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{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"DiscussionForumPosting","headline":"dbt integration: Validate entity column data type is appropriate","articleBody":"## Context\nPR #5827 added dbt integration that creates Entity objects from dbt model columns.\n\n## Problem\nNo validation that the entity column has an appropriate data type for use as an entity key. Entity keys should typically be:\n- STRING / VARCHAR\n- INT / INT64 / BIGINT  \n- UUID (if supported)\n\nBut the code would accept any column type including:\n- FLOAT / DOUBLE (non-deterministic for joins)\n- BYTES (not suitable for entity keys)\n- TIMESTAMP (rarely appropriate)\n\n## Current Behavior\n```python\n# In dbt_import.py:191-197\nif entity_column not in column_names:\n    click.echo(warning)\n    continue\n# No type checking!\n```\n\n## Proposed Solution\nAdd validation and warning:\n\n```python\nentity_col = next((c for c in model.columns if c.name == entity_column), None)\nif entity_col:\n    normalized_type = entity_col.data_type.upper()\n    valid_entity_types = ['STRING', 'TEXT', 'VARCHAR', 'INT', 'INT32', 'INT64', 'INTEGER', 'BIGINT', 'UUID']\n    \n    if not any(t in normalized_type for t in valid_entity_types):\n        click.echo(\n            f\"{Fore.YELLOW}Warning: Entity column '{entity_column}' has type \"\n            f\"'{entity_col.data_type}' which may not be suitable for entity keys.\"\n            f\" Recommended types: STRING, INT64{Style.RESET_ALL}\"\n        )\n```\n\n## Edge Cases to Handle\n- FLOAT columns (should warn strongly)\n- ARRAY columns (invalid for entities)\n- Complex/nested types (invalid)\n\n## Related\n- PR #5827","author":{"url":"https://github.com/YassinNouh21","@type":"Person","name":"YassinNouh21"},"datePublished":"2026-01-16T20:12:28.000Z","interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":"https://schema.org/CommentAction","userInteractionCount":0},"url":"https://github.com/5876/feast/issues/5876"}