Agent skill · data analytics · aiskillstore
dbt-transformation-patterns
Master dbt (data build tool) for analytics engineering with model organization, testing, documentation, and incremental strategies. Use when building data transformations, creating data models, or implementing analytics engineering best practices.
Why this skill is useful
Provides specific dbt model organization patterns and testing strategies that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
About 6k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 405 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
dbt Transformation Patterns Production-ready patterns for dbt (data build tool) including model organization, testing strategies, documentation, and incremental processing. When to Use This Skill Building data transformation pipelines with dbt Organizing models into staging, intermediate, and marts layers Implementing data quality tests Creating incremental models for large datasets Documenting data models and lineage Setting up dbt project structure Core Concepts 1. Model Layers (Medallion Architecture) 2. Naming Conventions Layer Prefix Example ------- -------- --------- Staging stg stgstripepayments Intermediate int intpaymentspivoted Marts dim, fct dimcustomers, fctorders Quick Start Patterns Pattern 1: Source Definitions Pattern 2: Staging Models Pattern 3: Intermediate Models Pattern 4: Mart Models (Dimensions and Facts) Pattern 5: Testing and Documentation Pattern 6: Macros and DRY Code Pattern 7: Incremental Strategies dbt Commands Best Practices Do's Use staging layer - Clean data once, use everywhere Test aggressively - Not null, unique, relationships Document everything - Column descriptions, model descriptions Use incremental - For tables > 1M rows Version control - dbt project in Git Don'ts Don't skip staging - Raw → mart is tech debt Don't hardcode dates - Use {{ var('startdate') }} Don't repeat logic - Extract to macros Don't test in prod - Use dev target Don't ignore freshness - Monitor source data Resources dbt Documentation dbt Best Practices dbt-utils Package dbt Discourse
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills aiskillstore/dbt-transformation-patterns--d098a6