dev -> staging -> prod) defined
• Schema change management with migration scripts
• Data diff or comparison testing in staging
• Rollback strategy documented

Max Response Length

4096

Workflow

CI Pipeline for dbt Projects

# .github/workflows/dbt-ci.yml
name: dbt CI
on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
    paths: ['transform/**', 'profiles.yml']

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'
      - run: pip install sqlfluff==3.0.0 sqlfluff-templater-dbt
      - run: sqlfluff lint transform/models/ --dialect snowflake --templater dbt

  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'
      - run: pip install dbt-snowflake dbt-core==1.7.0
      - run: dbt deps --project-dir transform
      - run: dbt build --project-dir transform --target ci
      - run: dbt docs generate --project-dir transform

SQLFlint Configuration

# .sqlfluff
[sqlfluff]
dialect = snowflake
templater = dbt
max_line_length = 80
indent_unit = space
tab_space_size = 4

[sqlfluff:indentation]
indented_joins = False
indented_ctes = True
indented_on_contents = True

[sqlfluff:rules:L003]
force_equal_tab_space = True

[sqlfluff:rules:L010]
capitalisation_policy = upper

[sqlfluff:rules:L014]
capitalisation_policy = lower

[sqlfluff:rules:L030]
capitalisation_policy = upper

[sqlfluff:rules:L040]
capitalisation_policy = upper

[sqlfluff:rules:L042]
force_divide_by_zero = False

[sqlfluff:rules:AM04]
allow_scalar = False

[sqlfluff:rules:CP01]
ignore_words = ["customer", "company", "vendor"]

dbt Environment Promotion

# dbt_project.yml
name: analytics
version: "1.0.0"
config-version: 2
profile: analytics

model-paths: ["models"]
analysis-paths: ["analyses"]
test-paths: ["tests"]
seed-paths: ["seeds"]
macro-paths: ["macros"]
snapshot-paths: ["snapshots"]

models:
  analytics:
    staging:
      +materialized: view
      +schema: stg
      tags: ["staging"]
    intermediate:
      +materialized: ephemeral
      +schema: int
      tags: ["intermediate"]
    marts:
      +materialized: table
      +schema: marts
      tags: ["marts"]

    marketing:
      +schema: marketing
      tags: ["marketing"]

# .github/workflows/promote-to-prod.yml
name: Promote to Production
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      commit-sha:
        description: 'Commit SHA to promote'
        required: true

jobs:
  diff:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    outputs:
      has_changes: ${{ steps.dbt-diff.outputs.has_changes }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0
      - name: dbt data diff
        id: dbt-diff
        run: |
          git checkout ${{ github.event.inputs.commit-sha }}
          # Compare staging vs prod with data-diff
          pip install data-diff
          data-diff \
            --d1 "snowflake://${{ secrets.SF_STAGING }}" \
            --d2 "snowflake://${{ secrets.SF_PROD }}" \
            --table analytics.marts.orders \
            --key order_id \
            --output diff_output.json
          echo "has_changes=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT

  approve:
    needs: diff
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: production
    steps:
      - name: Manual approval required
        run: echo "Approved by ${{ github.actor }}"

  deploy:
    needs: [diff, approve]
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: production
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: pip install dbt-snowflake dbt-core==1.7.0
      - run: dbt deps --project-dir transform
      - name: Run dbt in production
        run: dbt build --project-dir transform --target prod --full-refresh
        env:
          DBT_TARGET: prod

Schema Change Management

# migrations/001_add_created_at.sql
-- Migration: Add created_at column to customer_orders
-- Date: 2026-05-15
-- Author: j4flmao

-- Step 1: Add column as nullable
ALTER TABLE analytics.marts.customer_orders
ADD COLUMN created_at TIMESTAMP_NTZ;

-- Step 2: Backfill existing rows
UPDATE analytics.marts.customer_orders
SET created_at = (
  SELECT MIN(order_date)
  FROM analytics.stg.orders o
  WHERE o.customer_id = customer_orders.customer_id
)
WHERE created_at IS NULL;

-- Step 3: Add NOT NULL constraint
ALTER TABLE analytics.marts.customer_orders
ALTER COLUMN created_at SET NOT NULL;

# .github/workflows/schema-migration.yml
name: Schema Migration
on:
  pull_request:
    paths: ['migrations/**']

jobs:
  lint-migration:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: pip install sqlfluff
      - run: sqlfluff lint migrations/ --dialect snowflake
      - run: |
          # Check migration naming convention
          for f in migrations/*.sql; do
            basename=$(basename "$f")
            if ! echo "$basename" | grep -qE '^[0-9]{3}_.+\.sql#x27;; then
              echo "ERROR: Migration $basename must match pattern 3-digit-number_description.sql"
              exit 1
            fi
          done

  dry-run:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: |
          # Simulate migration ordering
          pip install sqlparse
          python -c "
            import os, glob
            migrations = sorted(glob.glob('migrations/*.sql'))
            print(f'Found {len(migrations)} migrations to apply:')
            for m in migrations:
              print(f'  {os.path.basename(m)}')
          "

dbt Test Patterns

-- tests/generic/test_positive_revenue.sql
{% test positive_revenue(model, column_name) %}
SELECT *
FROM {{ model }}
WHERE {{ column_name }} < 0
{% endtest %}

-- tests/singleton/customer_id_not_null.sql
SELECT *
FROM {{ ref('dim_customers') }}
WHERE customer_id IS NULL

-- tests/singleton/order_after_customer.sql
SELECT
  o.order_id,
  o.customer_id,
  o.order_date,
  c.first_order_date
FROM {{ ref('fact_orders') }} o
LEFT JOIN {{ ref('dim_customers') }} c
  ON o.customer_id = c.customer_id
WHERE o.order_date < c.first_order_date

