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dbt Command reference

You can run dbt using the following tools:

A key distinction with the tools mentioned, is that dbt Cloud CLI and IDE are designed to support safe parallel execution of dbt commands, leveraging dbt Cloud's infrastructure and its comprehensive features. In contrast, dbt-core doesn't support safe parallel execution for multiple invocations in the same process. Learn more in the parallel execution section.

Parallel execution

dbt Cloud allows for parallel execution of commands, enhancing efficiency without compromising data integrity. This enables you to run multiple commands at the same time, however it's important to understand which commands can be run in parallel and which can't.

In contrast, dbt-core doesn't support safe parallel execution for multiple invocations in the same process, and requires users to manage concurrency manually to ensure data integrity and system stability.

To ensure your dbt workflows are both efficient and safe, you can run different types of dbt commands at the same time (in parallel) for example, dbt build (write operation) can safely run alongside dbt parse (read operation) at the same time. However, you can't run dbt build and dbt run (both write operations) at the same time.

dbt commands can be read or write commands:

Command typeDescription
Example
WriteThese commands perform actions that change data or metadata in your data platform.

Limited to one invocation at any given time, which prevents any potential conflicts, such as overwriting the same table in your data platform at the same time.
dbt build
dbt run
ReadThese commands involve operations that fetch or read data without making any changes to your data platform.

Can have multiple invocations in parallel and aren't limited to one invocation at any given time. This means read commands can run in parallel with other read commands and a single write command.
dbt parse
dbt compile

Available commands

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