# Dbt Migration Oracle

> Transform Oracle DDL (views, tables, stored procedures, packages) into production-quality dbt models Use when this capability is needed.

- Skill: `tomevault-io/dbt-migration-oracle` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/dbt-migration-oracle`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/dbt-migration-oracle/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/dbt-migration-oracle

---


# Oracle to dbt Model Conversion

## Purpose

Transform Oracle DDL (views, tables, stored procedures, packages) into production-quality dbt models
compatible with Snowflake, maintaining the same business logic and data transformation steps while
following dbt best practices.

## When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when users ask about:

- Converting Oracle views or tables to dbt models
- Migrating Oracle stored procedures or packages to dbt
- Translating Oracle PL/SQL syntax to Snowflake
- Generating schema.yml files with tests and documentation
- Handling Oracle-specific syntax conversions (ROWNUM/ROWID, CONNECT BY, DBMS\_\* packages,
  sequences)

---

## Task Description

You are a database engineer working for a hospital system. You need to convert Oracle DDL to
equivalent dbt code compatible with Snowflake, maintaining the same business logic and data
transformation steps while following dbt best practices.

## Input Requirements

I will provide you the Oracle DDL to convert.

## Audience

The code will be executed by data engineers who are learning Snowflake and dbt.

## Output Requirements

Generate the following:

1. One or more dbt models with complete SQL for every column
2. A corresponding schema.yml file with appropriate tests and documentation
3. A config block with materialization strategy
4. Explanation of key changes and architectural decisions
5. Inline comments highlighting any syntax that was converted

## Conversion Guidelines

### General Principles

- Replace procedural logic with declarative SQL where possible
- Break down complex procedures into multiple modular dbt models
- Implement appropriate incremental processing strategies
- Maintain data quality checks through dbt tests
- Use Snowflake SQL functions rather than macros whenever possible

### Sample Response Format

```sql
-- dbt model: models/[domain]/[target_schema_name]/model_name.sql
{{ config(materialized='view') }}

/* Original Object: [owner].[object_name]
   Source Platform: Oracle
   Purpose: [brief description]
   Conversion Notes: [key changes]
   Description: [SQL logic description] */

WITH source_data AS (
    SELECT
        customer_id::INTEGER AS customer_id,
        customer_name::VARCHAR(100) AS customer_name,
        account_balance::NUMBER(18,2) AS account_balance,
        -- Oracle DATE includes time, converted to TIMESTAMP_NTZ
        created_date::TIMESTAMP_NTZ AS created_date
    FROM {{ ref('upstream_model') }}
),

transformed_data AS (
    SELECT
        customer_id,
        UPPER(customer_name)::VARCHAR(100) AS customer_name_upper,
        account_balance,
        created_date,
        CURRENT_TIMESTAMP()::TIMESTAMP_NTZ AS loaded_at
    FROM source_data
)

SELECT
    customer_id,
    customer_name_upper,
    account_balance,
    created_date,
    loaded_at
FROM transformed_data
```

```yaml
## models/[domain]/[target_schema_name]/_models.yml
version: 2

models:
  - name: model_name
    description: "Table description; converted from Oracle [Original object name]"
    columns:
      - name: customer_id
        description: "Primary key - unique customer identifier"
        tests:
          - unique
          - not_null
      - name: customer_name_upper
        description: "Customer name in uppercase"
      - name: account_balance
        description: "Current account balance; Foreign key to OTHER_TABLE"
        tests:
          - relationships:
              to: ref('OTHER_TABLE')
              field: OTHER_TABLE_KEY
      - name: created_date
        description: "Date the customer record was created"
      - name: loaded_at
        description: "Timestamp when the record was loaded by dbt"
```

```yaml
## dbt_project.yml (excerpt)
models:
  my_project:
    +materialized: view
    domain_name:
      +schema: target_schema_name
```

