> ## 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.

# Selection

> How select and exclude flags route work across the dbt and SQLBuild graphs.

The `sqb dbt` commands use `--select` and `--exclude` to scope what runs. Selectors work across both dbt and SQLBuild, with the system determining which side owns each selector and how to route work.

## SQLBuild-recognized selectors

These selectors match SQLBuild models directly:

| Selector      | Example              | Behavior                                                                                                   |
| ------------- | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Model name    | `fact_orders`        | Selects that SQLBuild model. Auto-includes its immediate dbt upstream dependencies.                        |
| Leading `+`   | `+fact_orders`       | Selects the model plus walks upstream through both SQLBuild and dbt models.                                |
| Trailing `+`  | `fact_orders+`       | Selects the model plus all downstream SQLBuild models.                                                     |
| Both `+`      | `+fact_orders+`      | Full upstream (including dbt) and downstream expansion.                                                    |
| Tag           | `tag:nightly`        | Selects all SQLBuild models with that tag. Auto-includes dbt dependencies.                                 |
| Tag with `+`  | `+tag:nightly`       | Tag match plus upstream expansion through the combined graph.                                              |
| Path          | `path:models/marts`  | Selects SQLBuild models under that project-relative directory - the same syntax as dbt's `path:` selector. |
| Path with `+` | `+path:models/marts` | Path match plus upstream/downstream expansion.                                                             |

When a SQLBuild model is selected, its immediate dbt upstream dependencies are always included so dbt can build the tables that SQLBuild models read from.

## dbt-only selectors

Selectors that SQLBuild does not recognize (like `state:modified`, `package:stripe`, `source:stripe.charges`) are passed to `dbt ls` to resolve:

| Selector          | Example            | Behavior                                                                                              |
| ----------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Without `+`       | `state:modified`   | dbt-only work. No SQLBuild models selected.                                                           |
| With trailing `+` | `state:modified+`  | SQLBuild runs `dbt ls` to find which dbt models match, then walks downstream into SQLBuild territory. |
| With both `+`     | `+state:modified+` | Same downstream expansion, plus upstream dbt expansion.                                               |

This means you can use dbt-native selectors like `state:modified+` to trigger rebuilds of SQLBuild models that depend on changed dbt models. If `dbt ls` returns no matching models, no SQLBuild work is triggered.

## Exclude

`--exclude` removes matching SQLBuild models from the final selection:

```bash theme={null}
sqb dbt build --select fact_orders+ --exclude tag:nightly
```

## Examples

```bash theme={null}
# Build a specific SQLBuild model and its dbt dependencies
sqb dbt build --select downstream_orders

# Build everything downstream of a SQLBuild model
sqb dbt build --select downstream_orders+

# Build a SQLBuild model with full upstream dbt chain
sqb dbt build --select +downstream_orders

# Build SQLBuild models downstream of modified dbt models
sqb dbt build --select state:modified+

# Build all SQLBuild models tagged "nightly" with their dbt dependencies
sqb dbt build --select tag:nightly

# Build SQLBuild models under a path
sqb dbt build --select path:models/marts
```

## Execution order

For `sqb dbt run` and `sqb dbt build`:

1. **dbt runs** - a single `dbt run/build` command executes with the user's selectors merged with any additional dbt models required by selected SQLBuild models, pruned to only the models that [actually changed](/concepts/dbt-compatibility/change-aware-builds)
2. **SQLBuild runs** - selected SQLBuild models execute against the now-built dbt tables

For `sqb dbt test`:

1. **dbt test runs first** - with the user's original selectors
2. **SQLBuild test runs** - unit tests for selected SQLBuild models
3. **SQLBuild audit runs** - audits for selected SQLBuild models

The `test_type:data` and `test_type:unit` selectors from dbt are mapped to SQLBuild equivalents: `test_type:data` runs SQLBuild audits, `test_type:unit` runs SQLBuild unit tests.