Handbook contents

Handbook

Choose the route you need

The handbook can be read in order, but it is also a working reference. Most people do not need every page at once; begin with the route that matches the work in front of you and follow the linked detail when you need it.

I am new to dbt

Build the full mental model: why the workflow exists, who contributes, what the project creates and how a change reaches production.

I need to answer a new question

Begin with the request, discover what the project already knows, then design and test only the genuinely missing change.

I need to make a safe PR

Use the practical route for setup, local builds, evidence, review and changing models that already have consumers.

I am responsible for production

Understand the project workflows, then use the shared run history to investigate health, impact and recovery.

The complete learning sequence

Read straight through when you want the full project mental model. The order moves from purpose and data, through planning and design, to delivery and production operation.

  1. 1Why dbt?From SQL scripts in folders to a tested, versioned pipeline · ~8 min
  2. 2Analysts and dbtEngineering practices, analytical authority and the hats people wear · ~10 min
  3. 3The data we modelThe datasets, the person spine, legal bases and the core models built from them · ~11 min
  4. 4Data layersWhere source cleaning, domain logic, marts and data products belong · ~24 min
  5. 5The DAGHow source() and ref() resolve, and how they form the dependency graph · ~7 min
  6. 6The model taxonomyRead any model name and use its family to navigate the project · ~7 min
  7. 7Finding modelsDiscover and reuse the project's accumulated domain knowledge · ~12 min
  8. 8Designing modelsDefine concepts independently, then compose useful analytical models · ~30 min
  9. 9Tests & documentationMake model contracts visible, testable and safe to reuse · ~18 min
  10. 10Git & pull requestsTurn analytical changes into reviewable, tested team decisions · ~17 min
  11. 11From merge to productionTargets, validation, deploys and the scheduled builds that keep models fresh · ~11 min
  12. 12Observing productionUse Elementary run history to understand health, failures and impact · ~13 min