Skip to main content
💡Did you know...
Available from dbt v1.12 or with the dbt "Latest" release track.

on_errorBeta

dbt_project.yml
models:
  <resource-path>:
    +on_error: skip_children | continue

Definition​

Beta feature

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

The on_error config controls what happens to downstream (child) models when a model fails during a run. This config accepts two values:

  • skip_children (default): All downstream models are skipped when the model fails.
  • continue: Downstream models continue running when the model fails, instead of being skipped.

Example​

Set on_error: continue when downstream models can still run meaningfully even if an upstream model fails (for example, when they have fallback logic or independent data sources).

models/my_model.sql
{{ config(
    materialized='table',
    on_error='continue'
) }}

select 1 as id

When on_error is set to continue on a model that fails, dbt runs its downstream models rather than skipping them. The failed model itself still appears as an error in the run results.

The --fail-fast flag takes precedence over on_error: continue. When --fail-fast is set, dbt stops at the first failure and skips all remaining models, regardless of their on_error configuration.

Behavior with multiple upstream models​

When a model has multiple upstream models, skip_children takes precedence over continue. If any failed upstream model uses skip_children, the downstream model is skipped — even if other failed upstream models use continue.

For example, consider a DAG where model_c depends on both model_a and model_b:

  • model_a uses on_error: skip_children
  • model_b uses on_error: continue

The following table shows how model_c behaves based on the outcome of its upstream models:

model_a result (skip_children)model_b result (continue)model_c behavior
SuccessSuccessRuns
ErrorSuccessSkipped
SuccessErrorRuns
ErrorErrorSkipped

When model_a errors, model_c is always skipped because model_a uses skip_children. When only model_b errors, model_c still runs because model_b uses continue, which does not block downstream models.

Was this page helpful?

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

0
Loading