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Module 2 — Compile with static analysis off#

Gate: the project renders to SQL under dbt Core v2 the way it does under dbt Core.

No code changes in this module. It is a checkpoint, and it is worth understanding why the upgrade assistant includes it.

Run it#

dbt compile --static-analysis off

Finished 'compile' successfully for target 'dev' [2.7s]
Processed: 23 models | 59 tests | 1 snapshot | 12 seeds
Summary: 95 total | 95 success

What this actually proved#

off renders Jinja to SQL and stops. No column resolution, no type checking, no schema downloads. It is deliberately the closest dbt Core v2 gets to dbt Core's behavior.

So a clean run here tells you something narrow but valuable: every macro, every ref, every config, and every piece of Jinja in the project resolves under the new engine. Your graph is intact. Whatever comes up in the next module will be about SQL semantics, not about the project failing to render.

That separation is the reason the assistant has this step. When strict mode throws fifty errors, you want to already know they are all one category of problem.

Look at the rendered SQL#

cat target/compiled/merlinco_apothecaries/models/marts/fct_orders.sql

Compare it against the dbt Core output for the same model. This is a good moment to look at agg_category_revenue_pivot, which builds its column list by querying the warehouse at compile time through get_potion_categories():

cat target/compiled/merlinco_apothecaries/models/marts/agg_category_revenue_pivot.sql

The macro uses run_query behind an execute guard and a load_relation existence check, and it needs an explicit -- depends_on: hint because the ref is inside a conditional. dbt Core v2 runs it and renders it without complaint.

off does not excuse everything

Static analysis has no objection to this macro in any of the three modes — it runs the query, gets real values, and renders ordinary SQL.

But introspection is gated separately from static analysis, and that gate catches it even here in off mode:

dbt compile --static-analysis off --no-introspect --select agg_category_revenue_pivot

[error] [DbUnsupportedFeature (dbt1307)]: Not Supported: Introspective
  queries are disabled (--no-introspect).
  --> macros/get_potion_categories.sql:21:11

So off is Core parity for everything except introspection. That is covered properly in Module 3b.

Takeaways#

  • off is a migration tool, not a destination. Do not ship it.
  • A clean off compile isolates rendering problems from SQL problems, so the next gate's findings are all one kind of thing.
  • Diff the compiled SQL against dbt Core's if you want reassurance before moving on.
  • off is not a blanket amnesty: introspective queries fail even here.