What Is the dbt DAG?
Last updated July 25, 2026 · By the SaturnSQL team
The DAG (directed acyclic graph) is dbt's dependency graph of sources, models, seeds, and snapshots. Every ref() and source() call adds an edge, which is how dbt knows the correct build order and enables parallel execution across threads.
Refs define the edges
-- fct_orders depends on stg_orders and stg_customers
SELECT ...
FROM {{ ref('stg_orders') }} o
JOIN {{ ref('stg_customers') }} c ON ...Viewing the lineage graph
dbt docs generate
dbt docs serve # open the graph icon, bottom rightGraph selectors traverse the DAG on the command line: +model selects upstream nodes, model+ downstream. dbt errors on cycles, since the graph must stay acyclic.
Run this in SaturnSQL
SaturnSQL is a browser-based SQL editor for teams: shared query library, schema-aware autocomplete, and scheduled exports to Google Sheets and Slack.
Try it free