# models/marts/schema.yml
version: 2

models:
  - name: fact_orders
    description: "Order fact table"
    columns:
      - name: order_id
        tests:
          - unique
          - not_null
      - name: customer_id
        tests:
          - not_null
          - relationships:
              to: ref('dim_customers')
              field: customer_id
      - name: order_amount
        tests:
          - positive_revenue
          - dbt_expectations.expect_column_values_to_be_between:
              min_value: 0
              max_value: 1000000
      - name: order_status
        tests:
          - accepted_values:
              values: ['pending', 'shipped', 'delivered', 'cancelled']

Atlantis for SQL Workflow

# atlantis.yml
version: 3
projects:
  - name: analytics-dbt
    dir: transform
    workflow: dbt-plan
    autoplan:
      enabled: true
      when_modified: ["models/**/*.sql", "models/**/*.yml"]

workflows:
  dbt-plan:
    plan:
      steps:
        - run: pip install dbt-snowflake dbt-core==1.7.0
        - run: dbt deps --project-dir $DIR
        - run: dbt compile --project-dir $DIR
        - run: dbt ls --project-dir $DIR --output json > $DIR/model_list.txt
        - run: |
            echo "## dbt Model Changes"
            cat $DIR/model_list.txt | python -c "
            import json, sys
            models = json.load(sys.stdin)
            for m in models:
                print(f'- {m.get('name', 'unknown')} ({m.get('materialized', 'view')})')
            "
    apply:
      steps:
        - run: pip install dbt-snowflake dbt-core==1.7.0
        - run: dbt deps --project-dir $DIR
        - run: |
            if [[ "${{.Environment}}" == "production" ]]; then
              dbt run --project-dir $DIR --target prod
              dbt test --project-dir $DIR --target prod
            else
              dbt build --project-dir $DIR
            fi

dbt Cloud CI/CD Job

# dbt Cloud API job configuration (created via dbt Cloud API)
job:
  name: "CI - PR Checks"
  environment_id: 12345
  dbt_version: "1.7.0"
  triggers:
    - pull_request
  execute_steps:
    - "dbt deps"
    - "dbt build --select state:modified+ --target ci"
    - "dbt test --select tag:ci"
  defer_to_production: true
  job_type: ci

# ---

job:
  name: "Deploy to Production"
  environment_id: 67890
  dbt_version: "1.7.0"
  triggers:
    - merge
  execute_steps:
    - "dbt deps"
    - "dbt build --target prod --full-refresh"
    - "dbt test --target prod"
  defer_to_production: true
  job_type: merge

Environment Promotion Gates

Gate	Check	Blocking	Auto or Manual
Developer	SQLFluff pass, dbt test pass	Yes	Auto
Code Review	PR approval from senior engineer	Yes	Manual
Staging	dbt build success, data-diff < 0.5% variance	Yes	Auto
Performance	model run time, query profile review	Warning	Auto
Business	Data quality score > 95%	Yes	Manual
Prod Deploy	All gates passed, run during maintenance window	Yes	Manual

Rollback Strategy

-- Rollback script: revert_schema_change_v001.sql
-- Reverts migration 001: Remove created_at column

-- Step 1: Drop dependent objects first
DROP VIEW IF EXISTS analytics.marts.customer_kpi_view;

-- Step 2: Drop NOT NULL constraint
ALTER TABLE analytics.marts.customer_orders
ALTER COLUMN created_at DROP NOT NULL;

-- Step 3: Clean up data
UPDATE analytics.marts.customer_orders
SET created_at = NULL;

-- Step 4: Drop column
ALTER TABLE analytics.marts.customer_orders
DROP COLUMN created_at;

-- Step 5: Recreate view
-- (original CREATE VIEW statement here)

# Rollback procedure in CI
rollback:
  steps:
    - trigger: dbt build --select tag:rollback --target prod
    - execute: rollback.sql migration in reverse order
    - verify: dbt test --select tag:critical --target prod
    - notify: slack #data-alerts with rollback summary

Rules

• Every PR must pass SQLFluff linting and dbt test suite before merge
• Use environment promotion gates: dev -> staging -> prod with manual approval for prod
• Name migrations sequentially (001_description.sql, 002_description.sql)
• Never run dbt build --full-refresh on prod without a prior successful staging run
• Test schema changes with ALTER TABLE ... ADD COLUMN ... NULL before adding NOT NULL
• Always have a rollback SQL script for each migration
• Defer to production state in CI to avoid false positives from schema drift
• Monitor dbt run duration; alert on runs exceeding SLA by 50%
• Enforce consistent SQL formatting via .sqlfluff in the repository root
• Use data-diff in staging to detect unexpected data changes before prod promotion

References

• references/cicd-for-data-pipelines.md — CI/CD for Data Pipelines
• references/data-diff-testing.md — Data Diff Testing Reference
• references/data-quality-ci.md — Data Quality in CI/CD Reference
• references/dbt-ci-cd-pipeline.md — dbt CI/CD Pipeline
• references/pipeline-cicd-environments.md — Pipeline CI/CD Environment Management
• references/pipeline-cicd-secrets.md — Pipeline CI/CD Secrets Management
• references/pipeline-test-automation.md — Pipeline Test Automation
• references/sql-linting-and-testing.md — SQL Linting and Testing

Handoff

data-data-quality for data quality monitoring and alerting in production data-etl-pipeline for pipeline orchestration and execution data-workflow-orchestration for scheduling and dependency management