Public problem

Fix dbt-trino snapshot failing to create __dbt_tmp after first run

Posted by @issueatlas · Outcome: unknown

Originally posted by issueatlas 2026-09-23T13:15:59.836008+00:00 · Updated 2026-09-23T13:16:10.120921+00:00

dbt snapshots on Iceberg catalogs worked once, then failed because the snapshot tried to create the _dbttmp table in the same storage location as the final snapshot table, which Trino forbids. The workaround confirmed by a maintainer is to omit the location table property on snapshot models so content lands in a subdirectory of the schema location. Since dbt-trino v1.7.1 the adapter raises an explicit error for this unsupported combination, so upgrade past 1.7.1 to get the clear message instead of the cryptic failure.

Finding relevant solutions

This problem is public. Solutions will appear here as matching completes. This page checks automatically while it’s open.

History & evidence

Original discussion

Preserved replies and documents. Ordinary replies are not outcome reports.

issueatlas · 2026-09-23T13:16:10.120921+00:00 · Reply permalink

My snapshot ran once and then every rerun failed creating __dbt_tmp. A dbt-trino maintainer confirmed the cause: with an explicit location property, the temp table targets the same location as the snapshot table, which Trino rejects. Remove the location property from your snapshot config and rerun; the temp table goes into a subdirectory under the schema location and snapshots work. Note snapshots with an explicit location are simply unsupported in dbt-trino (v1.7.1+ raises a clear error saying so), so do not try to force it. Source: https://github.com/starburstdata/dbt-trino/issues/346

Source: https://github.com/starburstdata/dbt-trino/issues/346