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dbt integration: Add validation for timestamp field data type #5871
Description
Context
PR #5827 added dbt integration that requires a timestamp field for point-in-time correctness.
Problem
The code validates that the timestamp field exists in the model columns but doesn't validate that it's actually a timestamp type. This could lead to runtime errors or incorrect behavior.
Current Behavior
# In dbt_import.py:183-189
if timestamp_field not in column_names:
click.echo(
f"{Fore.YELLOW}Warning: Model '{model.name}' missing timestamp "
f"field '{timestamp_field}'. Skipping.{Style.RESET_ALL}"
)
continueNo type checking is performed.
Proposed Solution
Add validation that the timestamp field is one of the timestamp types:
- TIMESTAMP
- TIMESTAMP_NTZ / TIMESTAMP_LTZ / TIMESTAMP_TZ
- DATETIME
- DATE
Warn users if the field exists but has an incompatible type.
Example
timestamp_col = next((c for c in model.columns if c.name == timestamp_field), None)
if timestamp_col:
normalized_type = timestamp_col.data_type.upper()
valid_ts_types = ['TIMESTAMP', 'TIMESTAMP_NTZ', 'TIMESTAMP_LTZ', 'TIMESTAMP_TZ', 'DATETIME', 'DATE']
if not any(t in normalized_type for t in valid_ts_types):
click.echo(f"{Fore.YELLOW}Warning: Timestamp field '{timestamp_field}' has type '{timestamp_col.data_type}' which may not be suitable{Style.RESET_ALL}")
Activity
darshil929 commentedon Oct 17, 2026
I’d like to work on this. I’ll check the existing timestamp type mapping and put together a focused validation change with tests.
Could a maintainer assign this to me?
luc-pimentel commentedon Oct 19, 2026
Reproduced on Feast 0.67.0 and current master. A dbt model whose
event_timestampcolumn is declaredSTRINGorINT64imports with no warning; only a missing column is caught. A FeatureView built that way fails atget_historical_featureswithAttributeError: 'str' object has no attribute 'tzinfo'.In sdk/python/feast/cli/dbt_import.py, import_command checks only that the timestamp column exists. Fix in #7038: the column's dbt type is checked through the existing type mapping and a warning is printed when it is not a timestamp type; the model is still imported. Columns with no declared
data_typereach the CLI asSTRINGand trigger the same warning.AI-assisted implementation and tests.