- I don't like to have to put {{ ref('source') }} everywhere. I think the tool should parse dependencies automatically. I wrote more about this here: https://maxhalford.github.io/blog/dbt-ref-rant/ - I don't like the idea each .sql file has to have an associated .yml file. It feels better to have everything in one place. For instance, with lea you can add a @UNIQUE tag as an SQL comment to unit test a column for uniqueness.

Moreover, although dbt brought a shift in the way we do data (which is great) it's very straightforward under the hood. It boils down to parsing queries, organizing them in a DAG, and processing said DAG. dbt feels bloated to me. Also, it seems to me some of the newer cool features are going to be put behind a paywall (e.g. metric layers)