Model Materializations

Covers dbt's model materialization strategies, including table, view, incremental, and ephemeral, and how to configure materializations at the project and individual model level.

Materializations are strategies that determine how dbt™ persists your models in the data warehouse. Think of them as different ways to store and update your transformed data.

Available Materialization Types

Type	Description	Best For
View	A saved query that runs on-demand	Simple transformations, real-time data needs
Table	A physically stored copy of your data	BI tools, complex queries, frequent access
Incremental	A table that updates only new/changed data	Large datasets, frequent updates
Ephemeral	Code that's injected into dependent models	Large datasets, frequent updates

If you don't specify a materialization, dbt™ will create your model as a view by default.

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Configuring Materializations

You can configure materializations in two ways:

1. Project Level (dbt_project.yml)

dbt_project.yml

models:
  your_project:
    finance:
      +materialized: table    # All finance models as tables
    staging:
      +materialized: view     # All staging models as views

2. Model Level (in .sql files)

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

select * from ...

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Choosing the Right Materialization

Consider these factors when selecting a materialization:

Factor	Consideration
🔄 Data Freshness	How current does the data need to be?
⚡ Query Performance	How current does the data need to be?
📊 Data Volume	How much data are you transforming?
💰 Resource Cost	What are your compute/storage constraints?

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Learn more about each materialization type in their dedicated documentation pages:

• View Materialization

• Table Materialization

• Incremental Materialization

• Ephemeral Materialization