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 schema tests based on the name of the test_ macro that defines it. For more information about how schema tests are defined, read about custom schema 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
[β] Beta Feature

This is net-new functionality in v0.18.0, with iterative improvements to come. If you encounter unexpected behavior, please post in Slack or open an issue.

The state method is used to select nodes by comparing them against a supplied 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)

Read about known caveats and limitations to state comparison.

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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