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sqb load

Runs source loader functions and writes data into their target tables using the configured write strategy.

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Usage

sqb --project-dir <path> load [flags]

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Flags

FlagDescription
--select, -sSelect specific sources or loaders by name
--excludeExclude specific sources or loaders
--reloadPass is_reload=True to loader functions
--concurrencyNumber of worker connections (default: from settings or 1)
--start-cursor-tsOverride start cursor for timestamp-based loaders (ISO format)
--end-cursor-tsOverride end cursor for timestamp-based loaders (ISO format)
--start-cursor-intOverride start cursor for integer-based loaders
--end-cursor-intOverride end cursor for integer-based loaders
--jsonOutput results as JSON
--json-outputWrite JSON results to a file path
--varSet project variables (--var key=value)

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Examples

# Load all managed sources
sqb load

# Load a specific source
sqb load --select raw_customers

# Load with concurrency
sqb load --concurrency 4

# Reload all sources (full refresh behavior)
sqb load --reload

# Override cursor bounds
sqb load --start-cursor-ts "2026-05-01T00:00:00"

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Execution order

Loaders are executed in DAG topological order based on depends_on declarations. Independent loaders run concurrently when --concurrency is greater than 1. Intermediate loaders (those referenced only via depends_on without a direct source binding) run first, followed by the source-bound loaders that depend on them.

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Output

Load ready (3 selected)

Sources (3)
  raw_customers
  raw_orders
  raw_payments

Execution  sqb load  (concurrency: 1)

  1/3  source    raw_customers                  OK     0.05s  rows=5
  2/3  source    raw_orders                     OK     0.03s  rows=10
  3/3  source    raw_payments                   OK     0.02s  rows=8

Completed successfully.
PASS=3  WARN=0  FAIL=0  SKIP=0  TOTAL=3  (0.12s)

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Auto-load during builds

sqb build automatically loads managed sources before building dependent models. This is controlled by the auto_load_sources setting (default: true) and the --load / --no-load / --reload flags: 
# Default: auto-load is on
sqb build

# Explicitly skip loading
sqb build --no-load

# Force reload
sqb build --reload
See Loaders for full documentation on write strategies, the loader context API, and source deferral.