diff

Compares schemas and optionally row-level data between two build contexts: two targets (e.g. prod:dev) in standard mode, or two virtual environments when virtual mode is enabled. See Data Diffs for detailed usage.

Usage

sqb diff <FROM>:<TO> <mode> [flags]

The first argument is a positional FROM:TO range. Exactly one mode is required: --full, --schema-only, or --bounded <duration>. Full and bounded row comparisons require the model to define unique_key. Bounded mode uses the model’s cursor and falls back to a full row comparison when no cursor is configured.

Flags

Flag	Description
`--full`	Compare both schema and all row data
`--schema-only`	Compare column names and types only
`--bounded`	Compare row data within a recent window (e.g. `14d`, `6h`)
`--verbose`, `-v`	Show more example rows (default: 3, verbose: 10)
`--max-column-examples`	Override maximum examples per changed column
`--max-row-only-examples`	Override maximum examples for side-only rows
`--no-sql-validation`	Skip compile-time SQL syntax validation
`--select`, `-s`	Select specific models to diff (required in v1)
`--exclude`	Exclude specific models from diffing

Examples

# Full diff of a specific model
sqb diff prod:dev --full --select customer_status_snapshot

# Schema-only diff of all marts
sqb diff prod:dev --schema-only --select path:models/marts

# Bounded diff of last 14 days
sqb diff prod:dev --bounded 14d --select hourly_order_activity

Exit codes

Returns 0 when all selected models have no differences, 1 when any model has schema or row differences.

clone lineage

Getting Started

dbt Compatibility

Concepts

Python Nodes

Virtual Environments (Alpha)

Integrations

CLI Reference

Usage

Flags

Examples

Exit codes

​Usage

​Flags

​Examples

​Exit codes

Usage

Flags

Examples

Exit codes