### Specific Translation Rules

#### dbt Specific Requirements

- If the source is a view, use a view materialization in dbt
- Include appropriate dbt model configuration (materialization type)
- Add documentation blocks for a schema.yml
- Add descriptions for tables and columns
- Include relevant tests
- Define primary keys and relationships
- Assume that upstream objects are models
- Comprehensively provide all the columns in the output
- Break complex procedures into multiple models if needed
- Implement appropriate incremental strategies for large tables
- Use Snowflake SQL functions rather than macros whenever possible
- **Always cast columns with explicit precision/scale** using `::TYPE` syntax (e.g.,
  `column_name::VARCHAR(100)`, `amount::NUMBER(18,2)`) to ensure output matches expected data types
- **Always provide explicit column aliases** for clarity and documentation

#### Performance Optimization

- Suggest clustering keys if needed
- Recommend materialization strategy (view vs table)
- Identify potential performance improvements

#### Oracle to Snowflake Syntax Conversion

- Convert ROWNUM to ROW_NUMBER() window function
- Replace CONNECT BY with recursive CTEs
- Convert NVL/NVL2 to COALESCE/IFF
- Translate (+) outer join syntax to ANSI joins
- Replace DECODE with CASE expressions
- Convert sequences to Snowflake sequences or IDENTITY
- Handle DATE type (which includes time in Oracle)
- Replace DBMS\_\* packages with Snowflake alternatives
- Convert PL/SQL procedures to Snowflake Scripting
- Add inline SQL comments highlighting any syntax that was converted

#### Key Data Type Mappings

| Oracle                           | Snowflake     | Notes                      |
| -------------------------------- | ------------- | -------------------------- |
| NUMBER                           | NUMBER        |                            |
| INTEGER/INT                      | INTEGER       | Alias for NUMBER(38,0)     |
| FLOAT/BINARY_FLOAT/BINARY_DOUBLE | FLOAT         |                            |
| CHAR/VARCHAR2/NCHAR/NVARCHAR2    | CHAR/VARCHAR  | VARCHAR2 → VARCHAR         |
| CLOB/NCLOB                       | VARCHAR       | Max 16MB                   |
| BLOB/RAW/LONG RAW                | BINARY        | Max 8MB                    |
| DATE                             | TIMESTAMP_NTZ | Oracle DATE includes time! |
| TIMESTAMP                        | TIMESTAMP_NTZ |                            |
| TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE         | TIMESTAMP_TZ  |                            |
| TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE   | TIMESTAMP_LTZ |                            |
| INTERVAL types                   | VARCHAR       |                            |
| ROWID/UROWID                     | VARCHAR       |                            |
| JSON                             | VARIANT       |                            |
| XMLType                          | VARIANT       |                            |

#### Key Syntax Conversions

```sql
-- ROWNUM → ROW_NUMBER()
WHERE ROWNUM <= 10 → QUALIFY ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY 1) <= 10

-- CONNECT BY → Recursive CTE
SELECT ... START WITH ... CONNECT BY PRIOR → WITH RECURSIVE cte AS (...)

-- NVL/NVL2 → COALESCE/IFF
NVL(col, 0) → COALESCE(col, 0)
NVL2(col, 'yes', 'no') → IFF(col IS NOT NULL, 'yes', 'no')

-- DECODE → CASE
DECODE(col, 1, 'A', 2, 'B', 'C') → CASE col WHEN 1 THEN 'A' WHEN 2 THEN 'B' ELSE 'C' END

-- (+) outer join → ANSI JOIN
FROM a, b WHERE a.id = b.id(+) → FROM a LEFT JOIN b ON a.id = b.id

-- SYSDATE/SYSTIMESTAMP → CURRENT_DATE/CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
SYSDATE → CURRENT_DATE()

-- DUAL table → Optional in Snowflake
SELECT 1 FROM DUAL → SELECT 1

-- TO_DATE format differences
TO_DATE('2024-01-15', 'YYYY-MM-DD') → TO_DATE('2024-01-15', 'YYYY-MM-DD')
```

