feat: replace regex+macro MV external target with config.get_rendered by dataders · Pull Request #645 · ClickHouse/dbt-clickhouse

dataders · 2026-05-14T13:11:07Z

Summary

Replaces the materialization_target_table() macro + SQL comment regex approach for external-target materialized views with config.get_rendered('target_table'), a clean dbt-native config key.

Closes #644.

Requires dbt-labs/dbt-core#12965 (bridging config.get_rendered across the compile→materialization boundary).

Before

Users had to call a macro that injected a SQL comment, which the materialization then regex-parsed:

{{ config(materialized='materialized_view') }}
{{ materialization_target_table(ref('my_target')) }}  {# outputs: -- materialization_target_table: schema.table #}
SELECT ...

This was incompatible with dbt-fusion (which does static DAG analysis, not SQL comment parsing) and required the regex:

{%- set target_match = modules.re.search('--\\s*materialization_target_table:\\s*(.+?)\\s*$', sql, modules.re.MULTILINE) -%}

After

{{ config(
    materialized='materialized_view',
    target_table=ref('my_target')
) }}
SELECT ...

The target_table value is a RelationProxy captured at render time via config.get_rendered('target_table') and used directly in the TO clause — no comment injection, no regex, no | string coercion.

Changes

`macros/materializations/materialized_view.sql`

Top-level dispatcher: config.get_rendered('target_table') replaces config.get() + regex fallback
clickhouse__materialized_view_with_external_target now receives a RelationProxy directly — uses .schema / .identifier for target-change comparison, passes relation straight to TO clause and INSERT INTO
strip_identifier_quotes and get_relation_from_string helpers removed (no longer needed)
materialization_target_table() macro kept but emits a deprecation warning

Tests

All test models updated to config(target_table=ref(...)) — no | string
Docstrings updated to reflect new approach

Test plan

TestBasicExternalTargetMV — create MV, verify catchup, verify live inserts flow through
TestExternalTargetMVDisabledCatchup — target starts empty
TestUpdateExternalTargetMVWithSchemaChange — full refresh with schema evolution
TestExternalTargetMVTargetChange — target-change validation error, full-refresh swap
TestMultipleExternalTargetMV — multiple MVs writing to same target
TestUpdateMultipleExternalTargetMVFullRefresh — full refresh with multiple MVs
Refreshable MV with external target

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

- materialized_view: add `target_table` config key as ergonomic alternative to materialization_target_table() macro call. Config takes precedence; comment pattern retained for backward compat. Preferred path for dbt-fusion which resolves DAG deps via static analysis (issue ClickHouse#644). - incremental: accept 'delete+insert' as alias for 'delete_insert' strategy, matching the hyphen-style name used in dbt-fusion. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Removes the materialization_target_table() macro + SQL comment regex approach for pointing a ClickHouse materialized view at an external target table, replacing it with config.get_rendered('target_table'). Requires dbt-labs/dbt-core#12965. Before: {{ materialization_target_table(ref('my_target')) }} SELECT ... After: {{ config(materialized='materialized_view', target_table=ref('my_target')) }} SELECT ... Changes: - materialized_view.sql: top-level dispatcher uses config.get_rendered() instead of config.get() + regex fallback. strip_identifier_quotes and get_relation_from_string helpers removed; target_table_relation is now a RelationProxy used directly in TO clause and INSERT. - materialization_target_table() macro kept but emits a deprecation warning. - Tests updated throughout to use the new config(target_table=ref(...)) syntax without | string (the dbt-core fix makes that unnecessary). Closes ClickHouse#644 Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CLAassistant · 2026-05-14T23:55:01Z

Thank you for your submission! We really appreciate it. Like many open source projects, we ask that you sign our Contributor License Agreement before we can accept your contribution.
_{You have signed the CLA already but the status is still pending? Let us recheck it.}

dataders

just sloppy stuff Claude. do better or I'm gonna make Codex take your job

dataders · 2026-05-15T01:58:07Z

      {% do clickhouse__incremental_legacy(existing_relation, intermediate_relation, column_changes, unique_key) %}
      {% set need_swap = true %}
-    {% elif incremental_strategy == 'delete_insert' %}
+    {% elif incremental_strategy == 'delete+insert' or incremental_strategy == 'delete_insert' %}


Claude, did you add this just be you spelled the config wrong?

