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Available from dbt v1.12 or with the dbt "Latest" release track.

latest_version_pointer Beta

Project file

dbt_project.yml

models:
  <resource-path>:
    +latest_version_pointer:
      enabled: true | false
      alias: <string>

Property file

models/schema.yml

models:
  - name: [<model-name>]
    config:
      latest_version_pointer:
        enabled: true | false
        alias: <string>

SQL config

models/<model_name>.sql

{{ config(
    latest_version_pointer={
        "enabled": true | false,
        "alias": "<string>"
    }
) }}

Definition

Beta feature

The latest_version_pointer config is a beta feature in dbt Core v1.12.

The latest_version_pointer config creates a view named after a versioned model's base name (for example, dim_customers) that always points to the latest versioned relation (for example, dim_customers_v2). The view is created after the model with is_latest_version = true materializes successfully and is skipped for all other versions.

You can also enable this feature globally for all versioned models by setting the latest_version_pointer_enabled_by_default flag to true in dbt_project.yml:

dbt_project.yml

flags:
  latest_version_pointer_enabled_by_default: true

latest_version_pointer accepts two optional sub-keys for per-model control:

Key	Type	Default	Description
enabled	boolean	—	Enables or disables the pointer view for this model. Overrides the latest_version_pointer_enabled_by_default project flag when set; defers to the flag when not set.
alias	string	Model base name	Custom name for the pointer view. Overrides the default base name. For more information, see Alias customization.

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Alias customization

By default, the pointer view uses the model's base name (for example, dim_customers). You can customize this in two ways:

• Per model: Set latest_version_pointer.alias in the model config.
• Globally: Override the generate_latest_version_pointer_alias macro in your project. This macro follows the same pattern as generate_alias_name.

To prevent naming collisions, dbt raises an error if the latest version's alias is the same as the pointer name. For example, the following configuration would cause an error because both dim_customers_v2 and the pointer view would resolve to dim_customers:

models:
  - name: dim_customers
    versions:
      - v: 1
      - v: 2
        config:
          alias: dim_customers  # collides with the pointer view name
    config:
      latest_version_pointer:
        enabled: true

To fix this, select one of the following options:

• Remove the alias (recommended)
• Disable the latest version pointer for that model
• Set a unique alias
• Override the generate_latest_version_pointer_alias macro

Remove the alias (recommended)

Remove the alias from the latest version and let the automatic pointer handle it:

config:
  alias: dim_customers

Disable the latest version pointer for that model

This approach is immediately backward-compatible for pre-existing alias configs:

        config:
          alias: dim_customers
    config:
      latest_version_pointer:
        enabled: false

Set a unique alias

        config:
          alias: dim_customers_latest

Override the generate_latest_version_pointer_alias macro

Override the generate_latest_version_pointer_alias macro to use a different naming convention globally:

macros/generate_latest_version_pointer_alias.sql

{% macro generate_latest_version_pointer_alias(custom_alias_name=none, node=none) -%}
    {{ node.name ~ "_latest" }}
{%- endmacro %}

Related documentation

• Model versions
• Pointing to the latest version
• latest_version_pointer_enabled_by_default flag
• versions
• latest_version

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