#### Common Function Mappings

| Oracle                   | Snowflake                                 | Notes             |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------- |
| `NVL(a, b)`              | `NVL(a, b)` or `COALESCE(a, b)`           | Same              |
| `NVL2(a, b, c)`          | `IFF(a IS NOT NULL, b, c)`                |                   |
| `DECODE(col, ...)`       | `CASE col WHEN ... END`                   |                   |
| `ROWNUM`                 | `ROW_NUMBER() OVER (...)`                 | Use with QUALIFY  |
| `SYSDATE`                | `CURRENT_DATE()` or `CURRENT_TIMESTAMP()` |                   |
| `SYSTIMESTAMP`           | `CURRENT_TIMESTAMP()`                     |                   |
| `TO_CHAR(d, fmt)`        | `TO_CHAR(d, fmt)`                         | Format codes same |
| `TO_DATE(s, fmt)`        | `TO_DATE(s, fmt)`                         | Format codes same |
| `TO_NUMBER(s)`           | `TO_NUMBER(s)`                            | Same              |
| `TRUNC(d)`               | `DATE_TRUNC('day', d)`                    | For dates         |
| `TRUNC(n, d)`            | `TRUNC(n, d)`                             | For numbers, same |
| `ADD_MONTHS(d, n)`       | `DATEADD('month', n, d)`                  |                   |
| `MONTHS_BETWEEN(d1, d2)` | `DATEDIFF('month', d2, d1)`               | Arg order differs |
| `SUBSTR(s, pos, len)`    | `SUBSTR(s, pos, len)`                     | Same              |
| `INSTR(s, search)`       | `POSITION(search IN s)`                   |                   |
| `REGEXP_LIKE(s, p)`      | `REGEXP_LIKE(s, p)`                       | Same              |
| `LISTAGG(col, delim)`    | `LISTAGG(col, delim)`                     | Same              |
| `DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE`   | Remove or use SYSTEM$LOG                  |                   |

#### Dependencies

- List any upstream dependencies
- Suggest model organization in dbt project

---

## Validation Checklist

- [] Every DDL statement has been accounted for in the dbt models
- [] SQL in models is compatible with Snowflake
- [] Oracle-specific syntax converted (ROWNUM, CONNECT BY, NVL, sequences, DATE type handling)
- [] All business logic preserved
- [] All columns included in output
- [] Data types correctly mapped
- [] Functions translated to Snowflake equivalents
- [] Materialization strategy selected
- [] Tests added
- [] SQL logic description complete
- [] Table descriptions added
- [] Column descriptions added
- [] Dependencies correctly mapped
- [] Incremental logic (if applicable) verified
- [] Inline comments added for converted syntax

---

## Related Skills

- $dbt-migration - For the complete migration workflow (discovery, planning, placeholder models,
  testing, deployment)
- $dbt-modeling - For CTE patterns and SQL structure guidance
- $dbt-testing - For implementing comprehensive dbt tests
- $dbt-architecture - For project organization and folder structure
- $dbt-materializations - For choosing materialization strategies (view, table, incremental,
  snapshots)
- $dbt-performance - For clustering keys, warehouse sizing, and query optimization
- $dbt-commands - For running dbt commands and model selection syntax
- $dbt-core - For dbt installation, configuration, and package management
- $snowflake-cli - For executing SQL and managing Snowflake objects

---

## Supported Source Database

| Database   | Key Considerations                                                                                                       |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Oracle** | PL/SQL, DBMS\_\* packages, ROWNUM/ROWID, CONNECT BY, sequences, collections/records, wrapped objects, DATE includes time |

## Translation References

Detailed syntax translation guides are available in the `translation-references/` folder.

