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# CLI Commands
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dbt provides a comprehensive command-line interface with commands for project lifecycle management, data transformation, testing, and documentation. All commands are accessible via the `dbt` console script.
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## Core Commands
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### build
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Runs all seeds, models, snapshots, and tests in DAG order - the comprehensive execution command.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt build [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude resources by name or selector
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  --full-refresh          Drop and recreate incremental models  
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  --select TEXT           Select resources by name or selector
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### run
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Compiles SQL and executes models against the target database.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt run [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude models by name or selector
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  --full-refresh          Drop and recreate incremental models
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  --select TEXT           Select models by name or selector  
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### test
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Runs tests on deployed models to validate data quality.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt test [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude tests by name or selector
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  --select TEXT           Select tests by name or selector
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  --resource-type TEXT    Run only specified resource types
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  --store-failures        Store test failures in database tables
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### compile
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Generates executable SQL from source, model, test, and analysis files without execution.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt compile [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude resources by name or selector
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  --select TEXT           Select resources by name or selector
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  --full-refresh          Treat incremental models as table models
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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## Project Management Commands
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### init
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Initializes a new dbt project with starter files and directory structure.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt init [project_name] [options]
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Arguments:
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  project_name            Name of project to create (optional)
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Options:
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory for profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory to create project in
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  --skip-profile-setup    Skip interactive profile setup
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```
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### deps
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Installs dbt packages specified in packages.yml or dependencies.yml.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt deps [options]
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Options:
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml  
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --source TEXT          Package source (hub, git, local)
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  --lock                 Generate package-lock.yml file
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  --upgrade              Upgrade packages to latest versions
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  --add-package TEXT     Add package in format name@version
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```
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### clean
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Deletes all folders in the clean-targets list (usually target/ and dbt_packages/).
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```bash { .api }
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dbt clean [options]
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Options:
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --clean-project-files-only  Clean only project files, not profiles
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```
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### parse
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Parses the project and provides performance information about parsing time.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt parse [options]
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Options:
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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## Data Management Commands
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### seed
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Loads CSV files from the data/ directory into the data warehouse.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt seed [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude seeds by name or selector
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  --select TEXT           Select seeds by name or selector
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  --full-refresh          Drop and recreate seed tables
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  --show                  Show sample of loaded data
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### snapshot
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Executes snapshots defined in the project to capture changing data over time.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt snapshot [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude snapshots by name or selector
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  --select TEXT           Select snapshots by name or selector
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### clone
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Creates clones of selected nodes based on their location in the state manifest.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt clone [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude resources by name or selector
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  --select TEXT           Select resources by name or selector
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  --full-refresh          Force full refresh of cloned models
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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## Documentation Commands
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### docs generate
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Generates the documentation website for the project including model lineage and descriptions.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt docs generate [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude resources from documentation
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  --select TEXT           Select resources for documentation
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  --compile-docs          Compile docs blocks in models
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  --empty-catalog         Skip catalog generation (faster)
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  --static                Generate static files only
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### docs serve
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Serves the documentation website locally on a web server.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt docs serve [options]
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Options:
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  --browser              Open browser automatically
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  --host TEXT            Host address to bind (default: localhost)
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  --port INTEGER         Port to serve on (default: 8080)
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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```
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## Utility Commands
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### list / ls
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Lists resources in the project based on selection criteria.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt list [options]
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dbt ls [options]  # alias
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude resources by name or selector
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  --select TEXT           Select resources by name or selector
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  --resource-type TEXT    Filter by resource type
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  --output TEXT           Output format (name, json, path)
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  --output-keys TEXT      Keys to include in output
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### show
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Generates executable SQL for a resource or inline query and returns a preview of results without materialization.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt show [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude resources by name or selector
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  --select TEXT           Select resources by name or selector
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  --inline TEXT           Inline SQL query to execute
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  --limit INTEGER         Limit number of rows returned
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### debug
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Shows information about the dbt environment and tests database connection.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt debug [options]
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Options:
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  --connection           Test database connection only
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  --config-dir PATH      Config directory path
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### retry
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Retries nodes that failed in the previous run based on run_results.json.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt retry [options]
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Options:
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --full-refresh          Force full refresh of retried models
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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### run-operation
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Executes a named macro with optional arguments.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt run-operation <macro_name> [options]
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Arguments:
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  macro_name              Name of macro to execute
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Options:
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  --args TEXT            Arguments to pass to macro as YAML
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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## Source Commands
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### source freshness
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Checks the freshness of project sources against defined freshness criteria.
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```bash { .api }
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dbt source freshness [options]
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Options:
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  --exclude TEXT           Exclude sources by name or selector
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  --select TEXT           Select sources by name or selector
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  --output-path PATH      Path to write freshness results
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  --threads INTEGER       Number of threads to use
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  --profiles-dir PATH     Directory containing profiles.yml
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  --project-dir PATH      Directory containing dbt_project.yml
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  --target TEXT          Target profile to use
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  --vars TEXT            Supply variables as YAML string
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```
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## Global Options
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All commands support these global options:
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```bash { .api }
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Global Options:
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  --debug                Enable debug logging
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  --log-level TEXT       Log level (debug, info, warn, error)
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  --log-path PATH        Path for log files
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  --no-write-json        Skip writing run_results.json
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  --quiet               Suppress non-error output
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  --warn-error          Treat warnings as errors
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  --use-colors / --no-use-colors  Enable/disable colored output
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  --version             Show version information
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  --help               Show help message
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```
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## Usage Examples
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```bash
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# Complete project build
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dbt build --threads 4
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# Run specific models
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dbt run --select my_model+
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# Run all changed models  
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dbt run --select state:modified+
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# Test data quality
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dbt test --store-failures
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# Generate and serve docs
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dbt docs generate
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dbt docs serve --port 8080
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# Debug connection issues
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dbt debug --connection
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```