---
title: "dbt_project.yml with no require-dbt-version | Metacenta"
description: "A dbt project that declares no require-dbt-version can be built by a version it was never tested on. What passes, and how to write the range."
url: "https://metacenta.com/rules/dbt-no-require-version"
updated: "2026-10-14"
tokens: 525
---

Repository hygiene · rule dbt-no-require-version

# dbt_project.yml with no require-dbt-version

A Metacenta review checks this under the rule **The project declares which dbt version it needs**. Everything below applies whether or not you ever commission one.

## What this rule checks

This rule flags a `dbt_project.yml` with no top-level `require-dbt-version` key. Any value passes, whether one version or a range. A repository with no `dbt_project.yml` is not judged.

## Why it matters

Nothing stops the project being built by a dbt version it was never tested against. A minor upgrade can change materialisation or macro behaviour with no error to mark the moment.

## How to fix it

**Declare the dbt version the project needs.** Add a `require-dbt-version` range matching what CI and the team run, and widen it when you upgrade.

Before:

```yaml
name: analytics
version: "1.0.0"
profile: analytics
```

After:

```yaml
name: analytics
version: "1.0.0"
profile: analytics
require-dbt-version: [">=1.8.0", "<1.11.0"]
```

## When it is fine to leave

A project whose dbt version is fixed elsewhere, such as in a locked Python environment or a container image, is protected in practice. The key still tells a reader which versions were tested, for one line of YAML.

## What we need to check it

`dbt_project.yml`, fetched by name from the repository with read-only access. If it could not be fetched or read, we decline rather than report.

[Ask about a review](https://metacenta.com/enquire?src=rule-dbt-no-require-version&via=md)

## Related pages

- [Credential files committed to a data repository](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-committed-credential-file)
- [Data repository with no CI pipeline](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-no-ci)
- [Archived repositories under review](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-archived)
- [Data repository with no tests](https://metacenta.com/rules/repo-no-tests)
- [A sample review, as a client reads it](https://metacenta.com/sample)
- [All published rules](https://metacenta.com/rules)
- [How a review is assessed](https://metacenta.com/standard)