dbt adapter not installed (dbt-snowflake / dbt-bigquery) in CI

The profile declares type: snowflake (or bigquery, redshift, postgres) but the matching adapter package is not installed, so dbt cannot load the plugin. Each warehouse needs its own dbt-<adapter> package.

What this error means

dbt run or dbt debug fails with "Runtime Error: Could not find adapter type snowflake!" because only dbt-core was installed, not the warehouse adapter.

dbt

Runtime Error
  Could not find adapter type snowflake!

Common causes

Only dbt-core was installed

CI ran pip install dbt-core, which does not include any warehouse adapter, so the type named in the profile has no plugin.

The wrong adapter package for the warehouse

The installed adapter does not match type: in profiles.yml, so dbt still cannot resolve the requested adapter.

How to fix it

Install the adapter that matches your warehouse

Pin the adapter package matching the type: in profiles.yml.
Install it in CI alongside dbt-core (it pulls a compatible core).
Run dbt debug to confirm the adapter loads.

Terminal

pip install "dbt-snowflake==1.8.*"
# or dbt-bigquery / dbt-redshift / dbt-postgres

Pin the adapter in requirements

Keep the adapter in a requirements file so every CI run installs the correct plugin.

requirements-dbt.txt

# requirements-dbt.txt
dbt-snowflake==1.8.3

How to prevent it

Install dbt-<adapter> for your warehouse, not just dbt-core.
Pin the adapter version in a requirements file used by CI.
Run dbt debug so a missing adapter fails before models run.