# profiles.yml reference | DRE

> Every key of profiles.yml: connections, destinations and their targets.

You're reading the docs for DRE 0.2 (v0.2.2). 0.3 adds messages, several outputs per report and when:, and changes nothing you wrote. [This page for 0.5](https://getdre.com/docs/reference-profiles/) · [New in 0.5](https://getdre.com/docs/new-in-0.5/)

# profiles.yml reference

Connections and destinations, in `profiles.yml`: what reports read from and where outputs go. Kept outside the project (`~/.dre`, `--profiles-dir` or `DRE_PROFILES_DIR`). Every profile lists its targets (environments). Each profile the run uses picks one: `--target`, else `DRE_TARGET` (either sets every profile), else the profile’s own `target`, else `dev`; a used profile without that entry is an error.

Where: `profiles.yml`.

For editor autocomplete and validation, add this as the first line of the file ([editor setup](https://getdre.com/docs/v0.2/editor-setup/)):

```yaml
# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://getdre.com/schemas/v0.2/profiles.schema.json
```

## Keys

Key

Type

Default

Description

`connections`

map

Database connections, referenced by `default_profile`, `profile:` (report, query, Set, folder `+profile`) and a source’s `profile`.

`sources`

map

DRE 0.1’s name for `connections:`. Still read in 0.2.x, with a warning: rename it to `connections:`.

`destinations`

map

Delivery targets, referenced by `output.destination.profile`.

## `connections.<name>`

A named connection with one entry per target (environment).

Key

Type

Default

Description

`target`

string

This profile’s entry when neither `--target` nor `DRE_TARGET` is set (dbt’s key). Default: `dev`. It doesn’t change `target.name`, the run’s target.

`targets` (required)

map

The environments of this connection, by name (e.g. `dev`, `prod`).

## `connections.<name>.targets.<name>`

One target of a profile: a connection or delivery configuration. `type` names the plugin; every other key is a field of that plugin (see the plugins reference), and secrets belong in `{{ env_var('NAME') }}`.

Key

Type

Default

Description

`type` (required)

string

The plugin type of the connection, e.g. `duckdb`, `postgres`, `databricks`, `sftp`, `s3`. `local` needs no plugin.

_other keys_

Options of the plugin that handles this block; see [Plugins](https://getdre.com/docs/v0.2/plugins/).

## `destinations.<name>`

A named destination with one entry per target (environment).

Key

Type

Default

Description

`targets` (required)

map

The environments of this destination, by name (e.g. `dev`, `prod`). An entry is a delivery configuration, or `{deliver: false}` to deliver nowhere on that target.

`target`

string

This profile’s entry when neither `--target` nor `DRE_TARGET` is set (dbt’s key). Default: `dev`. It doesn’t change `target.name`, the run’s target.

## `destinations.<name>.targets.<name>`

A destination entry is a delivery configuration (`type` and the plugin’s fields, as for a connection), or `{deliver: false}`: it deliberately delivers nowhere. The output stays in the target path, the run logs it, and `run_results.json` records the delivery as `not_delivered`. Destinations only.

Key

Type

Default

Description

`deliver` (required)

`false`

`false`: this target delivers nowhere. Takes no other keys.

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Sources reference](https://getdre.com/docs/v0.2/reference-sources/)