dbt Command reference

You can run dbt using the following tools:

• In your browser with the dbt Cloud IDE
• On the command line interface using the dbt Cloud CLI or open-source dbt Core.

A key distinction with the tools mentioned, is that dbt Cloud CLI and IDE are designed to support safe parallel execution of dbt commands, leveraging dbt Cloud's infrastructure and its comprehensive features. In contrast, dbt-core doesn't support safe parallel execution for multiple invocations in the same process. Learn more in the parallel execution section.

Parallel execution

dbt Cloud allows for concurrent execution of commands, enhancing efficiency without compromising data integrity. This enables you to run multiple commands at the same time. However, it's important to understand which commands can be run in parallel and which can't.

In contrast, dbt-core doesn't support safe parallel execution for multiple invocations in the same process, and requires users to manage concurrency manually to ensure data integrity and system stability.

To ensure your dbt workflows are both efficient and safe, you can run different types of dbt commands at the same time (in parallel) — for example, dbt build (write operation) can safely run alongside dbt parse (read operation) at the same time. However, you can't run dbt build and dbt run (both write operations) at the same time.

dbt commands can be read or write commands:

Command type	Description	Example
Write	These commands perform actions that change data or metadata in your data platform. Limited to one invocation at any given time, which prevents any potential conflicts, such as overwriting the same table in your data platform at the same time.	dbt build dbt run
Read	These commands involve operations that fetch or read data without making any changes to your data platform. Can have multiple invocations in parallel and aren't limited to one invocation at any given time. This means read commands can run in parallel with other read commands and a single write command.	dbt parse dbt compile

Available commands

The following sections outline the commands supported by dbt and their relevant flags. They are available in all tools and all supported versions unless noted otherwise. You can run these commands in your specific tool by prefixing them with dbt — for example, to run the test command, type dbt test.

For information about selecting models on the command line, refer to Model selection syntax.

Commands with a ('❌') indicate write commands, commands with a ('✅') indicate read commands, and commands with a (N/A) indicate it's not relevant to the parallelization of dbt commands.

Command	Description	Parallel execution	Caveats
build	Builds and tests all selected resources (models, seeds, snapshots, tests)	❌	All tools All supported versions
cancel	Cancels the most recent invocation.	N/A	dbt Cloud CLI Requires dbt v1.6 or higher
clean	Deletes artifacts present in the dbt project	✅	All tools All supported versions
clone	Clones selected models from the specified state	❌	All tools Requires dbt v1.6 or higher
compile	Compiles (but does not run) the models in a project	✅	All tools All supported versions
debug	Debugs dbt connections and projects	✅	dbt Cloud IDE, dbt Core All supported versions
deps	Downloads dependencies for a project	✅	All tools All supported versions
docs	Generates documentation for a project	✅	All tools All supported versions
environment	Enables you to interact with your dbt Cloud environment.	N/A	dbt Cloud CLI Requires dbt v1.5 or higher
help	Displays help information for any command	N/A	dbt Core, dbt Cloud CLI All supported versions
init	Initializes a new dbt project	✅	dbt Core All supported versions
list	Lists resources defined in a dbt project	✅	All tools All supported versions
parse	Parses a project and writes detailed timing info	✅	All tools All supported versions
reattach	Reattaches to the most recent invocation to retrieve logs and artifacts.	N/A	dbt Cloud CLI Requires dbt v1.6 or higher
retry	Retry the last run dbt command from the point of failure	❌	All tools Requires dbt v1.6 or higher
run	Runs the models in a project	❌	All tools All supported versions
run-operation	Invokes a macro, including running arbitrary maintenance SQL against the database	❌	All tools All supported versions
seed	Loads CSV files into the database	❌	All tools All supported versions
show	Previews table rows post-transformation	✅	All tools All supported versions
snapshot	Executes "snapshot" jobs defined in a project	❌	All tools All supported versions
source	Provides tools for working with source data (including validating that sources are "fresh")	✅	All tools All supported versions
test	Executes tests defined in a project	✅	All tools All supported versions
Note, use the --version flag to display the installed dbt Core or dbt Cloud CLI version. (Not applicable for the dbt Cloud IDE). Available on all supported versions.