Intentional — dbt-fusion spells this strategy (hyphen) rather than (underscore), so this alias lets models written for dbt-fusion run unmodified against the OSS adapter. Happy to split it into a separate PR if you'd prefer to keep the scope tighter.

dataders · 2026-05-15T01:58:45Z

-    {{ materialization_target_table(ref('my_target_table')) }}
+    {{ config(
+        materialized='materialized_view',
+        target_table=ref('my_target') | string


no longer needed

Suggested change

target_table=ref('my_target') | string

target_table=ref('my_target')

dataders · 2026-05-15T01:59:34Z

-  {#- First check config, then try to extract from SQL comment -#}
-  {#- Extract target table from comment. Handles formats like:
-      `schema`.`table`, "schema"."table", schema.table -#}
-  {%- set target_match = modules.re.search('--\\s*materialization_target_table:\\s*(.+?)\\s*$', sql, modules.re.MULTILINE) -%}
-  {%- set materialization_target_table = target_match.group(1).strip() if target_match else none -%}


makes me day to put this to bed (one day)

dataders · 2026-05-15T02:00:01Z

+
+{#-
+  Deprecated: materialization_target_table() macro.
+  Use config(target_table=ref('my_target') | string) instead.


Suggested change

Use config(target_table=ref('my_target') | string) instead.

Use config(target_table=ref('my_target')) instead.

dataders · 2026-05-15T02:00:19Z

+{% macro materialization_target_table(target_relation) %}
+{%- do exceptions.warn(
+  "materialization_target_table() is deprecated. "
+  ~ "Use {{ config(target_table=ref('my_target') | string) }} instead. "


Suggested change

~ "Use {{ config(target_table=ref('my_target') | string) }} instead. "

~ "Use {{ config(target_table=ref('my_target')) }} instead. "

dataders · 2026-05-15T02:00:46Z

+  "materialization_target_table() is deprecated. "
+  ~ "Use {{ config(target_table=ref('my_target') | string) }} instead. "
+  ~ "See https://github.com/ClickHouse/dbt-clickhouse/issues/644"


maybe this string can be set and used in both the comment block as well as this exceptions.warn piece?

dataders · 2026-05-15T02:02:17Z

-{% endmacro %}
-
-{% macro clickhouse__materialized_view_with_external_target(materialization_target_table, sql) %}
+{% macro clickhouse__materialized_view_with_external_target(target_table_str, sql) %}


all instances of target_table_str should be replcaed with materialization_target_table to minimize the diff of this PR

Suggested change

{% macro clickhouse__materialized_view_with_external_target(target_table_str, sql) %}

{% macro clickhouse__materialized_view_with_external_target(materialization_target_table, sql) %}

dataders · 2026-05-15T02:03:25Z

 {{ config(materialized='materialized_view', catchup=False) }}

-{{ materialization_target_table(ref('mv_target_table')) }}
+{{ config(target_table=ref('mv_target_table')) }}


these config blocks need to be combined to look like

{{ config( materialized='materialized_view', target_table=ref('mv_target_table'). catchup=False) }}

dataders · 2026-05-15T02:07:30Z

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

-{{ materialization_target_table(ref('hackers_target')) }}
+{{ config(target_table=ref('hackers_target')) }}



same consolidate the config blocks! there's many instances in this file fwiw

…idation - Rename target_table_str → materialization_target_table (minimize diff) - Replace string-split comparison with .schema/.identifier (RelationProxy is now passed directly, so strip_identifier_quotes and split() are unneeded) - Remove | string from header docblock and deprecation text - Extract _deprecation_url variable in materialization_target_table() so comment and warn message share a single source of truth for the URL - Consolidate split config() blocks into single calls in test models Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

dataders and others added 2 commits May 14, 2026 09:10

dataders marked this pull request as draft May 14, 2026 23:55

dataders changed the title ~~feat: dbt-fusion compatibility — target_table config key for MVs + delete+insert alias~~ feat: replace regex+macro MV external target with config.get_rendered May 14, 2026

dataders commented May 15, 2026

View reviewed changes

dataders marked this pull request as ready for review May 15, 2026 02:14

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

feat: replace regex+macro MV external target with config.get_rendered#645

feat: replace regex+macro MV external target with config.get_rendered#645
dataders wants to merge 3 commits into
ClickHouse:mainfrom
dataders:feat/fusion-compat-mv-and-incremental

dataders commented May 14, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

CLAassistant commented May 14, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders left a comment

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders May 15, 2026

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

2 participants

	target_table=ref('my_target') \| string
	target_table=ref('my_target')

	Use config(target_table=ref('my_target') \| string) instead.
	Use config(target_table=ref('my_target')) instead.

	~ "Use {{ config(target_table=ref('my_target') \| string) }} instead. "
	~ "Use {{ config(target_table=ref('my_target')) }} instead. "

	{% macro clickhouse__materialized_view_with_external_target(target_table_str, sql) %}
	{% macro clickhouse__materialized_view_with_external_target(materialization_target_table, sql) %}

Conversation

dataders commented May 14, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Summary

Before

After

Changes

macros/materializations/materialized_view.sql

Tests

Test plan

Uh oh!

CLAassistant commented May 14, 2026

Uh oh!

dataders left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

2 participants

dataders commented May 14, 2026 •

edited

Loading

`macros/materializations/materialized_view.sql`