about this

this is the database representation of the current model. It is useful when:

• Defining a where statement within incremental models
• Using pre or post hooks

this is a Relation, and as such, properties such as {{ this.database }} and {{ this.schema }} compile as expected.

• Note — Prior to dbt v1.6, the dbt Cloud IDE returns request as the result of {{ ref.identifier }}.

this can be thought of as equivalent to ref('<the_current_model>'), and is a neat way to avoid circular dependencies.

Examples

Configuring incremental models

models/stg_events.sql

{{ config(materialized='incremental') }}

select
    *,
    my_slow_function(my_column)

from raw_app_data.events

{% if is_incremental() %}
  where event_time > (select max(event_time) from {{ this }})
{% endif %}