DBT Deployment & CI/CD Flashcards

Which dbt artifact is essential for enabling Slim CI state comparison?

Answer: manifest.json

`manifest.json` is the compiled graph of all nodes and their checksums, which dbt diffs against to find modified nodes.

What is the best practice for the `profiles.yml` target schema in a developer environment?

Answer: Use a personal schema prefixed with the developer's name

A personal schema (e.g., `dbt_alice`) isolates each developer's models and prevents overwriting shared data.

Which command verifies that your dbt project YAML and SQL are syntactically valid without connecting to a warehouse?

Answer: dbt parse

`dbt parse` reads all project files and builds the internal graph, catching YAML syntax errors and reference issues without running queries.

What does the `on-run-start` hook in dbt_project.yml execute?

Answer: SQL run before any model or test in the job

`on-run-start` hooks run arbitrary SQL statements before any models, seeds, or tests are executed in a dbt invocation.

Which dbt command installs packages listed in packages.yml?

Answer: dbt deps

`dbt deps` downloads all packages listed in packages.yml into the `dbt_packages/` directory.

In a dbt Cloud job schedule, what format is used to define cron-based run timing?

Answer: Standard 5-field cron expressions

dbt Cloud accepts standard cron expressions (e.g., `0 6 * * *`) to schedule jobs at specific times.