rocky

Apps & Automation

Rocky CLI quick reference. Use when you need to recall a `rocky <command>` invocation, JSON output shape, or exit-code behavior. For config authoring, use the `rocky-config` skill at the monorepo root. For the Rust output-struct cascade, use `rocky-codegen`.

QUICK START

How to use this skill

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/rocky-data/rocky/blob/HEAD/engine/.claude/skills/rocky/SKILL.md

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Rocky CLI reference

Concise cheat sheet for the rocky binary. For full detail:

Config authoring → rocky-config skill (monorepo root .claude/skills/)
JSON output schema cascade → rocky-codegen skill
Engine architecture → engine/CLAUDE.md

Commands

Command	Purpose
`rocky init [path]`	Scaffold a new project
`rocky validate -c rocky.toml`	Validate config + models (no API calls)
`rocky compile --models models/ [--contracts contracts/]`	Type-check models, validate contracts
`rocky test --models models/ [--contracts contracts/]`	Run model tests against in-memory DuckDB (auto-loads `data/seed.sql`)
`rocky ci --models models/ [--contracts contracts/]`	Combined compile + test
`rocky discover -c rocky.toml`	List sources/connectors and tables
`rocky plan -c rocky.toml [--filter <k=v>]`	Preview SQL (dry-run)
`rocky run -c rocky.toml [--filter <k=v>]`	Execute the pipeline
`rocky run -c rocky.toml --resume-latest`	Resume a failed run from the last checkpoint
`rocky run -c rocky.toml --partition KEY`	Time-interval materialization (per-partition)
`rocky run -c rocky.toml --from KEY --to KEY`	Partition range
`rocky run -c rocky.toml --latest` / `--missing`	Partition discovery modes
`rocky state -c rocky.toml`	Show watermarks
`rocky history [--model <name>]`	Recent run history + trends
`rocky metrics <model>`	Quality snapshots, alerts, column trends
`rocky lineage <model> [--column <col>]`	Model/column lineage
`rocky lineage-diff [<base_ref>]`	Per-changed-column downstream impact between two git refs (PR-comment Markdown)
`rocky doctor -c rocky.toml`	Aggregate health checks (config, state, adapters, pipelines, state_sync)
`rocky drift -c rocky.toml`	Schema drift report
`rocky optimize -c rocky.toml`	Cost model + materialization-strategy recommendations
`rocky compare`	Shadow vs production comparison
`rocky compact <fqn>` / `rocky compact --catalog <name>`	OPTIMIZE/VACUUM SQL plan (single table or every Rocky-managed table in a catalog)
`rocky archive --older-than <span>` (`<fqn>` / `--catalog <name>`)	DELETE + VACUUM SQL plan (single table or catalog-wide)
`rocky profile-storage`	Column encoding recommendations
`rocky import-dbt --dbt-project <path>`	dbt → Rocky migration
`rocky validate-migration`	Validate a dbt → Rocky migration
`rocky hooks list` / `rocky hooks test <event>`	Hook management
`rocky ai "<intent>"`	AI-assisted model generation (needs `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`)
`rocky ai-sync` / `ai-explain` / `ai-test`	AI intent layer sub-commands
`rocky test-adapter <name>`	Adapter conformance suite
`rocky lsp`	Language Server Protocol server over stdio (for the VS Code extension)
`rocky mcp`	Model Context Protocol server over stdio (for AI agents)
`rocky serve`	HTTP API mode
`rocky export-schemas <dir>`	Export JSON schemas for all `*Output` types (used by `just codegen`)

Flags worth remembering

Flag	Effect
`--output json`	Emit typed JSON (every command has a JsonSchema-backed struct — see `rocky-codegen`)
`--output table`	Human-readable table (default)
`-c <path>`, `--config <path>`	Config file (default: `rocky.toml` in cwd)
`--state-path <path>`	Override embedded state store location
`--filter <k=v>`	Scope to matching pipelines/sources/groups (e.g. `--filter source=shopify`)
`--resume` / `--resume-latest`	Resume a checkpointed run
`--output-file <path>`	Write JSON output to file instead of stdout

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Hard failure (config error, unreachable adapter, panic)
2	Partial success — pipeline ran but some tables failed. Valid JSON still emitted on stdout. The dagster integration explicitly handles this (`allow_partial=True`).

