Running Dbt Commands

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Show queries via dbt CLI
• Unsure which dbt executable to use
• How to format command parameters

Example prompts

• “Use the running-dbt-commands skill to format and executes dbt CLI commands, selects the correct dbt executable, and structures command parameters”
• “/running-dbt-commands”

Requirements

• Python 3

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Use MCP tools if available (dbt_build, dbt_run, dbt_show, etc.) - they handle paths, timeouts, and formatting automatically
2. 2Use build instead of run or test - test doesn't refresh the model, so testing a model change requires build. build does a run and a test…
3. 3Always use --quiet with --warn-error-options '{"error": ["NoNodesForSelectionCriteria"]}' to reduce output while catching selector typos
4. 4Always use --select - never run the entire project without explicit user approval

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit ff51758. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • dbt
  • jq
  • pip
  • uv

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use pip and uv, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Running Dbt Commands loads about 1.5k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 73 tokens; SKILL.md has 443 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~73

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~1.5k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Kilo-Org/kilo-marketplace at commit ff51758, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© Kilo-Org). 443 words, ~1,513 tokens.

name

running-dbt-commands

description

Formats and executes dbt CLI commands, selects the correct dbt executable, and structures command parameters. Use when running models, tests, builds, compiles, or show queries via dbt CLI. Use when unsure which dbt executable to use or how to format command parameters.

user-invocable

false

metadata.author

dbt-labs

# Standard command pattern
dbt build --select my_model --quiet --warn-error-options '{"error": ["NoNodesForSelectionCriteria"]}'

# Preview model output
dbt show --select my_model --limit 10

# Run inline SQL query
dbt show --inline "select * from {{ ref('orders') }}" --limit 5

# With variables (JSON format for multiple)
dbt build --select my_model --vars '{"key": "value"}'

# Full refresh for incremental models
dbt build --select my_model --full-refresh

# List resources before running
dbt list --select my_model+ --resource-type model

--select my_model              # Single model
--select staging.*             # Path pattern
--select fqn:*stg_*            # FQN pattern
--select model_a model_b       # Union (space)
--select tag:x,config.mat:y    # Intersection (comma)
--exclude my_model             # Exclude from selection

--resource-type model
--resource-type test --resource-type unit_test

dbt list --select my_model+              # Preview selection
dbt list --select my_model+ --resource-type model  # Only models
dbt list --output json                   # JSON output
dbt list --select my_model --output json --output-keys unique_id name resource_type config

dbt show --select my_model --limit 10
dbt show --inline "select * from {{ ref('orders') }} where status = 'pending'" --limit 5

--vars 'my_var: value'                              # Single
--vars '{"k1": "v1", "k2": 42, "k3": true}'         # Multiple (JSON)

# Quick status check
cat target/run_results.json | jq '.results[] | {node: .unique_id, status: .status, time: .execution_time}'

# Find failures
cat target/run_results.json | jq '.results[] | select(.status != "success")'

dbt build --select my_model --defer --state prod-artifacts

dbt build --select my_model --defer --state prod-artifacts --favor-state

dbt run --static-analysis=off
dbt run --static-analysis=unsafe

© Kilo-Org, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/dbt/skills/running-dbt-commands of Kilo-Org/kilo-marketplace.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit ff51758