What causes DatabaseError?

The dbt run role does not have CREATE SCHEMA privilege in the target database. The audit schema name was customised via schema config but the role only has rights to the default schema. Row-level security or warehouse-level access controls block writes to the audit schema. The store_failures_as config was set to 'table' but the role can only create views

How do I fix DatabaseError?

Step 1: Identify the audit schema name — by default it is {target_schema}_dbt_test__audit.. Step 2: Grant CREATE SCHEMA to the dbt role: GRANT CREATE SCHEMA ON DATABASE your_db TO ROLE dbt_role.. Step 3: If the schema already exists but is owned by another role: GRANT USAGE, CREATE TABLE ON SCHEMA audit_schema TO ROLE dbt_role.. Step 4: If you cannot grant schema creation rights, set store_failures_as: 'ephemeral' to skip persisting results, or disable store_failures for tests in restricted environments.

Medium severitypermission

Power BI Refresh Error:
DatabaseError

What does this error mean?

dbt failed to persist test failure rows to the audit schema because the database role lacks permission to create or write to the dbt_test__audit schema used by store_failures.

Common causes

1The dbt run role does not have CREATE SCHEMA privilege in the target database
2The audit schema name was customised via schema config but the role only has rights to the default schema
3Row-level security or warehouse-level access controls block writes to the audit schema
4The store_failures_as config was set to 'table' but the role can only create views

How to fix it

1Step 1: Identify the audit schema name — by default it is {target_schema}_dbt_test__audit.
2Step 2: Grant CREATE SCHEMA to the dbt role: GRANT CREATE SCHEMA ON DATABASE your_db TO ROLE dbt_role.
3Step 3: If the schema already exists but is owned by another role: GRANT USAGE, CREATE TABLE ON SCHEMA audit_schema TO ROLE dbt_role.
4Step 4: If you cannot grant schema creation rights, set store_failures_as: 'ephemeral' to skip persisting results, or disable store_failures for tests in restricted environments.

Frequently asked questions

Does store_failures affect whether the dbt run returns a failure exit code?

The store_failures write failure itself may cause dbt to return exit code 1, failing the run. If this is blocking CI/CD, address the permission issue rather than suppressing the error.

Can I store test failures in a different schema than the audit default?

Yes — use the schema config on individual tests or globally in dbt_project.yml: tests: +schema: my_custom_audit_schema. Ensure the dbt role has rights to that schema.