dbt licensing
dbt v2 has the following distributions today, all free to install and run.
| Distribution | Package | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| dbt v2 | dbt | The recommended v2 experience. |
| dbt OSS | dbt-core | Your organization has a strict requirement to use the Apache 2.0 open-source runtime |
If you have a older project that isn’t ready to move to v2, continue using v1.x for compatibility. For new or upgraded projects, we recommend upgrading to v2.
Which one should I use?
For most people: dbt v2. It has more capabilities out of the box than the open source v2 — including a built-in high-performance SQL linter — even if you never create a dbt account.
We recommend everyone to just install dbt and get dbt v2 by default.
Typically you'd choose the open source installtion directly only if you're in one of two specific situations:
- Your organization's license policy requires a strict open-source distribution
- You're building something custom on top of the OSS code itself.
Already running dbt v1? You don't have to move to v2 — it's still fully supported. Over time, new capabilities will land in v2 only, so most people will eventually want to upgrade.
To check which distribution you're using, run dbt --version in the command line.
What changed, and what didn't
Changed:
- v2 is available through two distributions: dbt v2 and dbt OSS.
- dbt OSS, the Apache 2.0 open-source distribution for v2, is powered by the shared Rust engine code and is now available in
dbt-core. - dbt v2 builds on dbt OSS and extends it with additional proprietary capabilities under the dbt Product Licensing Agreement.
Unchanged:
- dbt v1 is still fully available and still Apache 2.0.
- dbt v2 is still completely free to use, with some features unlocked by a free login or a paid dbt platform account — not required for any distribution.
- Contributing to dbt is still open to everyone.
Licensing details
dbt v1 is released under the Apache 2.0 license. dbt v2 is proprietary to dbt Labs, made available under the dbt Product Licensing Agreement.
For the full breakdown of what's permitted under each license — source visibility, contributions, modifications, self-hosting, and redistribution — see the dbt Licensing FAQ.
dbt platform is a separate hosted product governed by its own terms of service. Also not to be confused with dbt platform licenses.
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