## September 2024

- **Fix**: MetricFlow updated `get_and_expire` to replace the unsupported `GETEX` command with a `GET` and conditional expiration, ensuring compatibility with Azure Redis 6.0.
- **Enhancement**: The [dbt Semantic Layer Python SDK](/docs/dbt-cloud-apis/sl-python) now supports `TimeGranularity` custom grain for metrics. This feature allows you to define custom time granularities for metrics, such as `fiscal_year` or `retail_month`, to query data using non-standard time periods.
- **New**: Use the <Constant name="copilot" /> AI engine to generate semantic model for your models, now available in beta. <Constant name="copilot" /> automatically generates documentation, tests, and now semantic models based on the data in your model, . To learn more, refer to [<Constant name="copilot" />](/docs/cloud/dbt-copilot).
- **New**: Use the new recommended syntax for [defining `foreign_key` constraints](/reference/resource-properties/constraints) using `refs`, available in the **Latest** release track in dbt Cloud. This will soon be released in dbt Core v1.9. This new syntax will capture dependencies and works across different environments.
- **Enhancement**: You can now run [Semantic Layer commands](/docs/build/metricflow-commands) commands in the [dbt Cloud IDE](/docs/cloud/studio-ide/develop-in-studio). The supported commands are `dbt sl list`, `dbt sl list metrics`, `dbt sl list dimension-values`, `dbt sl list saved-queries`, `dbt sl query`, `dbt sl list dimensions`, `dbt sl list entities`, and `dbt sl validate`. 
- **New**: Microsoft Excel, a <Constant name="semantic_layer" /> integration, is now generally available. The integration allows you to connect to Microsoft Excel to query metrics and collaborate with your team. Available for [Excel Desktop](https://pages.store.office.com/addinsinstallpage.aspx?assetid=WA200007100&rs=en-US&correlationId=4132ecd1-425d-982d-efb4-de94ebc83f26) or [Excel Online](https://pages.store.office.com/addinsinstallpage.aspx?assetid=WA200007100&rs=en-US&correlationid=4132ecd1-425d-982d-efb4-de94ebc83f26&isWac=True). For more information, refer to [Microsoft Excel](/docs/cloud-integrations/semantic-layer/excel).
- **New**: [Data health tile](/docs/explore/data-tile) is now generally available in dbt Explorer. Data health tiles provide a quick at-a-glance view of your data quality, highlighting potential issues in your data. You can embed these tiles in your dashboards to quickly identify and address data quality issues in your dbt project.
- **New**: dbt Explorer's Model query history feature is now in Preview for <Constant name="dbt" /> Enterprise customers. Model query history allows you to view the count of consumption queries for a model based on the data warehouse's query logs. This feature provides data teams insight, so they can focus their time and infrastructure spend on the worthwhile used data products. To learn more, refer to [Model query history](/docs/explore/model-query-history). 
- **Enhancement**: You can now use [Extended Attributes](/docs/dbt-cloud-environments#extended-attributes) and [Environment Variables](/docs/build/environment-variables) when connecting to the <Constant name="semantic_layer" />. If you set a value directly in the <Constant name="semantic_layer" /> Credentials, it will have a higher priority than Extended Attributes. When using environment variables, the default value for the environment will be used.  If you're using exports, job environment variable overrides aren't supported yet, but they will be soon.
- **New:** There are two new [environment variable defaults](/docs/build/environment-variables#dbt-cloud-context) &mdash; `DBT_CLOUD_ENVIRONMENT_NAME` and `DBT_CLOUD_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE`.
- **New:** The [Amazon Athena warehouse connection](/docs/cloud/connect-data-platform/connect-amazon-athena) is available as a public preview for <Constant name="dbt" /> accounts that have upgraded to [the **Latest** release track](/docs/dbt-versions/cloud-release-tracks).