---
title: "dbt models skipped behind a failure | Metacenta"
description: "One failed dbt model can stop everything downstream from running, and a run summary that counts only failures hides it. How we trace what a failure blocked."
url: "https://metacenta.com/rules/run-blocked-cascade"
updated: "2026-10-14"
tokens: 441
---

Execution health · rule run-blocked-cascade

# dbt models skipped behind a failure

A Metacenta review checks this under the rule **A failure did not block the rest of the build**. Everything below applies whether or not you ever commission one.

## What this rule checks

From the results of your last dbt run or build, this rule flags each node that was skipped because something upstream failed. It names the failure that blocked it.

## Why it matters

A skipped node isn't reported as failing anywhere, so its state is unknown. A run summary that counts only failures understates how much of the platform didn't execute.

## How to fix it

**Unblock the build — one failure is stopping the nodes behind it.** Fix the upstream failure first. Every node skipped behind it, and everything under those, waits on that one fix.

## When it is fine to leave

None, as long as the upstream failure is real. Once it's fixed, these findings go with it. The score doesn't count them, so one root cause isn't penalised twice.

## What we need to check it

`run_results.json` from a `dbt run` or `dbt build`, alongside `manifest.json`.

[Ask about a review](https://metacenta.com/enquire?src=rule-run-blocked-cascade&via=md)

## Related pages

- [dbt tests that are failing](https://metacenta.com/rules/test-failing)
- [dbt models that failed to build](https://metacenta.com/rules/node-build-error)
- [dbt table models dominating build time](https://metacenta.com/rules/run-slow-full-rebuild)
- [dbt tests slower than the model they test](https://metacenta.com/rules/run-slow-test)
- [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)