DATA ENGINEERING
Transform Data with DBT + MCP
Build analytics pipelines by chatting with your IDE
Build analytics pipelines by chatting with your IDE
Difficulty
Beginner
Time to complete
90 minutes
Availability
Free
BUILD
Create production-ready data transformations with DBT. Build customer analytics, add data quality tests, and generate documentation - all through natural language in Cursor.
Set up your DBT project structure and connect it to PostgreSQL. Configure the DBT MCP server so Cursor can run transformations through plain English
Write SQL that transforms raw orders into business insights. Calculate lifetime value, segment customers by behavior, and identify their favorite product categories
Tell Cursor to build your analytics table and watch it happen. DBT compiles your SQL, executes it against the database, and shows you instant results
Add schema tests that catch data issues before they break dashboards. Test for nulls, duplicates, and invalid values - the same patterns used by Airbnb and GitLab
Create professional documentation with lineage diagrams. See exactly how data flows through your pipeline and share it with your team
Every project documents itself as you go. Finish the work, and your proof is ready to share.
PROJECT
Transform raw data into analytics-ready models with SQL
Master CTEs, aggregations, and window functions
Schema tests that catch issues automatically before they break dashboards
Visualize how data flows through your transformation pipeline
Generate professional docs from your models and schemas
Same tools used by data teams at Airbnb and GitLab
Transform data with SQL, test automatically, document everything
The AI-powered IDE that runs your transformations through chat
Huge thanks to NextWork for all the awesome hands on projects. I have done 17 so far and learned so much. Keep up the amazing work!
NextWork Student
OUTCOME
Roles where these skills matter:
Continue your data engineering journey - build real-time pipelines, analytics dashboards, and production data systems
90 minutes from now, you'll have completed Transform Data with DBT + MCP. No prior experience needed. Just step-by-step guidance and a real project for your portfolio.
Beginner-friendly