arguments

macros/<filename>.yml

version: 2

macros:
  - name: <macro name>
    arguments:
      - name: <arg name>
        type: <string>
        description: <markdown_string>

Definition

The arguments property is used to define the parameters that a macro can accept. Each argument can have a name, type, and description. You can add arguments to a macro property, which helps in documenting the macro and understanding what inputs it requires.

type

tip

From dbt Core v1.10, you can opt into validating the arguments you define in macro documentation using the validate_macro_args behavior change flag. When enabled, dbt will:

• Infer arguments from the macro and includes them in the manifest.json file if no arguments are documented.
• Raise a warning if documented argument names don't match the macro definition.
• Raise a warning if type fields don't follow supported formats.

Learn more about macro argument validation.

macros/<filename>.yml

version: 2

macros:
  - name: <macro name>
    arguments:
      - name: <arg name>
        type: <string>

Supported types

From dbt Core v1.10, when you use the validate_macro_args flag, dbt supports the following types for macro arguments:

• string or str
• boolean or bool
• integer or int
• float
• any
• list[<Type>], for example, list[string]
• dict[<Type>, <Type>], for example, dict[str, list[int]]
• optional[<Type>], for example, optional[integer]
• relation
• column

Note that the types follow a Python-like style but are used for documentation and validation only. They are not Python types.

Examples

macros/cents_to_dollars.sql

{% macro cents_to_dollars(column_name, scale=2) %}
    ({{ column_name }} / 100)::numeric(16, {{ scale }})
{% endmacro %}

macros/cents_to_dollars.yml

version: 2

macros:
  - name: cents_to_dollars
    arguments:
      - name: column_name
        type: column
        description: "The name of a column"
      - name: scale
        type: integer
        description: "The number of decimal places to round to. Default is 2."