fix: add ref() macro override for dbt-core 1.11 compatibility

[devin-ai-integration]

Summary

Adds a ref() Jinja macro override in the elementary CLI's internal monitor dbt project (elementary_cli) to fix cross-package ref() calls breaking on adapters that override ref() with an incompatible signature (specifically dbt-dremio).

Root cause: dbt-dremio overrides ref() with ref(model_name, v=None), which intercepts the second positional arg as a version identifier. When the monitor project calls ref('elementary', 'dbt_models'), dbt-dremio treats it as builtins.ref('elementary', v='dbt_models') — looking for a model named "elementary" at version "dbt_models" — instead of a cross-package ref. This is a known upstream bug: dremio/dbt-dremio#232 (open since Jun 2024, unresolved).

Fix: A project-level ref() macro that properly dispatches all argument forms directly to builtins.ref(), which correctly handles two-arg positional cross-package refs in dbt-core 1.11+. Project macros take precedence over adapter macros in dbt's resolution order, so this overrides dbt-dremio's broken version.

The macro handles all ref() forms including combined cross-package + versioned refs (e.g. ref('package', 'model', v=1)) for forward compatibility, using an effective_version consolidation approach.

Review & Testing Checklist for Human

• Verify project-level ref() actually overrides adapter-level ref(): dbt's macro resolution gives priority to root project macros over adapter macros, but ref is a special builtin — confirm this override takes effect when running with dbt-dremio (and other adapters). If it doesn't, this PR has no effect.
• Verify no adapter relies on ref() override for critical functionality that we'd be bypassing: dbt-dremio's ref() adds format/reflection handling. For the monitor project (which only reads existing tables), this should be safe to bypass — but confirm there's no case where the monitor project creates/materializes models that need adapter-specific ref behavior.
• Test with dbt-dremio + dbt-core 1.11: Run edr monitor or edr report against a Dremio instance to confirm cross-package refs like ref('elementary', 'dbt_models') and self-refs like ref('elementary_cli', 'alerts_v2') resolve correctly.
• Test with another adapter (e.g. Postgres/Snowflake): Confirm the override doesn't break normal ref() behavior on adapters that don't override ref().

Suggested test plan: Run the Dremio CI job from PR #2135 without continue-on-error on the edr steps, using this branch's monitor project. If edr monitor report succeeds, the fix works.

Notes

• This is an elementary-side workaround for an upstream dbt-dremio bug (dremio/dbt-dremio#232). The proper fix would be in dbt-dremio's ref macro to support (*args, **kwargs) and forward them correctly to builtins. dbt-dremio is currently the only adapter that overrides ref() this way.
• The macro supports the legacy package= keyword form (ref('model', package='pkg')) for backward compatibility with older dbt-core versions, though dbt-core 1.11 itself removed this.
• Risk: This macro override applies to ALL adapters when running the monitor project, not just dbt-dremio. If any adapter's ref() override performs critical operations (like Dremio's format/reflection handling), those operations are bypassed. For a read-only monitor project this should be safe, but worth double-checking.
• CI warehouse test failures (Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, Databricks, Athena) are pre-existing numeric_column_anomalies + error_model issues on master, unrelated to this change.

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Link to Devin Session: https://app.devin.ai/sessions/6c12a19d456541568bcd7974623f3557
Requested by: @haritamar

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features
  • Expanded ref() handling to accept simple, cross-package, and versioned reference forms (including legacy keyword variants).
  • Added fallback routing so all supported ref() call formats behave consistently.
  • Ensures compatibility with dbt-core 1.11 and later.

[devin-ai-integration]

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[coderabbitai]

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Adds a new DBT macro override ref() that normalizes and forwards various call signatures (simple, cross-package, and versioned references) to builtins.ref() for consistent resolution across dbt-core 1.11+.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
New DBT ref() macro override elementary/monitor/dbt_project/macros/overrides/ref.sql	Adds ref(model_name_or_package, model_name=none, v=none, version=none, package=none) macro that detects call patterns—ref('model'), ref('package','model'), ref('model', v=...), ref('model', version=...), ref('model', package='...')—and delegates to builtins.ref() accordingly, with a final single-argument fallback.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~20 minutes

Poem

🐰 I hop through macros, tidy each ref call,
Package names, versions—I'll catch them all.
Builtins await where I gently steer,
Models resolved, the path made clear.
A little rabbit keeps dbt in thrall.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 3

✅ Passed checks (3 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly describes the main change: adding a ref() macro override specifically to address dbt-core 1.11 compatibility issues caused by adapter incompatibilities.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.

