DBT Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield DBT facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which command would you run to build all models in your dbt project? → dbt run
2. What does the --empty flag do when used with dbt run? → Builds models with zero-row refs and sources to validate SQL cheaply
3. Which dbt function is used to reference a source table inside a model SQL file? → {{ source('schema', 'table') }}
4. Which config allows you to set a threshold so a test only fails if MORE than N rows are returned? → error_if
5. Which materialization type creates a permanent, physically stored table in the data warehouse on every run? → table
6. On an incremental model using the merge strategy, which config prevents duplicate records by updating existing rows? → unique_key
7. Which materialization creates no object in the warehouse and inlines the model as a CTE in downstream models? → ephemeral
8. Which command initializes a new dbt project in your working directory? → dbt init
9. Why should 'SELECT *' be avoided in dbt models for performance? → Because it retrieves unnecessary columns
10. What does the `quoting` config on a source control? → Whether column names are enclosed in quotes in generated SQL
11. An incremental model must only process new rows on subsequent runs. Which Jinja construct correctly wraps the filter so it is skipped on the first build? → {% if is_incremental() %}
12. Which dbt source property lets you override the actual database table name that a source points to? → identifier
13. Which Jinja statement would you use to set a local variable inside a dbt model? → {% set my_var = 'value' %}
14. What is the default materialization type for dbt models when none is explicitly configured? → view
15. A model's tests fail during `dbt build`. What happens to its downstream models by default? → They are skipped
16. Which materialization type is used in dbt to improve performance by only updating new or changed records? → Incremental
17. Which SQL technique improves performance by reducing the size of result sets before joins? → Filter rows before joins
18. What config key specifies the column(s) used to match existing rows in an incremental merge strategy? → unique_key
19. Which dbt Cloud job setting keeps the docs site current after production runs? → Generate docs on run
20. Which practice improves incremental model performance by avoiding unnecessary comparisons? → Use a unique_key in incremental config
21. Which dbt Core command compiles SQL without executing it against the warehouse? → dbt compile
22. Which accepted_values test parameter makes the test case-insensitive? → case_sensitive: false
23. How can you document a macro and its arguments? → Add a macros: entry in a YAML file with description and arguments
24. Why might a view-materialized model chain become slow? → Each downstream query re-executes all upstream view logic at query time
25. Which syntax correctly defines a reusable doc block in a .md file? → {% docs order_status %} ... {% enddocs %}
26. Which practice best keeps an incremental model from scanning the entire source on every run? → Wrapping a filter on a timestamp column inside an is_incremental() block
27. Which file defines the packages and dependencies required by a dbt project? → packages.yml
28. Which directory stores dbt snapshot files by default? → snapshots/
29. Where are dbt documentation files generated by default? → target/
30. Which directory in a dbt project is typically used to store static CSV data for loading into the warehouse? → data/