> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sqlbuild.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# promote

> Promote VDE refs from one virtual environment to another.

# sqb promote

Promotes model version refs from a source VDE to a target VDE. No models are rebuilt - promotion swaps pointers and refreshes logical views. Virtual mode only.

## Usage

```bash theme={null}
sqb promote --from <source_vde> --to <target_vde> [flags]
```

## Flags

| Flag                        | Description                                                                |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--from`                    | Source VDE name (required)                                                 |
| `--to`                      | Target VDE name (required)                                                 |
| `--select`, `-s`            | Select specific models to promote                                          |
| `--exclude`                 | Exclude specific models                                                    |
| `--allow-partial-promotion` | Accept a working target VDE when partial promotion leaves downstream stale |
| `--include-stale-upstreams` | Add required stale upstream refs to the promotion scope                    |
| `--verbose`, `-v`           | Show uncapped model sets                                                   |
| `--var`                     | Set project variables                                                      |

## Examples

```bash theme={null}
# Promote all models from pr_123 to dev
sqb promote --from pr_123 --to dev

# Promote specific models
sqb promote --from pr_123 --to dev --select fact_orders

# Partial promotion with working target accepted
sqb promote --from pr_123 --to dev --select fact_orders --allow-partial-promotion

# Include stale upstreams for coherent partial promotion
sqb promote --from pr_123 --to dev --select fact_orders --include-stale-upstreams
```

See [Promotion](/concepts/virtual-environments/promotion) for details on promotion behavior, source requirements, and guards.