# About dbt clone command

The `dbt clone` command clones selected nodes from the [specified state](../node-selection/syntax.md#establishing-state) to the target schema(s). This command makes use of the `clone` materialization:

* If your data platform supports zero-copy cloning of tables (Snowflake, Databricks, or BigQuery), and this model exists as a table in the source environment, dbt will create it in your target environment as a clone.
* Otherwise, dbt will create a simple pointer view (`select * from` the source object)
* By default, `dbt clone` will not recreate pre-existing relations in the current target. To override this, use the `--full-refresh` flag.
* You may want to specify a higher number of [threads](../../docs/running-a-dbt-project/using-threads.md) to decrease execution time since individual clone statements are independent of one another.

The `clone` command is useful for:

* blue/green continuous deployment (on data warehouses that support zero-copy cloning tables)
* cloning current production state into development schema(s)
* handling incremental models in dbt CI jobs (on data warehouses that support zero-copy cloning tables)
* testing code changes on downstream dependencies in your BI tool

```bash
# clone all of my models from specified state to my target schema(s)
dbt clone --state path/to/artifacts

# clone one_specific_model of my models from specified state to my target schema(s)
dbt clone --select "one_specific_model" --state path/to/artifacts

# clone all of my models from specified state to my target schema(s) and recreate all pre-existing relations in the current target
dbt clone --state path/to/artifacts --full-refresh

# clone all of my models from specified state to my target schema(s), running up to 50 clone statements in parallel
dbt clone --state path/to/artifacts --threads 50
```

### When to use `dbt clone` instead of [deferral](../node-selection/defer.md)?

Unlike deferral, `dbt clone` requires some compute and creation of additional objects in your data warehouse. In many cases, deferral is a cheaper and simpler alternative to `dbt clone`. However, `dbt clone` covers additional use cases where deferral may not be possible.

For example, by creating actual data warehouse objects, `dbt clone` allows you to test out your code changes on downstream dependencies *outside of dbt* (such as a BI tool).

As another example, you could `clone` your modified incremental models as the first step of your dbt CI job to prevent costly `full-refresh` builds for warehouses that support zero-copy cloning.

## Cloning in dbt

You can clone nodes between states in dbt using the `dbt clone` command. This is available in the [Studio IDE](../../docs/platform/studio-ide/develop-in-studio.md) and the [dbt CLI](../../docs/platform/dbt-cli-installation.md) and relies on the [`--defer`](../node-selection/defer.md) feature. For more details on defer in dbt, read [Using defer in dbt](../../docs/platform/about-defer.md).

* **Using dbt CLI** — The `dbt clone` command in the dbt CLI automatically includes the `--defer` flag. This means you can use the `dbt clone` command without any additional setup.

* **Using Studio IDE** — To use the `dbt clone` command in the Studio IDE, follow these steps before running the `dbt clone` command:

  * Set up your **Production environment** and have a successful job run.

  * Enable **Defer to production** by toggling the switch in the lower-right corner of the command bar.

    [![Select the 'Defer to production' toggle on the bottom right of the command bar to enable defer in the Studio IDE.](/img/docs/dbt-platform/defer-toggle.png?v=2 "Select the 'Defer to production' toggle on the bottom right of the command bar to enable defer in the Studio IDE.")](#)Select the 'Defer to production' toggle on the bottom right of the command bar to enable defer in the Studio IDE.

  * Run the `dbt clone` command from the command bar.

Check out [this Developer blog post](https://docs.getdbt.com/blog/to-defer-or-to-clone) for more details on best practices when to use `dbt clone` vs. deferral.

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