begin

Available in dbt Cloud Versionless and dbt Core v1.9 and higher.

Definition

Set the begin config to the timestamp value at which your microbatch model data should begin — at the point the data becomes relevant for the microbatch model. You can configure begin for a model in your dbt_project.yml file, property YAML file, or config block. The value for begin must be a string representing an ISO formatted date OR date and time.

Examples

The following examples set 2024-01-01 00:00:00 as the begin config for the user_sessions model.

Example in the dbt_project.yml file:

dbt_project.yml

models:
  my_project:
    user_sessions:
      +begin: "2024-01-01 00:00:00"

Example in a properties YAML file:

models/properties.yml

models:
  - name: user_sessions
    config:
      begin: "2024-01-01 00:00:00"

Example in sql model config block:

models/user_sessions.sql

{{ config(
    begin='2024-01-01 00:00:00'
) }}