buster.yml Reference

Complete reference for the buster.yml configuration file.

File Location

The file must be named buster.yml or buster.yaml and placed in your repository root.

Complete Schema

# Required: At least one project
projects:
  - name: string              # Required
    data_source: string       # Required
    database: string          # Optional (required for some warehouses)
    schema: string            # Required
    include:                  # Optional
      - "**/*.yml"
    exclude:                  # Optional
      - "**/draft-*.yml"

# Optional: Paths to agent files
agents:
  - .buster/agents/my-agent.yml

# Optional: Query logs writeback
logs:
  data_source: string         # Optional
  database: string            # Required
  schema: string              # Required
  table_name: string          # Optional: defaults to "buster_query_logs"

# Optional: Data quality monitors
monitors:
  - name: string              # Required
    type: string              # Required
    schedule: string          # Required
    data_source: string       # Optional
    enabled: boolean          # Optional: defaults to true

# Optional: Default data source for monitors
data_source: string

# Optional: Path to dbt project
dbt_project_path: string

Fields

projects

array

required

List of project configurations. At least one project is required.

projects:
  - name: analytics
    data_source: postgres_prod
    schema: public

Show Project fields

name

string

required

Unique identifier for the project.

name: analytics

data_source

string

required

Name of the data source configured in the Buster platform. Must match exactly.

data_source: postgres_prod

database

string

Database name. Required for some data sources (Snowflake, BigQuery).

database: analytics_db

schema

string

required

Schema name where your models reside.

schema: public

include

array

Glob patterns for files to include. Defaults to ["**/*.yml", "**/*.yaml"].

include:
  - "models/**/*.yml"

exclude

array

Glob patterns for files to exclude. Takes precedence over include.

exclude:
  - "**/draft-*.yml"
  - "**/_*.yml"

agents

array

Paths to agent YAML files, relative to buster.yml.

agents:
  - .buster/agents/documentation.yml
  - .buster/agents/pr-reviewer.yml

See Agent YAML Reference for agent file format.

logs

object

Configure query logs writeback to store Buster query history in your warehouse.

logs:
  database: analytics
  schema: logs
  table_name: buster_query_logs

Show Logs fields

data_source

string

Data source for logs. Defaults to the first available if omitted.

database

string

required

Database name for storing logs.

schema

string

required

Schema name for storing logs.

table_name

string

Table name for logs. Defaults to buster_query_logs.

monitors

array

Data quality monitors that run on a schedule to detect schema changes, data anomalies, and staleness.

monitors:
  - name: daily_schema_check
    type: schema_drift
    schedule: "0 9 * * *"
    enabled: true

  - name: hourly_freshness
    type: freshness
    schedule: hourly

  - name: volume_check
    type: volume_anomaly
    schedule: daily

Show Monitor fields

name

string

required

Unique name for the monitor.

type

string

required

Monitor type. Available types:

Type	Description
`schema_drift`	Detects changes to database schema (added/removed columns, type changes)
`json_drift`	Detects structural changes in JSONB/JSON column contents
`volume_anomaly`	Detects unusual data volume patterns (unexpected row count changes)
`freshness`	Checks data staleness by comparing latest timestamps against thresholds

schedule

string

required

When to run: daily, hourly, or a cron expression.

# Named schedules
schedule: daily    # Runs at midnight UTC
schedule: hourly   # Runs at the top of each hour

# Cron expressions
schedule: "0 9 * * *"      # Daily at 9 AM UTC
schedule: "0 */6 * * *"    # Every 6 hours
schedule: "0 9 * * 1-5"    # Weekdays at 9 AM UTC

data_source

string

Data source for this monitor. Uses top-level data_source if omitted.

enabled

boolean

Whether the monitor is active. Defaults to true.

data_source

string

Default data source for all monitors.

data_source: postgres_prod

dbt_project_path

string

Path to your dbt project root, relative to buster.yml. If omitted, Buster searches for dbt_project.yml automatically.

dbt_project_path: ./dbt

Examples

Minimal

projects:
  - name: analytics
    data_source: postgres_prod
    schema: public

With Agents

projects:
  - name: analytics
    data_source: postgres_prod
    schema: public

agents:
  - .buster/agents/documentation.yml
  - .buster/agents/pr-reviewer.yml

Multiple Data Sources

projects:
  - name: production
    data_source: snowflake_prod
    database: analytics
    schema: marts

  - name: staging
    data_source: snowflake_staging
    database: analytics_dev
    schema: marts

agents:
  - .buster/agents/documentation.yml

Full Configuration

projects:
  - name: analytics
    data_source: postgres_prod
    database: analytics
    schema: public
    include:
      - "models/**/*.yml"
    exclude:
      - "**/draft-*.yml"

agents:
  - .buster/agents/documentation.yml
  - .buster/agents/pr-reviewer.yml

logs:
  database: analytics
  schema: logs
  table_name: buster_query_logs

monitors:
  - name: daily_schema_check
    type: schema_drift
    schedule: "0 9 * * *"
    enabled: true

  - name: hourly_freshness
    type: freshness
    schedule: hourly

  - name: json_structure_check
    type: json_drift
    schedule: daily

  - name: volume_anomaly_check
    type: volume_anomaly
    schedule: "0 */6 * * *"

data_source: postgres_prod

dbt_project_path: ./dbt

Project Structure

Recommended repository structure:

my-repo/
├── buster.yml              # Main configuration
├── .buster/
│   └── agents/
│       ├── documentation.yml
│       └── pr-reviewer.yml
├── models/
│   ├── staging/
│   └── marts/
└── dbt_project.yml

Deploying

Deploy your configuration:

buster deploy

Validate without deploying:

buster deploy --dry-run

Introduction

Guides

Examples

Resources

buster.yml Reference

File Location

Complete Schema

Fields

projects

agents

logs

monitors

data_source

dbt_project_path

Examples

Minimal

With Agents

Multiple Data Sources

Full Configuration

Project Structure

Deploying

Introduction

Guides

Examples

Resources

​File Location

​Complete Schema

​Fields

​projects

​agents

​logs

​monitors

​data_source

​dbt_project_path

​Examples

​Minimal

​With Agents

​Multiple Data Sources

​Full Configuration

​Project Structure

​Deploying

File Location

Complete Schema

Fields

projects

agents

logs

monitors

data_source

dbt_project_path

Examples

Minimal

With Agents

Multiple Data Sources

Full Configuration

Project Structure

Deploying