dbt.exceptions.ParsingError: unexpected 'endmacro' in model sql

TL;DR

There is an endmacro tag in the model with no matching macro opening tag above it, usually a leftover from pasting macro code into a model or deleting the macro header. Remove the stray endmacro (and any orphaned macro body that does not belong in a model), then parse again. Models should call macros, not define them inline with leftover fragments.

dbt.exceptions.ParsingError: unexpected 'endmacro' in model sql

Use this when

• dbt parse, compile, or run fails with ParsingError unexpected endmacro in model sql
• the named file is a model under models/, not a file under macros/
• the error started right after pasting or refactoring macro code

Not for this skill when

• you are defining a real macro, define it in a .sql file under macros/ instead of in a model
• the error is unexpected endblock or endif, that is a different unmatched tag
• the model intentionally embeds a macro definition for a one-off, move it to macros/ rather than deleting logic you still need

Steps

1. Open the named model file and search for endmacro. Count macro and endmacro tags in the file; a model should normally have zero of each. Verify: you can see the unmatched endmacro and any surrounding orphaned lines.

2. Read the block above the stray tag. If it is a fragment of a macro body pasted by mistake, delete the fragment and the endmacro line. If a complete macro definition was pasted, cut the whole definition and save it as its own file under macros/ with the same macro name. Verify: the model file contains only model SQL and macro calls, no definitions.

3. Check the rest of the file for other orphaned Jinja closers left by the same edit by running dbt parse for the whole project. Verify: dbt parse completes with no ParsingError.

4. Run dbt compile --select on the edited model and read the compiled SQL to confirm the intended macro calls still render. Verify: compiled SQL contains the expected query with macro output inlined.

Variant phrasings

unexpected endmacro in a macro file

In macros/, an extra endmacro means a duplicated closer or a deleted opening tag. Restore the opening macro line with the correct name and arguments.

error line number does not match

dbt reports the rendered position, which can drift from the raw file. Search the raw file for every endmacro occurrence rather than trusting the line number alone.

Compatibility: dbt-core 1.x Jinja parsing on all adapters. Macro definitions belong in macros/ paths configured by macro-paths in dbt_project.yml.

Why it happens

dbt parses each model file as a Jinja template. The parser tracks block tags, and endmacro closes a macro block. When it appears without an open block, parsing cannot continue, so dbt raises ParsingError before any SQL reaches the warehouse. The leftover almost always comes from a copy-paste or a partial deletion.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• Whitespace-control dashes on tags do not affect matching; a mismatched count is a real mismatch.
• Commenting out the macro opening line with SQL comments does not comment out Jinja; use Jinja comment syntax if you must disable a block temporarily.
• The same paste often leaves a second fragment in another model; parse the full project after fixing the first file.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_M7DylRG0aXaXvFBIwbKfOA