Ability to Run Only Tests for a Specific dbt Model Without Executing the Model

[ame589]

Description

I would like to propose a feature that allows users to execute only the tests, defined at yaml level of a specific dbt model, without triggering the execution of the model itself in an DbtTaskGroup Airflow pipeline.

Use case/motivation

This could be achieved by adding a configuration that allows users to specify a model in the select parameter and set the test behavior to ONLY_TEST. Here’s an example of how this could look:

    return DbtTaskGroup(
        group_id=f"{model_name}",
        project_config=project_config,
        profile_config=profile_config,
        execution_config=execution_config,
        render_config=RenderConfig(
            select=[mod],  # Select the specific flow_name to run
            exclude=[],  # Exclude the dependency if provided
            test_behavior=TestBehavior.ONLY_TEST # Run only tests, not the model itself
        ),
        default_args={"retries": 2, "trigger_rule": "all_success"},
        operator_args={
            "install_deps": True
        }
    )

With this configuration:

1. The select parameter will focus the dbt task on the specific model.
2. The test_behavior=TestBehavior.ONLY_TEST setting will ensure that only the tests for the model are executed, while the actual data transformations are skipped.

This would make the testing process more flexible and tailored to specific use cases.

Related issues

No response

Are you willing to submit a PR?

• Yes, I am willing to submit a PR!

[tatiana]

@ame589 This feels highly related to #959.

Would it be an option to use the DbtTestLocalOperator (

astronomer-cosmos/cosmos/operators/local.py

Line 720 in 4c9b28f

class DbtTestLocalOperator(DbtTestMixin, DbtLocalBaseOperator):

) or an equivalent directly to run tests only?

As illustrated in:

astronomer-cosmos/tests/operators/test_local.py

Lines 458 to 465 in 4c9b28f

	test_operator = DbtTestLocalOperator(
	profile_config=real_profile_config,
	project_dir=DBT_PROJ_DIR,
	task_id="test",
	dbt_cmd_flags=["--models", "stg_customers"],
	install_deps=True,
	append_env=True,
	)

[github-actions]

This issue is stale because it has been open for 30 days with no activity.