Node selector methods

Selector methods return all resources that share a common property, using the syntax method:value. While it is recommended to explicitly denote the method, you can omit it (the default value will be one of path, file or fqn).

Many of the methods below support Unix-style wildcards:

Wildcard	Description
*	matches any number of any characters (including none)
?	matches any single character
[abc]	matches one character given in the bracket
[a-z]	matches one character from the range given in the bracket

For example:

dbt list --select "*.folder_name.*"
dbt list --select "package:*_source"

access

The access method selects models based on their access property.

dbt list --select "access:public"      # list all public models
dbt list --select "access:private"       # list all private models
dbt list --select "access:protected"       # list all protected models

config

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

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

While most config values are strings, you can also use the config method to match boolean configs, dictionary keys, and values in lists.

For example, given a model with the following configurations:

{{ config(
  materialized = 'incremental',
  unique_key = ['column_a', 'column_b'],
  grants = {'select': ['reporter', 'analysts']},
  meta = {"contains_pii": true},
  transient = true
) }}

select ...

You can select using any of the following:

dbt ls -s config.materialized:incremental
dbt ls -s config.unique_key:column_a
dbt ls -s config.grants.select:reporter
dbt ls -s config.meta.contains_pii:true
dbt ls -s config.transient:true

exposure

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

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

file

The file method can be used to select a model by its filename, including the file extension (.sql).

# These are equivalent
dbt run --select "file:some_model.sql"
dbt run --select "some_model.sql"
dbt run --select "some_model"

fqn

The fqn method is used to select nodes based off their "fully qualified names" (FQN) within the dbt graph. The default output of dbt list is a listing of FQN. The default FQN format is composed of the project name, subdirectories within the path, and the file name (without extension) separated by periods.

dbt run --select "fqn:some_model"
dbt run --select "fqn:your_project.some_model"
dbt run --select "fqn:some_package.some_other_model"
dbt run --select "fqn:some_path.some_model"
dbt run --select "fqn:your_project.some_path.some_model"

group

The group method is used to select models defined within a group.

dbt run --select "group:finance" # run all models that belong to the finance group.

metric

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

dbt build --select "+metric:weekly_active_users"       # build all resources upstream of weekly_active_users metric
dbt ls    --select "+metric:*" --resource-type source  # list all source tables upstream of all metrics

package

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 --select "package:snowplow"
dbt run --select "snowplow"
dbt run --select "snowplow.*"

path

The path method is used to select models/sources defined at or under a specific path. Model definitions are in SQL/Python files (not YAML), and source definitions are in YAML files. While the path prefix is not explicitly required, it may be used to make selectors unambiguous.

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

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

resource_type

Use the resource_type method to select nodes of a particular type (model, test, exposure, and so on). This is similar to the --resource-type flag used by the dbt ls command.

dbt build --select "resource_type:exposure"    # build all resources upstream of exposures
dbt list --select "resource_type:test"         # list all tests in your project
dbt list --select "resource_type:source"       # list all sources in your project

result

The result method is related to the state method described above and can be used to select resources based on their result status from a prior run. Note that one of the dbt commands [run, test, build, seed] must have been performed in order to create the result on which a result selector operates. You can use result selectors in conjunction with the + operator.

dbt run --select "result:error" --state path/to/artifacts # run all models that generated errors on the prior invocation of dbt run
dbt test --select "result:fail" --state path/to/artifacts # run all tests that failed on the prior invocation of dbt test
dbt build --select "1+result:fail" --state path/to/artifacts # run all the models associated with failed tests from the prior invocation of dbt build
dbt seed --select "result:error" --state path/to/artifacts # run all seeds that generated errors on the prior invocation of dbt seed.

saved_query

The saved_query method selects saved queries.

dbt list --select "saved_query:*"                    # list all saved queries 
dbt list --select "+saved_query:orders_saved_query"  # list your saved query named "orders_saved_query" and all upstream resources

semantic_model

The semantic_model method selects semantic models.

dbt list --select "semantic_model:*"        # list all semantic models 
dbt list --select "+semantic_model:orders"  # list your semantic model named "orders" and all upstream resources

source

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

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

source_status

Another element of job state is the source_status of a prior dbt invocation. After executing dbt source freshness, for example, dbt creates the sources.json artifact which contains execution times and max_loaded_at dates for dbt sources. You can read more about sources.json on the 'sources' page.

The following dbt commands produce sources.json artifacts whose results can be referenced in subsequent dbt invocations:

• dbt source freshness

After issuing one of the above commands, you can reference the source freshness results by adding a selector to a subsequent command as follows:

# You can also set the DBT_STATE environment variable instead of the --state flag.
dbt source freshness # must be run again to compare current to previous state
dbt build --select "source_status:fresher+" --state path/to/prod/artifacts

state

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_STATE environment variable.

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

state:modified: All new nodes, plus any changes to existing nodes.

dbt test --select "state:new" --state path/to/artifacts      # run all tests on new models + and new tests on old models
dbt run --select "state:modified" --state path/to/artifacts  # run all models that have been modified
dbt ls --select "state:modified" --state path/to/artifacts   # list all modified nodes (not just models)

Because state comparison is complex, and everyone's project is different, dbt supports subselectors that include a subset of the full modified criteria:

• state:modified.body: Changes to node body (e.g. model SQL, seed values)
• state:modified.configs: Changes to any node configs, excluding database/schema/alias
• state:modified.relation: Changes to database/schema/alias (the database representation of this node), irrespective of target values or generate_x_name macros
• state:modified.persisted_descriptions: Changes to relation- or column-level description, if and only if persist_docs is enabled at each level
• state:modified.macros: Changes to upstream macros (whether called directly or indirectly by another macro)
• state:modified.contract: Changes to a model's contract, which currently include the name and data_type of columns. Removing or changing the type of an existing column is considered a breaking change, and will raise an error.

Remember that state:modified includes all of the criteria above, as well as some extra resource-specific criteria, such as modifying a source's freshness or quoting rules or an exposure's maturity property. (View the source code for the full set of checks used when comparing sources, exposures, and executable nodes.)

There are two additional state selectors that complement state:new and state:modified by representing the inverse of those functions:

• state:old — A node with the same unique_id exists in the comparison manifest
• state:unmodified — All existing nodes with no changes

These selectors can help you shorten run times by excluding unchanged nodes. Currently, no subselectors are available at this time, but that might change as use cases evolve.

tag

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

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

test_name

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

The test_type

unit_test

version

The version method selects versioned models based on their version identifier and latest version.

dbt list --select "version:latest"      # only 'latest' versions
dbt list --select "version:prerelease"  # versions newer than the 'latest' version
dbt list --select "version:old"         # versions older than the 'latest' version

dbt list --select "version:none"        # models that are *not* versioned