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Model sources and targets

Model sources and targets vary slightly from those of a pipeline. The primary difference is that all model sources and targets must point to tables in the SQL warehouse.

Sources​

When you create a new model, you need to define an input data source. The data source can be:

  • Another model. You can drag a model from the Project tab of the left sidebar onto your canvas to use it as a source.
  • A Table gem. You can either use pre-configured tables from the Project tab of the left sidebar, or you can browse SQL warehouse tables in the Environment tab of the left sidebar.

Targets​

Target models let you define how you want to materialize your data using write formats. When you open a target model configuration, you'll see the following tabs:

  • Type & Format: Update the format of the model between different table materialization types.
  • Location: Update the location by overwriting the database, schema, or alias.
  • Schema: Make schema changes and set optional dbt properties.
  • SQL Query: Enable and create a custom SQL query to include at the end of the target model.
  • Write Options: Choose a specific write mode such as overwrite, append, and merge.

Target Model tabs

What's next​

Explore the following pages for a deep dive on model usage and configuration.