[CT-3264] [Feature] Persist docs from data platform to dbt

[bethanyhipple-dbtlabs]

Is this your first time submitting a feature request?

• I have read the expectations for open source contributors
• I have searched the existing issues, and I could not find an existing issue for this feature
• I am requesting a straightforward extension of existing dbt functionality, rather than a Big Idea better suited to a discussion

Describe the feature

Currently we are able to persist documentation from dbt to the data platform with the persist docs config. However, if the source tables are already documented in the data platform, it would be great to have that documentation show up either in dbt yml (maybe through the generate_source macro in the code_gen package) or just show up in the doc site/explorer.

Who will this benefit?

Both dbt developers and stakeholders will benefit. Developers don't have to copy paste docs and stakeholders can have the documentation they need in the dbt docs.

Are you interested in contributing this feature?

no

[jtcohen6]

just show up in the doc site/explorer

This is what I would expect — and I think it should already be possible!

Our catalog queries already ask for table/column comments (e.g. here & here in dbt-snowflake), and stick them in catalog.json, so it's just a matter of displaying them when a user-defined description isn't available.

It looks like this has already been tracked over in dbt-docs (although the issue + PR went stale):

• [CT-221] [Feature] Add comment for table and column from the database when generating docs dbt-docs#251
• Use column.comment from catalog/database if column.description is missing dbt-docs#263

Let's follow up with the team building Explorer :)

In the meantime, I'm going to close this one - I don't think there's a dbt-core change we need to make.