[FAQ] dbt command not found after installation

[AsherJD-io]

Course

data-engineering-zoomcamp

Question

After installing dbt, running dbt build returns:

Command 'dbt' not found

How do I fix this?

Answer

This usually happens because dbt was installed inside a virtual environment that is not activated.

Steps to fix:

1. Activate your virtual environment:

   source ~/venvs/zoomcamp/bin/activate

2. Verify dbt is installed inside it:

   which dbt

   It should return something like:
   ~/venvs/zoomcamp/bin/dbt

3. If dbt is not installed, install it inside the activated environment:

   pip install dbt-bigquery

4. Confirm installation:

   dbt --version

If you want dbt available globally (not recommended), ensure the installation path is added to your PATH variable.

Checklist

• I have searched existing FAQs and this question is not already answered
• The answer provides accurate, helpful information
• I have included any relevant code examples or links

[github-actions]

✅ FAQ NEW proposal created in PR #192

Please review and approve the changes.