# Resource type

(Applies to dbt v1.9 and later)

The `--resource-type` and `--exclude-resource-type` flags include or exclude resource types from the `dbt build`, `dbt clone`, `dbt test`, and `dbt list` commands.

 Filtering test types with dbt test

Use the `test_type` selector to filter test types with `dbt test` — it works across all engines:

* `dbt test --select test_type:unit` — runs only unit tests
* `dbt test --select test_type:data` — runs only data tests

If you're using dbt Core v1.9+, you can also use `--resource-type`:

* `dbt test --resource-type unit_test` — runs only unit tests
* `dbt test --resource-type test` — runs only data tests

For more examples, see [test selection examples](../node-selection/test-selection-examples.md).

This means the flags enable you to specify which types of resources to include or exclude when running the commands, instead of targeting specific resources.

Note

The `--exclude-resource-type` flag is only available in dbt version 1.8 and higher. If you're using older versions, this flag won't be available.

The available resource types are:

(Applies to dbt v1.11 and later)

* [`analysis`](../../docs/build/analyses.md)
* [`exposure`](../../docs/build/exposures.md)
* [`function`](../../docs/build/udfs.md)
* [`metric`](../../docs/build/build-metrics-intro.md)
* [`model`](../../docs/build/models.md)
* [`saved_query`](../../docs/build/saved-queries.md)
* [`seed`](../../docs/build/seeds.md)
* [`semantic_model`](../../docs/build/semantic-models.md)
* [`snapshot`](../../docs/build/snapshots.md)
* [`source`](../../docs/build/sources.md)
* [`test`](../../docs/build/data-tests.md)
* [`unit_test`](../../docs/build/unit-tests.md)

## Positive vs negative filters

* `--resource-type` is a positive filter — dbt only runs the resource types selected in the command, implicitly skipping every other type.
* `--exclude-resource-type` is a negative filter — dbt starts with the full catalog of resource types and then omits the types selected in the command. dbt runs everything *except* those resource types.

You can use both flags in a command; dbt first applies the positive filter (`--resource-type`) and then removes the types listed in the negative filter (`--exclude-resource-type`). For example:

```text
dbt build --resource-type model test snapshot --exclude-resource-type snapshot
```

Note that the list of dbt resource types is mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE). This means that any `--resource-type` selection can also be achieved by excluding the other resource types using `--exclude-resource-type`, and vice versa.

## Examples

Instead of targeting specific resources, use the `--resource-type` or `--exclude-resource-type` flags to target all resources of a certain type: `dbt build --resource-type RESOURCE_TYPE`, replacing `RESOURCE_TYPE` with the resource type you want to include.

See the following sample commands for including or excluding resource types. Note that the `--exclude-resource-type` flag is only available in dbt version 1.8 and higher.

 Include resource types

### Include multiple resource types

Use the following command to include multiple resource types such as data tests and models in your build process:

Usage

```text
dbt build --resource-type test model
```

### Include all snapshots

Use the following command to only include snapshots in your dbt build process:

Usage

```text
dbt build --resource-type snapshot
```

### Include all saved queries

Use the following command to only include saved queries with the `--resource-type` flag:

Usage

```text
dbt build --resource-type saved_query
```

### Include all data tests

Use the following command to only include data tests in your build process:

Usage

```text
dbt build --resource-type test
```

(Applies to dbt v1.9 and later)

### Include only data tests during testing

To run only data tests (excluding unit tests) when using `dbt test`, use the `test_type` selector:

Usage

```text
dbt test --select test_type:data -- dbt Core and dbt Fusion engines
dbt test --resource-type test -- dbt Core only
```

 Exclude resource types

### Exclude multiple resource types

Use the following command to exclude multiple resource types such as data tests and models from your build process:

Usage

```text
dbt build --exclude-resource-type test model
```

### Exclude all unit tests

Use the following command to exclude unit tests from your dbt build process.

Usage

```text
dbt build --exclude-resource-type unit_test
```

(Applies to dbt v1.9 and later)

### Exclude unit tests during testing

To exclude unit tests when using `dbt test`, use the `test_type` selector to run only data tests:

Usage

```text
dbt test --select test_type:data -- dbt Core and dbt Fusion engines
dbt test --exclude-resource-type unit_test -- dbt Core only
```

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