dbt-labs/dbt-core · error · minijinja::Error

target is not set in state

Error message

target is not set in state

What it means

get_relations_by_pattern derives a default database from the render state's `target` when no database argument is supplied. If `state.lookup("target")` returns None — target not injected into state — this InvalidOperation error is raised. It indicates the adapter runtime was invoked without an initialized target context.

Source

Thrown at crates/dbt-adapter/src/adapter/adapter_impl.rs:1705

        excluded_schemas: Option<Value>,
    ) -> Result<Value, minijinja::Error> {
        // Validate excluded_schemas if provided
        if let Some(ref schemas) = excluded_schemas {
            let _ =
                minijinja_value_to_typed_struct::<Vec<String>>(schemas.clone()).map_err(|e| {
                    minijinja::Error::new(
                        minijinja::ErrorKind::SerdeDeserializeError,
                        e.to_string(),
                    )
                })?;
        }

        // Get default database from state if not provided
        let database_str = if let Some(db) = database {
            db.to_string()
        } else {
            let target = state.lookup("target", &[]).ok_or_else(|| {
                minijinja::Error::new(
                    minijinja::ErrorKind::InvalidOperation,
                    "target is not set in state",
                )
            })?;
            let db_value = target.get_attr("database").unwrap_or_default();
            db_value.as_str().unwrap_or_default().to_string()
        };

        // Build args array for macro call
        // Note: For optional string parameters like 'exclude', we pass empty string instead of None
        // because the macro expects a string and None gets converted to "none" string
        let args = vec![
            Value::from(schema_pattern),
            Value::from(table_pattern),
            exclude.map(Value::from).unwrap_or_else(|| Value::from("")),
            Value::from(database_str.as_str()),
            quote_table
                .map(Value::from)

View on GitHub (pinned to 0267ce9170)

Solutions

1. Pass the database argument explicitly so state lookup is not needed.
2. Ensure the runtime injects `target` into the state before executing macros.
3. Fix test/embedded harnesses to populate state with a target containing a `database` attribute.
4. Catch the error and default to the configured target's database from your own config if acceptable.

Example fix

// before
let rels = get_relations_by_pattern(pattern, None, excluded)?;

// after
let rels = get_relations_by_pattern(pattern, Some("analytics_db".into()), excluded)?;

{% set has_target = state is defined and state.get('target', none) is not none %}

fn state_has_target(state: &Value) -> bool {
    state.lookup("target", &[]).is_some()
}

{% try %}
  {% set rels = get_relations_by_pattern(pattern, none, excluded) %}
{% except %}
  {% set rels = get_relations_by_pattern(pattern, target.database, excluded) %}
{% endtry %}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling get_relations_by_pattern without a database argument while the minijinja state has no `target` object — e.g. invoking the function outside a normal dbt run context, in tests, or in tooling that builds the Jinja env manually.

Common situations: Unit-testing macros with a hand-rolled state missing target; custom scripts calling adapter methods before target resolution; partial state setup in embedded usage of the adapter runtime.

Understand the failure class

Background: "environment variable is not set" and "Missing keys in environment" errors: what missing required env var messages mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• describe_dynamic_table is not supported by the {} adapter
• describe_interactive_table is not supported by the {} adapte
• invalid return value
• In adapter.dispatch, got a macro name of "{macro_name}", but
• get_table_options: Failed to deserialize InternalDbtNodeWrap

AI-assisted analysis of dbt-labs/dbt-core@0267ce9170 (2026-09-07). Data as JSON: /api/errors/33ba0d455ca46d1e. Report an issue: GitHub.