What causes PackageTarballDownloadFailure?

The CI/CD environment has restricted outbound internet access and cannot reach the tarball host (e.g., GitHub or an internal server). The tarball URL is incorrect, the repository was deleted, or the release was removed from GitHub. The internal package server is down or requires authentication that is not configured. A corporate proxy intercepts the HTTPS request and breaks the tarball download

How do I fix PackageTarballDownloadFailure?

Step 1: Test the tarball URL directly in the CI environment: curl -I ' ' to confirm it is reachable.. Step 2: If the host is unreachable due to network restrictions, mirror the tarball to an internal server and update packages.yml to point to the internal URL.. Step 3: If the GitHub release was deleted, find the correct tag or commit hash and reconstruct the tarball URL.. Step 4: For authenticated internal servers, configure HTTP credentials in the dbt profiles or environment variables.. Step 5: As a fallback, install the package from a local path during CI to unblock the pipeline while the URL issue is resolved.

Medium severityconnection

Power BI Refresh Error:
PackageTarballDownloadFailure

What does this error mean?

The 'dbt deps' command failed to download a package from a tarball URL, typically because the URL is unreachable, the download timed out, or the package host returned an error.

Common causes

1The CI/CD environment has restricted outbound internet access and cannot reach the tarball host (e.g., GitHub or an internal server)
2The tarball URL is incorrect, the repository was deleted, or the release was removed from GitHub
3The internal package server is down or requires authentication that is not configured
4A corporate proxy intercepts the HTTPS request and breaks the tarball download

How to fix it

1Step 1: Test the tarball URL directly in the CI environment: curl -I '<url>' to confirm it is reachable.
2Step 2: If the host is unreachable due to network restrictions, mirror the tarball to an internal server and update packages.yml to point to the internal URL.
3Step 3: If the GitHub release was deleted, find the correct tag or commit hash and reconstruct the tarball URL.
4Step 4: For authenticated internal servers, configure HTTP credentials in the dbt profiles or environment variables.
5Step 5: As a fallback, install the package from a local path during CI to unblock the pipeline while the URL issue is resolved.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a dbt Hub package and a tarball package?

Hub packages are resolved by name and version from hub.getdbt.com. Tarball packages reference a direct URL to a compressed archive and are used for private packages or when hub access is restricted.

Can I pin a tarball package to a specific Git commit?

Yes. Use the git package format in packages.yml with a 'revision' field pointing to a commit SHA or tag. This is more reliable than tarball URLs, which can break if the release is deleted.