dbt Artifact Storage: HTTP Server Configuration

This guide walks you through configuring an HTTP/HTTPS server as the artifact storage layer for dbt Core + OpenMetadata integration. Ideal for multi-cloud or on-premises deployments.

Prerequisites Checklist

Requirement	Details	How to Verify
Web Server	Nginx, Apache, or cloud CDN	`curl http://your-server/`
dbt Project	Existing dbt project	`dbt debug`
Server Access	SSH or deployment access	Can upload files to server
Database Service	Data warehouse already ingested	Check Settings → Services

HTTP Server Options

Option 1: S3 + CloudFront (Recommended)

Combine S3 storage with CloudFront CDN for HTTPS and global access. Setup:

Follow S3 guide to create bucket and upload artifacts
Create CloudFront distribution:

# Create CloudFront distribution (AWS Console or CLI)
aws cloudfront create-distribution \
  --origin-domain-name your-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com \
  --default-root-object index.html

Configure OpenMetadata with CloudFront URL:
- URL: https://d123abc.cloudfront.net/dbt/

Option 2: Nginx Static File Server

Install Nginx:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nginx

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install -y nginx

# macOS
brew install nginx

Configure Nginx: Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/dbt-artifacts:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name artifacts.yourcompany.com;

    # Root directory for dbt artifacts
    root /var/www/dbt-artifacts;
    
    # Enable directory listing (optional)
    autoindex on;
    
    # CORS headers for OpenMetadata access
    add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' '*';
    add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Methods' 'GET, OPTIONS';
    
    location /dbt/ {
        alias /var/www/dbt-artifacts/;
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
    
    # Optional: Basic authentication
    # auth_basic "Restricted Access";
    # auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
}

Enable the site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/dbt-artifacts /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/dbt-artifacts
sudo chmod 755 /var/www/dbt-artifacts
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Option 3: Apache Static File Server

Install Apache:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install -y apache2

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install -y httpd

Configure Apache: Create /etc/apache2/sites-available/dbt-artifacts.conf:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName artifacts.yourcompany.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/dbt-artifacts

    <Directory /var/www/dbt-artifacts>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride None
        Require all granted
        
        # Enable CORS
        Header set Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/dbt-artifacts-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/dbt-artifacts-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site:

sudo a2ensite dbt-artifacts
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/dbt-artifacts
sudo chmod 755 /var/www/dbt-artifacts
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Step 2: Upload Artifacts from dbt

2.1 Manual Upload with rsync

# Upload artifacts to server
rsync -avz target/*.json user@server:/var/www/dbt-artifacts/

# Or via SCP
scp target/*.json user@server:/var/www/dbt-artifacts/

2.2 Automated Upload in Airflow DAG

"""
dbt + HTTP Upload DAG
"""

from airflow import DAG
from airflow.operators.bash import BashOperator
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

default_args = {
    "owner": "data-engineering",
    "retries": 2,
    "retry_delay": timedelta(minutes=5),
}

with DAG(
    dag_id="dbt_with_http",
    default_args=default_args,
    schedule_interval="0 6 * * *",
    start_date=datetime(2024, 1, 1),
    catchup=False,
) as dag:

    dbt_run = BashOperator(
        task_id="dbt_run",
        bash_command="cd /opt/airflow/dbt && dbt run && dbt test && dbt docs generate"
    )

    upload_artifacts = BashOperator(
        task_id="upload_to_http_server",
        bash_command="""
            rsync -avz /opt/airflow/dbt/target/*.json \
                user@artifacts.yourcompany.com:/var/www/dbt-artifacts/
        """
    )

    dbt_run >> upload_artifacts

2.3 Upload with curl (Simple HTTP POST)

If your server accepts POST requests:

cd target
curl -X POST -F "file=@manifest.json" http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/upload
curl -X POST -F "file=@catalog.json" http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/upload
curl -X POST -F "file=@run_results.json" http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/upload

Step 3: Configure OpenMetadata

Configuration

Go to Settings → Services → Database Services
Click on your database service
Go to the Ingestion tab
Click Add Ingestion
Select dbt from the dropdown

Configure dbt Source (HTTP):

Field	Value	Notes
dbt Configuration Source	`HTTP`	Select from dropdown
dbt Catalog HTTP Path	`http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/dbt/catalog.json`	Full URL to catalog.json
dbt Manifest HTTP Path	`http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/dbt/manifest.json`	Full URL to manifest.json
dbt Run Results HTTP Path	`http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/dbt/run_results.json`	Full URL to run_results.json (optional)

If using Basic Auth:

Field	Value
Username	`your-username`
Password	`your-password`

Configure dbt Options:

Field	Recommended Value
Update Descriptions	`Enabled`
Update Owners	`Enabled`
Include Tags	`Enabled`
Classification Name	`dbtTags`

Verification

# Verify artifacts are accessible
curl http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/dbt/manifest.json | jq '.metadata.dbt_version'
curl http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/dbt/catalog.json | jq '.metadata.dbt_version'

# Check from OpenMetadata's network
# (Run this from OpenMetadata's server/container)
curl -I http://artifacts.yourcompany.com/dbt/manifest.json

Security Considerations

Enable HTTPS

Use Let’s Encrypt for free SSL certificates:

# Install certbot
sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Get certificate
sudo certbot --nginx -d artifacts.yourcompany.com

# Auto-renew
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Add Basic Authentication

For Nginx:

# Create password file
sudo apt install -y apache2-utils
sudo htpasswd -c /etc/nginx/.htpasswd collate

# Update Nginx config (already shown above)

For Apache:

# Create password file
sudo htpasswd -c /etc/apache2/.htpasswd collate

# Add to Apache config
<Directory /var/www/dbt-artifacts>
    AuthType Basic
    AuthName "Restricted Access"
    AuthUserFile /etc/apache2/.htpasswd
    Require valid-user
</Directory>

IP Whitelisting

For Nginx:

location /dbt/ {
    allow 10.0.0.0/8;        # Internal network
    allow 203.0.113.0/24;    # OpenMetadata servers
    deny all;
    
    alias /var/www/dbt-artifacts/;
}

Troubleshooting

Issue	Symptom	Solution
403 Forbidden	Access denied	Check file permissions: `chmod 644 /var/www/dbt-artifacts/*.json`
404 Not Found	Files not found	Verify file paths and Nginx/Apache config
Connection Timeout	Can’t reach server	Check firewall rules, ensure port 80/443 open
CORS Error	Browser blocks request	Add CORS headers to web server config
Stale Data	Old metadata	Verify upload happens after dbt completes

Next Steps

See other storage options: S3 | GCS | Azure | Local | dbt Cloud

​dbt Artifact Storage: HTTP Server Configuration

​Prerequisites Checklist

​HTTP Server Options

​Option 1: S3 + CloudFront (Recommended)

​Option 2: Nginx Static File Server

​Option 3: Apache Static File Server

​Step 2: Upload Artifacts from dbt

​2.1 Manual Upload with rsync

​2.2 Automated Upload in Airflow DAG

​2.3 Upload with curl (Simple HTTP POST)

​Step 3: Configure OpenMetadata

​Configuration

​Verification

​Security Considerations

​Enable HTTPS

​Add Basic Authentication

​IP Whitelisting

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps