Model naming conventions in dbt - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Model Naming Conventions in dbt

📖 Scenario: You are working on a data project using dbt (data build tool). To keep your project organized and easy to understand, you need to follow clear naming rules for your models. This helps your team quickly find and use the right data tables.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to create dbt models with proper names following common naming conventions. You will create model files with specific names and write simple SQL inside them.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create dbt model files with correct names

Write simple SQL SELECT statements inside models

Understand the difference between staging and final models by naming

Use lowercase letters and underscores in model names

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

In real data projects, following naming conventions helps teams understand the role of each model quickly and avoid confusion.

💼 Career

Data analysts and engineers use dbt model naming conventions to build maintainable and scalable data pipelines.

1

Create a staging model file

Create a dbt model file named stg_customers.sql with a simple SQL query that selects all columns from the raw_customers table.

dbt

-- Write a SQL SELECT statement to select all columns from raw_customers
-- Your code here

Hint

Use select * from raw_customers inside the stg_customers.sql file.

2

Create a final model file

Create a dbt model file named customers.sql that selects all columns from the staging model stg_customers.

dbt

-- Write a SQL SELECT statement to select all columns from stg_customers
-- Your code here

Hint

Use the {{ ref('stg_customers') }} function to refer to the staging model inside customers.sql.

3

Add a configuration for materialization

In the customers.sql model file, add a config block at the top to set the materialization to table.

dbt

-- Add a config block to set materialized='table'

select * from {{ ref('stg_customers') }}
# Your code here

Hint

Use {{ config(materialized='table') }} at the top of the model file.

4

Print the final model name and materialization

Print the final model name customers and its materialization table as a Python dictionary.

dbt

{{ config(materialized='table') }}

select * from {{ ref('stg_customers') }}

# Print the model info below
# Your code here

Hint

Use print({'model_name': 'customers', 'materialization': 'table'}) to show the info.

Practice

1. Which of the following is the best practice for naming a dbt model?

easy

A. Use clear, lowercase names with underscores to separate words

B. Use uppercase letters and spaces between words

C. Use special characters like # or $ in the name

D. Use very long names without any separators

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand dbt naming conventions

   dbt recommends using clear, lowercase names with underscores to separate words for readability and consistency.

2. Step 2: Evaluate each option

   Use clear, lowercase names with underscores to separate words follows the recommended style. Options A, B, and D do not follow best practices.

3. Final Answer:

   Use clear, lowercase names with underscores to separate words -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Clear lowercase with underscores = C [OK]

Hint: Choose lowercase with underscores for clarity [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using uppercase letters in model names
• Including spaces or special characters
• Using inconsistent naming styles

2. Which of these is a valid dbt model name?

easy

A. customer_orders

B. SalesReport2023

C. Inventory-List

D. Profit$Summary

Solution

1. Step 1: Check naming rules for dbt models

   Model names should be lowercase and use underscores to separate words, avoiding special characters and uppercase letters.

2. Step 2: Analyze each option

   customer_orders uses lowercase letters and underscores only, making it valid. Options B, C, and D contain uppercase letters or special characters.

3. Final Answer:

   customer_orders -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Lowercase with underscores = A [OK]

Hint: Pick lowercase with underscores, no special chars [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using uppercase letters in model names
• Including hyphens or special characters
• Starting names with numbers

3. Given the following dbt model names, which one best describes a model that summarizes monthly sales data?
monthly_sales_summary
salesMonthlySummary
monthly-sales-summary
MonthlySalesSummary

medium

A. MonthlySalesSummary

B. salesMonthlySummary

C. monthly-sales-summary

D. monthly_sales_summary

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the best naming style for dbt models

   dbt prefers lowercase names with underscores to separate words for clarity and consistency.

2. Step 2: Compare each model name

   monthly_sales_summary uses lowercase with underscores and clearly describes the model. Options A and B use camel case or uppercase letters, and C uses hyphens, which are not recommended.

3. Final Answer:

   monthly_sales_summary -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Lowercase with underscores = D [OK]

Hint: Look for lowercase with underscores describing content [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using camelCase or PascalCase
• Using hyphens instead of underscores
• Ignoring clarity in names

4. You have a dbt model named CustomerOrders. What is the issue with this name and how can you fix it?

medium

A. It uses underscores incorrectly; rename to customerorders

B. It uses uppercase letters; rename to customer_orders

C. It is too short; rename to customer_orders_summary

D. It uses special characters; rename to customer-orders

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify naming convention violation

   The model name uses uppercase letters, which is against dbt's lowercase naming convention.

2. Step 2: Apply correct naming style

   Rename the model to lowercase letters with underscores: customer_orders.

3. Final Answer:

   It uses uppercase letters; rename to customer_orders -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Uppercase letters not allowed = A [OK]

Hint: Rename uppercase to lowercase with underscores [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring uppercase letters in names
• Removing underscores instead of fixing case
• Adding unnecessary special characters

5. You want to create a dbt model that calculates the total revenue per product category for the last year. Which model name follows best practices and clearly describes the model's purpose?

hard

A. totalRevenuePerCategoryLastYear

B. Total_Revenue_Per_Category_Last_Year

C. total_revenue_per_category_last_year

D. revenue-category-last-year

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand naming best practices

   dbt model names should be lowercase, use underscores, and clearly describe the model's content.

2. Step 2: Evaluate each option

   total_revenue_per_category_last_year uses lowercase letters and underscores, and clearly describes the model. Options A and C use uppercase or camel case, and D uses hyphens.

3. Final Answer:

   total_revenue_per_category_last_year -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Lowercase with underscores and clear description = B [OK]

Hint: Use lowercase with underscores and descriptive words [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using camelCase or PascalCase
• Using hyphens instead of underscores
• Using uppercase letters