> **Copyright Notice:** The translation reference documentation in this repository is derived from
> [Snowflake SnowConvert Documentation](https://docs.snowflake.com/en/migrations/snowconvert-docs)
> and is © Copyright Snowflake Inc. All rights reserved. Used for reference purposes only.

### Reference Index

- [Basic Elements Of Oracle SQL Data Types Any Types](translation-references/oracle-basic-elements-of-oracle-sql-data-types-any-types.md)
- [Basic Elements Of Oracle SQL Data Types Oracle Built In Data Types](translation-references/oracle-basic-elements-of-oracle-sql-data-types-oracle-built-in-data-types.md)
- [Basic Elements Of Oracle SQL Data Types Readme](translation-references/oracle-basic-elements-of-oracle-sql-data-types-readme.md)
- [Basic Elements Of Oracle SQL Data Types Rowid Types](translation-references/oracle-basic-elements-of-oracle-sql-data-types-rowid-types.md)
- [Basic Elements Of Oracle SQL Data Types Spatial Types](translation-references/oracle-basic-elements-of-oracle-sql-data-types-spatial-types.md)
- [Basic Elements Of Oracle SQL Data Types User Defined Types](translation-references/oracle-basic-elements-of-oracle-sql-data-types-user-defined-types.md)
- [Basic Elements Of Oracle SQL Data Types Xml Types](translation-references/oracle-basic-elements-of-oracle-sql-data-types-xml-types.md)
- [Basic Elements Of Oracle SQL Literals](translation-references/oracle-basic-elements-of-oracle-sql-literals.md)
- [Built In Packages](translation-references/oracle-built-in-packages.md)
- [ETL BI Repointing Power BI Oracle Repointing](translation-references/oracle-etl-bi-repointing-power-bi-oracle-repointing.md)
- [Functions Custom UDFS](translation-references/oracle-functions-custom_udfs.md)
- [Functions Readme](translation-references/oracle-functions-readme.md)
- [PL SQL To Javascript Helpers](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-javascript-helpers.md)
- [PL SQL To Javascript Readme](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-javascript-readme.md)
- [PL SQL To Snowflake Scripting Collections And Records](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-snowflake-scripting-collections-and-records.md)
- [PL SQL To Snowflake Scripting Create Function](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-snowflake-scripting-create-function.md)
- [PL SQL To Snowflake Scripting Create Procedure](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-snowflake-scripting-create-procedure.md)
- [PL SQL To Snowflake Scripting Cursor](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-snowflake-scripting-cursor.md)
- [PL SQL To Snowflake Scripting DML Statements](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-snowflake-scripting-dml-statements.md)
- [PL SQL To Snowflake Scripting Helpers](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-snowflake-scripting-helpers.md)
- [PL SQL To Snowflake Scripting Packages](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-snowflake-scripting-packages.md)
- [PL SQL To Snowflake Scripting Readme](translation-references/oracle-pl-sql-to-snowflake-scripting-readme.md)
- [Pseudocolumns](translation-references/oracle-pseudocolumns.md)
- [Overview (README)](translation-references/oracle-readme.md)
- [SQL Plus](translation-references/oracle-sql-plus.md)
- [SQL Queries And Subqueries Joins](translation-references/oracle-sql-queries-and-subqueries-joins.md)
- [SQL Queries And Subqueries Selects](translation-references/oracle-sql-queries-and-subqueries-selects.md)
- [SQL Translation Reference Create Materialized View](translation-references/oracle-sql-translation-reference-create-materialized-view.md)
- [SQL Translation Reference Create Table](translation-references/oracle-sql-translation-reference-create-table.md)
- [SQL Translation Reference Create View](translation-references/oracle-sql-translation-reference-create-view.md)
- [SQL Translation Reference Create Type](translation-references/oracle-sql-translation-reference-create_type.md)
- [SQL Translation Reference Readme](translation-references/oracle-sql-translation-reference-readme.md)
- [Subqueries](translation-references/oracle-subqueries.md)

---
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