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This guide explains how to preview dbt model changes, including net-new tables and views, within an Omni development environment. By decoupling the Omni git branch from the dbt branch selector, you can safely validate data and assess downstream impacts before merging changes to your production branch.

Requirements

To follow the steps in this guide, you’ll need:
  • A dbt integration configured on your connection
  • A dbt dev environment configured in Omni’s dbt settings
  • An Omni model branch created for development

How it works

Omni’s model IDE maintains two independent branch controls to help you manage your development workflow:
  1. Omni git branch: The branch of your Omni model, including field definitions and joins.
  2. dbt branch selector: Tells Omni which dbt branch’s manifest to read from when syncing metadata and resolving schemas.
These are decoupled by design. Switching your Omni git branch doesn’t automatically update the dbt branch Omni reads from; you must set both explicitly.

Steps

1

Run your dbt model in dev

Execute the model in your dbt development environment and confirm it completes successfully before proceeding.
2

Commit your dbt changes

Commit to your dbt branch before continuing, as uncommitted changes are not visible to Omni.
3

Create or switch to an Omni branch

In the model IDE, navigate to Model > Branch > New branch. You can also switch to an existing branch.
4

Activate the dbt dev environment

In the Omni model IDE, open the dbt settings panel and Select your dbt development environment (e.g., dev).
5

Set the dbt branch

In the same dbt settings panel, enter the name of your dbt branch. This tells Omni to read the manifest from your feature branch rather than main. This step is required for net-new models to appear.
Screenshot 2026 04 28 At 15 36 35
6

Refresh the schema

In the model IDE, navigate to Model > Refresh Schema. Omni will pull the updated manifest and table structures from your dev environment.
Omni reads the dbt manifest at the time of schema refresh. If your dbt run hasn’t finished when you trigger the refresh, new models may not appear. Wait for the dbt run to complete before refreshing.
7

Validate your changes

New tables and updated fields should now be visible in the model IDE. Use the Content Validator to check for downstream impacts on existing dashboards.
8

Merge when ready

Once validated, merge your dbt pull request to main. Then, merge your Omni branch to promote model changes to production.
New tables vs. field changes: Field changes to existing models may appear after a schema refresh without setting the dbt branch. However, net-new tables and views require the dbt branch to be explicitly set in step 5.

Next steps

Now that you’ve validated your dbt changes, you can continue refining your data model:
  • Audit downstream content: Use the Content Validator to ensure your changes didn’t break existing documents.
  • Merge to production: Once your dbt PR is merged to main, update your Omni branch settings to point back to the production dbt branch and merge your Omni changes.
If you run into issues with models not appearing, double-check that your dbt branch selector matches your active dbt feature branch exactly.