# dbt Charts

10 Hacker News commenters recommended dbt Charts and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Lets data analysts declare charts in simple YAML alongside dbt SQL, keeping logic in SQL that is easy to test and trace.

## Why people recommend it

- Fits dbt workflow for analysts (3 comments): "empower data analysts to work with stakeholders in a more efficient and sustainable manner than was previously possible" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49707974)) "This looks good... probably nice to have integrated with dbt like this." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49711271)) "This is exactly the use case we created dbt Charts for." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50218646))
- Simple yet flexible YAML language (3 comments): "Our language is simple and fairly versatile, but not as versatile as vega-lite itself" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49706086)) "dbt Charts is a simple YAML dialect that declares and renders a chart" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49704247)) "The result is a big range of flexibility" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49718931))
- Keeps logic in SQL (2 comments): "dbt charts appear to validate the entire yaml input including the SQL being sent to the data source." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49707451)) "It ensures that the logic stays in SQL where its easy to test and trace." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49706848))
- Welcomed as more competition (2 comments): "I was wondering who was going to launch an attempt at industry standard here. Hope it gains widespread adoption." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49705816)) "Excited to see further competition in the space, nice launch!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49708111))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [ChartGPU](https://hackerapproved.com/p/chartgpu.md): 35 recommend
- [ggplot2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ggplot2.md): 29 recommend
- [plotnine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/plotnine.md): 22 recommend
- [ggsql](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ggsql.md): 19 recommend
- [Matplotlib](https://hackerapproved.com/p/matplotlib.md): 17 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "dbt Charts", https://hackerapproved.com/p/dbt-charts/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).