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dbt-debugging

Testing & Quality
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Load when dbt run or dbt parse fails. Covers YML duplicate patches, ref errors, passthrough model warnings, current_date fixes, DuckDB error messages, and zero-row diagnosis.

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dbt Debugging Skill

1. Duplicate YML Patches (VERY COMMON)

dbt fails with "Duplicate patch" when the same model appears in multiple YML files. Fix in ONE pass:

  1. Glob models/**/*.yml to find all YML files
  2. Keep the entry with the full contract (descriptions, refs, columns) - usually in a subdirectory YML
  3. Remove the duplicate from schema.yml (which typically only has tests)

2. Ref Not Found

If Compilation Error: node not found for ref():

  • Check if the name is a raw DuckDB table: SELECT table_name FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_name = 'name'
  • If yes, create an ephemeral stub: 
    {{ config(materialized='ephemeral') }}
select * from main.<name>
  • If ephemeral causes CTE issues, replace {{ ref('name') }} with main.name directly

3. Passthrough Model Warning

NEVER create .sql files named after raw tables (e.g. circuits.sql, results.sql). This DESTROYS source data by replacing it with a materialized model. Fix: add schema: main to the source definition in YML instead.

4. current_date Fix

If dbt_project_map warns about current_date usage:

  1. Call get_date_boundaries - find the column marked "USE THIS"
  2. Replace current_date/now() with (SELECT MAX(<col>) FROM {{ ref('<table>') }})
  3. For package models: create models/<name>.sql, paste full SQL, replace current_date

5. ROW_NUMBER Non-Determinism

If dbt_project_map warns about ROW_NUMBER/RANK:

  1. Check if ORDER BY columns are unique within each partition
  2. If not unique, append the primary key to ORDER BY
  3. Re-run dbt run --select <model>

6. DuckDB Error Messages

ErrorFix
invalid date field formatSTRPTIME(col, '%d/%m/%Y')::DATE
Table does not existCheck actual names with describe_table
column not foundCheck exact names - case matters in DuckDB
Cannot mix TIMESTAMP and INTEGERCast both args to same type
No function matches DOUBLE / VARCHARAdd explicit CAST()
fivetran_utils is undefinedRun dbt deps (only if packages.yml exists)

7. Package Model Build Failures

If dbt run fails on a model inside dbt_packages/ with a type error (e.g., date_trunc on an INTEGER, No function matches), you MUST fix the package SQL file directly. The sandbox has no internet, so you cannot reinstall the package. Read the failing SQL, find the type mismatch, and add the appropriate CAST or conversion (e.g., to_timestamp(epoch_col) for epoch integers, CAST(col AS DATE) for type mismatches). Broken upstream models block everything downstream.

8. Zero-Row Model

Binary search: comment out WHERE clauses and JOINs one at a time to find which condition drops all rows. Most common cause: INNER JOIN where LEFT JOIN is needed.

8. Fan-Out (Too Many Rows)

  1. Diagnose: SELECT join_key, COUNT(*) FROM right_table GROUP BY 1 HAVING COUNT(*) > 1
  2. Fix A: pre-aggregate right table before joining
  3. Fix B: SELECT DISTINCT (if valid for the grain)
  4. Fix C: ROW_NUMBER() dedup pattern