BigQuery targets
To configure a target model that will be written to BigQuery, reference the following sections.
Type & Format
BigQuery supports the following materialization types for target models. The type determines the underlying physical format of your target model.
| Materialization type | Description |
|---|---|
| View (default) | Rebuilt as a view on each run. Views always reflect the latest source data but don’t store any data themselves. |
| Table | Rebuilt as a table on each run. Tables are fast to query but can take longer to build. Target tables support multiple write modes. |
| Ephemeral | Not built in the database. The model’s logic is inlined into downstream models using a common table expression (CTE). Use for lightweight transformations early in your DAG. |
| Materialized View | Acts like a hybrid of a view and a table. Supports use cases similar to incremental models. Creates a materialized view in the target warehouse. |
Location
Review the location where your model will be written. Any changes you make to the Overwrite location section will be reflected in the Location that Prophecy generates.
| Location Parameter | Description | Advanced mode |
|---|---|---|
| Project ID | Google Cloud project where the model will be built. | Yes |
| Database (BigQuery dataset) | Name of the BigQuery dataset where the model will be created. Acts as the schema in BigQuery. | Yes |
| Alias | Sets the name of the resulting table or view. Defaults to the model name if not specified. | No |
Schema
Define the schema of the dataset and optionally configure additional properties.
The schema includes column names, column data types, and optional column metadata. When you expand a row in the Schema table, you can add a column description, apply column tags, and enable/disable quoting for column names.
Properties
Each property maps to a certain dbt configuration that may be generic to dbt or specific to a platform like BigQuery. If you do not add a property explicitly in the Schema tab, Prophecy uses the dbt default for that property.
| Property | Description | Config type |
|---|---|---|
| Dataset Tags | Add tags to the dataset. These tags can be used as part of the resource selection syntax in dbt. | Generic |
| Contract Enforced | Enforce a contract for the model schema, preventing unintended changes. | Generic |
| Show Docs | Control whether or not nodes are shown in the auto-generated documentation website. | Generic |
| Enabled | Control whether the model is included in builds. When a resource is disabled, dbt will not consider it as part of your project. | Generic |
| Meta | Set metadata for the table using key-value pairs. | Generic |
| Group | Assign a group to the table. | Generic |
| Persist Docs Columns | Save column descriptions in the database. | Generic |
| Persist Docs Relations | Save model descriptions in the database. | Generic |
| Cluster By | Cluster data in the table by the values of specified columns to improve query performance and reduce costs. | BigQuery |
| Partition Expiration Days | If using date or timestamp partitions, this property defines the number of days from the partition date to expiration. | BigQuery |
| Require Partition Filter | Requires anyone querying this model to specify a partition filter, otherwise their query will fail. | BigQuery |
| Time Ingestion Partitioning | Enables partitioning based on when data is ingested into the table, using BigQuery’s _PARTITIONTIME column. | BigQuery |
For more detailed information, see the dbt reference documentation.
SQL Query
Add a custom SQL query at the end of your target model using the BigQuery SQL dialect. This allows you to apply a final transformation step, which can be useful if you're importing an existing codebase and need to add conditions or filters to the final output. Custom queries support Jinja, dbt templating, and variable usage for your last-mile data processing.
You can reference any column present in the list of input ports beside the SQL query. You can only add additional input ports—the output port cannot be edited.
Write Options
The Write Options tab lets you determine how you will store your processed data and handle changes to the data over time.
| Write Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Overwrite (default) | Replaces all existing data with new data on each run. The incoming table must have the same schema as the existing table. See Partitioning for information about adding partitions to your target table. |
| Merge | Updates existing records and inserts new ones based on defined keys. Supports multiple merge strategies to handle changes accurately over time. |
Merge approaches
When you select the Merge write mode, there are multiple merge approaches to choose from. To find an example use case for each strategy, see Merge approach examples.
Specify columns
Only update specified columns during the merge. All other columns remain unchanged.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Unique Key | The key used to match existing records in the target dataset for merging. |
| Use Predicate | Lets you add conditions that specify when to apply the merge. |
| Use a condition to filter data or incremental runs | Enables applying conditions for filtering the incoming data into the table. |
| Merge Columns | Specifies which columns to update during the merge. If empty, the merge includes all columns. |
| Exclude Columns | Defines columns that should be excluded from the merge operation. |
| On Schema Change | Specifies how schema changes should be handled during the merge process.
|
SCD2
Tracks historical changes by adding new rows instead of updating existing ones. Each record will include additional columns containing start and end timestamps to indicate when a record was valid.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Unique Key | The key used to match existing records in the target dataset for merging. |
| Invalidate deleted rows | When enabled, records that match deleted rows will be marked as no longer valid. |
| Determine new records by checking timestamp column | Recognizes new records by the time from the timestamp column that you define. |
| Determine new records by looking for differences in column values | Recognizes new records based on a change of values in one or more specified columns. |
Insert and overwrite
Replace entire partitions in the target table. Only partitions including updated data will be overwritten. Other partitions will not be rebuilt.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Unique Key | The key used to match existing records in the target dataset for merging. |
| Use Predicate | Lets you add conditions that specify when to apply the merge. |
| Use a condition to filter data or incremental runs | Enables applying conditions for filtering the incoming data into the table. |
| Partition by | Defines the partitions of the target table. See Partitioning for more information. |
| On Schema Change | Specifies how schema changes should be handled during the merge process.
|
To learn more about this merge approach, see the insert overwrite strategy in the dbt documentation.
Partitioning
You can choose to partition your target table using the Partition by option. This applies to:
- Overwrite mode
- Merge mode using the Insert and overwrite merge approach
Reference the following table to learn how to set up partitions.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Column Name | The name of the column used for partitioning the target table. |
| Data Type | The data type of the partition column. Supported types: timestamp, date, datetime, and int64. |
| Partition By granularity | Applicable only to timestamp, date, or datetime data type. Defines the time-based partition granularity: hour, day, month, or year. |
| Partition Range | Applicable only to int64 data type. Specify a numeric range for partitioning using a start, end, and interval value (e.g., start= 0, end=1000, interval=10). |
Learn more about how dbt handles partitioning for BigQuery tables in Partition clause.
Data Tests
A data test is an assertion you define about a dataset in your project. Data tests are run on target models to ensure the quality and integrity of the final data that gets written to the warehouse. Learn how to build tests in Data tests.