Export and Publishing Surfaces

Semantic models created in Solid can be exported to multiple destinations, making Solid a vendor-neutral semantic hub rather than a closed system. Every export starts from the same source: the Solid YAML representation of your model.

Solid YAML — the portable model

Solid YAML is the canonical, portable format for a semantic model. It captures the full model definition — tables, columns, joins, metrics, custom instructions, and example SQL — in a structured file you can download, version, and move to other systems.

Download Solid YAML from the Versions panel on any semantic model. Every saved version includes a YAML download link, so you always have a snapshot of exactly what was certified at that point. See Semantic Model Versioning for the full version history workflow.

A Solid YAML file includes these asset types:

Asset type	What it contains
Tables & columns	Selected warehouse tables, column metadata, and descriptions
Joins / relationships	How tables connect — declared and inferred join paths
Metrics	Business metric definitions with their SQL logic
Custom instructions	Model-specific context and disambiguation rules
Example SQL	Certified query patterns from your query history

Solid YAML is the foundation for every other export format listed below. When you push to a destination, Solid translates this representation into the target system's native format.

Export destinations

Export Format	Target System	Use Case
Solid YAML	Any system	Portable model definition; download from version history or push on save
Snowflake Semantic View	Snowflake	Push semantics into Snowflake's native semantic layer for Cortex Analyst and other Snowflake-native consumers
DBT YAML	dbt Core / dbt Cloud	Push generated semantic models into a dbt semantic layer repo; dbt Cloud then serves the semantics to BI tools like Sigma
Tableau Data Source (.tds)	Tableau	Push validated semantics into Tableau for dashboard consumption
LookML YAML	Looker	Push semantics into Looker's semantic layer for Looker-native BI
MCP tools	Any MCP-compatible agent	Runtime SQL generation and semantic metadata access for any agent platform

By warehouse

Warehouse	What Solid exports
Databricks	Solid YAML
Snowflake	Solid YAML plus Snowflake Semantic Views — see Enable Snowflake Cortex AI for Solid
Other warehouses (Redshift, BigQuery, Fabric, and more)	Solid YAML

Snowflake is the only warehouse where Solid also creates native semantic objects in the target system. For all other warehouses, Solid YAML is the portable export.

Push on save — your choice

Solid can push model changes to your configured export destinations in two ways:

Mode	Behavior
Automatic push on save	Every time a model is saved, Solid pushes the updated definition to configured destinations
Manual export	Solid only pushes when you explicitly trigger an export

Which mode to use is a customer configuration choice. Teams that want their Snowflake Semantic Views or dbt repo to stay in sync with Solid in real time typically enable push on save. Teams that prefer to review changes before they land in a downstream system can export manually from the model editor or download YAML from version history.

Model ownership

Semantic models are owned by the customer. Solid does not retain exclusive control over exported models — you can push models to your chosen destinations independently, download YAML at any time, and use the definitions in any system that accepts them.