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✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
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• Commit unit tests in branch devin/1772470747-dbt-core-1.11-ref-syntax

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 1

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

Inline comments:
In `@elementary/monitor/dbt_project/macros/overrides/ref.sql`:
- Around line 17-34: The ref macro currently branches on model_name/package
before handling version, which drops v/version for combined
cross-package+version calls; update the macro ref(model_name_or_package,
model_name=none, v=none, version=none, package=none) to first compute an
effective_version (e.g., effective_version = v if v is not none else version)
and then pass that effective_version into every builtins.ref call that takes two
arguments (both the two-arg positional branch using
builtins.ref(model_name_or_package, model_name) and the legacy package branch
using builtins.ref(package, model_name_or_package)), and also use
builtins.ref(model_name_or_package, v=effective_version) for single-arg
versioned calls so that any combination of cross-package + version preserves the
version argument.

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[devin-ai-integration]

Note: This PR is a workaround for an open upstream bug in dbt-dremio: dremio/dbt-dremio#232 — Override of ref macro does not support packages or the "version" keyword argument (opened Jun 2024, still unresolved).

dbt-dremio's ref(model_name, v=None) override doesn't handle the two-positional-argument cross-package form ref('package', 'model') or the version keyword — it incorrectly interprets the second positional arg as a version identifier. This breaks any dbt project that uses cross-package refs with dbt-dremio + dbt-core 1.11+.

Our project-level override properly forwards all argument forms to builtins.ref(), bypassing dbt-dremio's broken macro. dbt-dremio is currently the only adapter that overrides ref() this way.

[coderabbitai]

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

elementary/monitor/dbt_project/macros/overrides/ref.sql (1)

17-40: Add a regression test matrix for this override path.

Consider adding an integration/macro test that exercises ref('pkg','model'), ref('model', package='pkg'), and their versioned variants. This will lock in the compatibility fix and prevent future regressions.

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents

Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

In `@elementary/monitor/dbt_project/macros/overrides/ref.sql` around lines 17 -
40, The ref override macro handles multiple call patterns (macro ref, variable
effective_version, and calls to builtins.ref) and needs coverage to prevent
regressions; add an integration/macro test matrix that calls the two-arg
positional form ref('pkg','model'), the legacy keyword form ref('model',
package='pkg'), the single-arg versioned forms ref('model', v=1') and
ref('model', version=1), plus the two-arg versioned variant ref('pkg','model',
v=1) (or equivalent), asserting that each resolves to the same target and that
builtins.ref is invoked with the expected arguments for each branch (including
branches that use effective_version and package/model_name). Ensure tests
exercise the branches guarded by model_name, package, and effective_version so
future changes to macro ref or builtins.ref calls will be detected.

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

Nitpick comments:
In `@elementary/monitor/dbt_project/macros/overrides/ref.sql`:
- Around line 17-40: The ref override macro handles multiple call patterns
(macro ref, variable effective_version, and calls to builtins.ref) and needs
coverage to prevent regressions; add an integration/macro test matrix that calls
the two-arg positional form ref('pkg','model'), the legacy keyword form
ref('model', package='pkg'), the single-arg versioned forms ref('model', v=1')
and ref('model', version=1), plus the two-arg versioned variant
ref('pkg','model', v=1) (or equivalent), asserting that each resolves to the
same target and that builtins.ref is invoked with the expected arguments for
each branch (including branches that use effective_version and
package/model_name). Ensure tests exercise the branches guarded by model_name,
package, and effective_version so future changes to macro ref or builtins.ref
calls will be detected.

---

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• elementary/monitor/dbt_project/macros/overrides/ref.sql