# Null-safe equality (equals macro)

| enable\_truthy\_nulls\_equals\_macro | dbt **Latest** | dbt Core |
| ------------------------------------ | -------------- | -------- |
| Introduced                           | 2025.02        | 1.9.0    |
| Matured (default → `true`)           | —              | —        |
| Removed                              | —              | —        |

The `enable_truthy_nulls_equals_macro` flag is `false` by default. Setting it to `true` in your `dbt_project.yml` enables null-safe equality in the dbt [equals](../../dbt-jinja-functions/cross-database-macros.md#equals) macro, which is used in incremental and snapshot materializations.

By default, the `equals()` macro follows SQL's [three-valued logic (3VL)](https://modern-sql.com/concept/three-valued-logic), so `NULL = NULL` evaluates to `UNKNOWN` rather than `TRUE`.

When the `enable_truthy_nulls_equals_macro` flag is enabled, the `equals()` macro uses the semantics of the [`IS NOT DISTINCT FROM`](https://modern-sql.com/feature/is-distinct-from) operator with two `NULL` values treated as equal.

To enable the flag, add it under `flags` in `dbt_project.yml`:

dbt\_project.yml

```yml
flags:
  enable_truthy_nulls_equals_macro: true
```

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