refactoring-dbt-models SKILL.md skillA
refactoring-dbt-models from altimateai/data-engineering-skills is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add altimateai/data-engineering-skills/refactoring-dbt-models@git:20260121.476f750Pins git:20260121.476f750 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- altimateai/data-engineering-skills
- Path
skills/dbt/refactoring-dbt-models/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260121.476f750, committed Jan 21, 2026
- Size
- 4,713 bytes
- Repository stars
- 129
- License
- MIT
Safely refactors dbt models with downstream impact analysis. Use when restructuring dbt models for: (1) Task mentions "refactor", "restructure", "extract", "split", "break into", or "reorganize" (2) Extracting CTEs to intermediate models or creating macros (3) Modifying model logic that has downstream consumers (4) Renaming columns, changing types, or reorganizing model dependencies Analyzes all downstream dependencies BEFORE making changes.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# dbt Refactoring
**Find ALL downstream dependencies before changing. Refactor in small steps. Verify output after each change.**
## Workflow
### 1. Analyze Current Model
```bash
cat models/<path>/<model_name>.sql
```
Identify refactoring opportunities:
- CTEs longer than 50 lines → extract to intermediate model
- Logic repeated across models → extract to macro
- Multiple joins in sequence → split into steps
- Complex WHERE clauses → extract to staging filter
### 2. Find All Downstream Dependencies
**CRITICAL: Never refactor without knowing impact.**
```bash
# Get full dependency tree (model and all its children)
dbt ls --select model_name+ --output list
# Find all models referencing this one
grep -r "ref('model_name')" models/ --include="*.sql"
```
**Report to user:** "Found X downstream models: [list]. These will be affected by changes."
### 3. Check What Columns Downstream Models Use
**BEFORE changing any columns, check what downstream models reference:**
```bash
# For each downstream model, check what columns it uses
cat models/<path>/<downstream_model>.sql | grep -E "model_name\.\w+|alias\.\w+"
```
…Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add altimateai/data-engineering-skills/refactoring-dbt-models@sha256:738c129ceb493650The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260121.476f750, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_d65iq5chiyzlsr6c)
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Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Jan 21, 2026.
Audit of the latest version
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Source
altimateai/data-engineering-skills · 129 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-10-23 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_d65iq5chiyzlsr6c GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=altimateai/data-engineering-skills/refactoring-dbt-models GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/738c129ceb4936500cc3e09ad2347acf9d16ddab9773fc99aa018079d3708fbd
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.