Creating your own dbt package - Try It Yourself

Creating your own dbt package

📖 Scenario: You work as a data analyst in a company that uses dbt (data build tool) to manage data transformations. You want to create your own reusable dbt package to organize your SQL models and share them with your team.

🎯 Goal: Build a simple dbt package with a model that selects data from a source table, configure the package, and run it to see the output.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a dbt package folder structure

Write a simple SQL model file

Add a dbt_project.yml configuration file

Run the dbt model and display the results

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Data teams use dbt packages to organize and share data transformation logic efficiently.

💼 Career

Knowing how to create and manage dbt packages is valuable for data analysts and engineers working with modern data stacks.

1

Set up the dbt package folder and model

Create a folder named my_dbt_package. Inside it, create a folder named models. Inside models, create a file named my_first_model.sql with the exact content: select 1 as id, 'dbt package' as description.

dbt

# Create the folder structure and the SQL model file with the given content

Hint

Remember to create folders my_dbt_package and models inside it. Then create the SQL file with the exact select statement.

2

Add the dbt_project.yml configuration file

Inside the my_dbt_package folder, create a file named dbt_project.yml. Add the exact content:
name: 'my_dbt_package' version: '1.0' config-version: 2 profile: 'default' model-paths: ['models'] target-path: 'target'

dbt

-- File: my_dbt_package/models/my_first_model.sql
select 1 as id, 'dbt package' as description

# Create dbt_project.yml file inside my_dbt_package with the given content

Hint

Make sure the dbt_project.yml file is inside my_dbt_package folder and has the exact keys and values.

3

Run the dbt model

Run the dbt command to build the model inside the my_dbt_package folder. Use the command dbt run --project-dir my_dbt_package to execute the model.

dbt

-- Run the dbt command below to build the model
# Your code here

Hint

Use the exact command dbt run --project-dir my_dbt_package to run your model.

4

Display the model output

After running the model, query the built table named my_first_model in your data warehouse or use dbt run-operation to check the output. For this exercise, print the expected output: id | description 1 | dbt package.

dbt

# Print the expected output below
# Your code here

Hint

Print the exact output lines as shown to simulate the model result.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of creating your own dbt package?

easy

A. To reuse and share data models easily across projects

B. To write SQL queries faster

C. To create dashboards automatically

D. To store raw data files

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of dbt packages

   dbt packages are designed to bundle data models and logic for reuse.

2. Step 2: Identify the main benefit

   Sharing and reusing models saves time and keeps projects consistent.

3. Final Answer:

   To reuse and share data models easily across projects -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   dbt package purpose = reuse/share models [OK]

Hint: Think: Why share code? To reuse it easily [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing packages with dashboards
• Thinking packages store raw data
• Believing packages speed up SQL writing only

2. Which file do you edit to add a new dbt package to your main project?

easy

A. models.sql

B. dbt_project.yml

C. profiles.yml

D. packages.yml

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall where packages are declared

   dbt uses packages.yml to list external or local packages.

2. Step 2: Differentiate from other config files

   dbt_project.yml configures the project itself, not packages.

3. Final Answer:

   packages.yml -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Package list file = packages.yml [OK]

Hint: Add packages in packages.yml, not dbt_project.yml [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding packages in dbt_project.yml
• Confusing profiles.yml with packages.yml
• Trying to add packages in SQL files

3. Given this packages.yml snippet:

packages:
  - local: ../my_dbt_package

What command installs this package into your project?

easy

A. dbt install

B. dbt build

C. dbt deps

D. dbt run

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the command for package installation

   dbt uses dbt deps to download and install packages listed in packages.yml.

2. Step 2: Differentiate from other commands

   dbt run runs models, dbt install is not a valid command.

3. Final Answer:

   dbt deps -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Install packages with dbt deps [OK]

Hint: Use dbt deps to install packages listed in packages.yml [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using dbt install (not a valid command)
• Confusing dbt run with package install
• Trying dbt build instead of dbt deps

4. You created a package but when running dbt deps, you get an error: "Could not find package at path '../my_package'". What is the likely cause?

medium

A. The relative path in packages.yml is incorrect or folder missing

B. You forgot to run dbt run first

C. The package name is missing in dbt_project.yml

D. You need to delete the profiles.yml file

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the error message

   "Could not find package at path" means dbt cannot locate the folder specified.

2. Step 2: Check the path in packages.yml

   Relative paths must be correct and folder must exist for local packages.

3. Final Answer:

   The relative path in packages.yml is incorrect or folder missing -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Path error = wrong folder path [OK]

Hint: Check folder path in packages.yml matches actual location [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Running dbt run before dbt deps
• Editing dbt_project.yml instead of packages.yml
• Deleting unrelated config files

5. You want to use a model named customer_summary from your custom package my_package. Which is the correct way to reference it in your SQL model?

hard

A. select * from {{ ref('my_package', 'customer_summary') }}

B. select * from {{ ref('my_package.customer_summary') }}

C. select * from {{ ref('customer_summary') }}

D. select * from {{ ref('my_package__customer_summary') }}

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall how to reference models from packages

   Use ref('package_name.model_name') to refer to models in packages.

2. Step 2: Check each option's syntax

   select * from {{ ref('my_package.customer_summary') }} uses the correct single-argument ref syntax with dot notation for packages.

3. Final Answer:

   select * from {{ ref('my_package.customer_summary') }} -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Package model ref = ref('package.model') [OK]

Hint: Use ref('package.model') to access package models [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using ref('package', 'model') syntax (that's for sources)
• Forgetting the package name in ref
• Using double underscore instead of dot