Understanding the dbt build command: How it works and when to use it

Introduction

In dbt, one of the most essential commands is dbt build. In this tutorial, we’ll dive into the dbt build command, exploring its syntax, functionality, and practical usage. Since this topic is relevant for the dbt Analytics Engineering Certification Exam, this guide will be a valuable resource on your way passing the exam. 👨‍🎓

💡Explanation of dbt build

The dbt build command is a powerful combination of multiple dbt commands. It not only runs and tests your models, but also builds your snapshots and seeds — all in a single step. Specifically, it includes:

• Run Model (dbt run)
• Execute Tests (dbt test)
• Perform Snapshots (dbt snapshot)
• Load Seeds (dbt seed)

This means you don’t need to run each command individually — dbt build handles the entire process for you, following the DAG order from left to right.

📝 Basic Syntax

The basic syntax for the dbt buildcommand is the following:

dbt build

When you run this command in your terminal, dbt will build all models in your project by default in DAG order.

⚙️ Specific options

The dbt build command supports several options that let you customize what gets built. Here are 9 commonly used options:

1) Build single model

To build a single model, use the --select flag followed by the model name:

dbt build --select model_name

2) Build multiple models

To build multiple models, use the --select flag followed by the model names:

dbt build --select model_name1 model_name2 model_name3

3) Exclude model

To exclude one or more models from being built, use the --exclude flag followed by the model name(s):

dbt build --exclude model_name

4) Build models within a path

To build all models within a specific path, use the --select flag followed by the path to the models: