Methods

Selector methods return all resources that share a common property, using the syntax method:value.

The "tag" method

The tag: method is used to select models that match a specified tag.

$ dbt run --models tag:nightly    # run all models with the `nightly` tag

The "source" method

The source method is used to select models that select from a specified source. Use in conjunction with the + operator.

$ dbt run --models source:snowplow+    # run all models that select from Snowplow sources

The "path" method

The path method is used to select models located at or under a specific path. While the path prefix is not explicitly required, it may be used to make selectors unambiguous.

# These two selectors are equivalent
dbt run --models path:models/staging/github
dbt run --models models/staging/github


# These two selectors are equivalent
dbt run --models path:models/staging/github/stg_issues.sql
dbt run --models models/staging/github/stg_issues.sql

The "package" method

▶Changelog

The package method is used to select models defined within the root project or an installed dbt package. While the package: prefix is not explicitly required, it may be used to make selectors unambiguous.

# These three selectors are equivalent
dbt run --models package:snowplow
dbt run --models snowplow
dbt run --models snowplow.*

The "config" method

▶Changelog

The config method is used to select models that match a specified node config.

$ dbt run --models config.materialized:incremental    # run all models that are materialized incrementally
$ dbt run --models config.schema:audit                # run all models that are created in the `audit` schema
$ dbt run --models config.cluster_by:geo_country      # run all models clustered by `geo_country`

The "test_type" method

▶Changelog

The test_type method is used to select tests based on their type, schema or data:

$ dbt test --models test_type:schema        # run all schema tests
$ dbt test --models test_type:data          # run all data tests

The "test_name" method

▶Changelog

The test_name method is used to select tests based on the name of the generic test that defines it. For more information about how generic tests are defined, read about tests.

$ dbt test --models test_name:unique            # run all instances of the `unique` test
$ dbt test --models test_name:equality          # run all instances of the `dbt_utils.equality` test
$ dbt test --models test_name:range_min_max     # run all instances of a custom schema test defined in the local project, `range_min_max`

The "state" method

▶Changelog

N.B. State-based selection is a powerful, complex feature. Read about known caveats and limitations to state comparison.

The state method is used to select nodes by comparing them against a previous version of the same project, which is represented by a manifest. The file path of the comparison manifest must be specified via the --state flag or DBT_ARTIFACT_STATE_PATH environment variable.

state:new: There is no node with the same unique_id in the comparison manifest

state:modified: Everything new, plus any changes to:

  • file/node contents
  • configs (materialized, bind, transient, quote, etc.)
  • descriptions (top-level and/or column-level, depending on persist_docs)
  • database representations (user-input database, schema, alias, irrespective of target + generate_x_name macros)
$ dbt test --models state:new            # run all tests on new models + and new tests on old models
$ dbt run --models state:modified        # run all models that have been modified
$ dbt ls --models state:modified     # list all modified nodes (not just models)

The "exposure" method

▶Changelog

The exposure method is used to select parent resources of a specified exposure. Use in conjunction with the + operator.

$ dbt run --models +exposure:weekly_kpis                # run all models that feed into the weekly_kpis exposure
$ dbt test --models +exposure:*                         # test all resources upstream of all exposures
$ dbt ls --select +exposure:* --resource-type source    # list all sources upstream of all exposures
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