JSON output shape

Every --output json command emits a struct with version + command fields plus a command-specific payload. Full list in engine/CLAUDE.md → "JSON Output Schema" (ls schemas/*.schema.json | wc -l for the count). Highlights:

discover  → { connectors: [{ id, client, components, tables, excluded_tables }] }
plan      → { statements: [{ purpose, target, sql }] }
run       → { tables_copied, materializations, check_results, drift, permissions, anomalies }
state     → { watermarks: [{ table, last_value, updated_at }] }
doctor    → { config, state, adapters, pipelines, state_sync }
compile   → { models: [{ name, columns, contracts }], diagnostics, timings }
lineage   → { nodes, edges }  (— or ColumnLineageOutput when `--column` set)
history   → { runs: [...] }   (— or ModelHistoryOutput when `--model` set)
metrics   → { snapshots, alerts, column_trend }

To change any of these, see the rocky-codegen skill — the Rust struct is the source of truth and regenerated bindings ship with every change.

Common issues

Issue	Fix
`source.catalog not set`	Set the relevant adapter env var (e.g. `FIVETRAN_SOURCE_CATALOG`)
`schema does not start with prefix`	Check `[pipeline.<name>.source.schema_pattern].prefix` matches your schema naming
`no connectors found`	Check `destination_id`, API credentials, and that connectors are in "connected" state
`circular dependency`	Check `depends_on` in model sidecar `.toml` files
`unsafe SQL fragment`	Metadata column values must be NULL, numbers, or single-quoted strings
`drift detected, dropping target`	Source column type changed unsafely — target recreated automatically (see `drift.rs:is_safe_type_widening()` allowlist)
`tag engine-v… already exists`	You're trying to release — see the `rocky-release` skill
`codegen drift` in CI	You edited `output.rs` without running `just codegen` — see the `rocky-codegen` skill

Build + run from source

cd engine
cargo build                      # Debug
cargo build --release            # Release (used by `just codegen` + `regen-fixtures`)
cargo run -- discover -c rocky.toml --output json
cargo run -- plan     -c rocky.toml --filter source=shopify
cargo run -- run      -c rocky.toml --filter source=shopify

Install from a release

# macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocky-data/rocky/main/engine/install.sh | bash

# Windows
iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocky-data/rocky/main/engine/install.ps1 | iex

Both scripts filter GitHub Releases by the engine-v* tag prefix.

Dagster integration

from dagster_rocky import RockyResource, load_rocky_assets
from dagster_rocky import RockyComponent

# ConfigurableResource (subprocess-based)
rocky  = RockyResource(config_path="rocky.toml")
assets = load_rocky_assets(rocky)

# State-backed component (cached discover/compile)
# In defs/rocky/defs.yaml:
#   type: dagster_rocky.RockyComponent
#   attributes:
#     config_path: rocky.toml

Three execution modes for rocky run in RockyResource:

run(...) — buffered subprocess.run, no Dagster context
run_streaming(context, ...) — Popen with stderr streaming to context.log
run_pipes(context, ...) — full Dagster Pipes via PipesSubprocessClient

See integrations/dagster/CLAUDE.md for the layer architecture.

Related skills

rocky-config (monorepo root) — Full rocky.toml authoring reference
rocky-codegen — JSON output struct cascade (Rust → Pydantic + TS)
rocky-new-cli-command — Adding a new rocky <verb>
rocky-dsl-change — Changing .rocky DSL syntax
rocky-release — Tag-namespaced release workflow
databricks / fivetran (this same engine-local skills dir) — REST API details for the two main adapters