Display dbt parse errors

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ and this project adheres to
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+- Display the parse error message when `dbt parse` fails.
+
 ## [0.13.1] - 2025-07-29
 
 - Fix filters being applied to wrong evaluables (#124)

src/dbt_score/cli.py

@@ -165,8 +165,8 @@ def lint(  # noqa: PLR0912, PLR0913, C901
         )
         ctx.exit(2)
 
-    except DbtParseException:
-        logger.error("dbt failed to parse project. Run `dbt parse` to investigate.")
+    except DbtParseException as exc:
+        logger.error(exc)
         ctx.exit(2)
 
     except Exception:

src/dbt_score/dbt_utils.py

@@ -21,6 +21,20 @@ class DbtNotInstalledException(Exception):
 class DbtParseException(Exception):
     """Raised when dbt parse fails."""
 
+    def __init__(self, root_cause: Any | None = None):
+        """Initialize the exception."""
+        super().__init__()
+        self.root_cause = root_cause
+
+    def __str__(self) -> str:
+        """Return a string representation of the exception."""
+        if self.root_cause:
+            return f"dbt parse failed.\n\nRoot cause: {self.root_cause!s}"
+
+        return (
+            "dbt parse failed. Root cause not found. Please run `dbt parse` manually."
+        )
+
 
 class DbtLsException(Exception):
     """Raised when dbt ls fails."""
@@ -61,7 +75,7 @@ def dbt_parse() -> "dbtRunnerResult":
         result: "dbtRunnerResult" = dbtRunner().invoke(["parse"])
 
     if not result.success:
-        raise DbtParseException("dbt parse failed.") from result.exception
+        raise DbtParseException(root_cause=result.exception)
 
     return result
 

tests/test_cli.py

@@ -52,10 +52,10 @@ def test_lint_dbt_parse_exception(caplog):
     runner = CliRunner()
 
     with patch("dbt_score.cli.dbt_parse") as mock_dbt_parse:
-        mock_dbt_parse.side_effect = DbtParseException("parsing error")
+        mock_dbt_parse.side_effect = DbtParseException()
         result = runner.invoke(lint, ["-p"], catch_exceptions=False)
     assert result.exit_code == 2
-    assert "dbt failed to parse project" in caplog.text
+    assert "dbt parse failed." in caplog.text
 
 
 def test_lint_dbt_not_installed(caplog, manifest_path):