## TL;DR

The `accepted_values` test definition has a wrong key or shape. The correct form nests a `values` list under `accepted_values`. Fix the YAML, reparse, and rerun the test.

## Error

```text
"Invalid test config: accepted_values" dbt test failure
```

## Steps

1. Open the schema YAML file where the test is defined and find the `accepted_values` entry. Expected: you see the current (broken) key structure.
2. Rewrite it in the valid form:
```yaml
tests:
  - accepted_values:
      values: ['placed', 'shipped', 'returned']
```
Expected: the only key under `accepted_values` is `values`, holding a list.
3. Check indentation: `tests` is a list under the column, and `accepted_values` is a list item. Expected: YAML parses cleanly (validate with a YAML linter if unsure).
4. Run `dbt parse`. Expected: no invalid-test-config error.
5. Run `dbt test --select [MODEL NAME]`. Expected: the test executes instead of failing at config time.

## When to use

- dbt reports "Invalid test config" naming `accepted_values`.
- You just added or edited a generic test in a schema YAML file.

## When not to use

- The test runs and fails on data (a data-quality fix, not a config fix).
- The error names a different test type (check that test's documented keys).

## Tool compatibility

- dbt Core 1.0 and later, all adapters. Generic test schemas are adapter-independent.

## Variant phrasings

### Invalid test config: not_null / unique / relationships

Same class of error: each generic test has required keys, and a typo or wrong nesting fails validation.

### Test not found after defining in YAML

Often the same root cause: the YAML did not parse into a valid test definition.

## Why it happens

dbt validates generic test definitions against a schema at parse time. A misspelled key, a scalar where a list belongs, or wrong nesting fails validation before the test ever runs.

## Edge cases

- `quote: true` is a valid sibling key when values need quoting; it goes beside `values`, not inside it.
- Severity and tags are configured via `config:` inside the test definition, not as top-level keys.
- Defining the same test twice on one column with different configs can produce confusing validation errors.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_7PHun5mdyrqs-GA2PJj-zQ