Compilation Error: 'config' is undefined in test definition

TL;DR

Generic test definitions do not get the model config function. Move the settings into the test YAML arguments or into the test SQL itself: set severity and thresholds as test arguments in schema.yml, and drop the config call from the test file. The test then parses and runs with the intended severity.

Compilation Error: 'config' is undefined in test definition

Use this when

• dbt test or dbt build fails at parse time saying config is undefined in test definition
• the failing file lives under tests/ or is a generic test defined in a macro-like test block
• the error appeared after copying model boilerplate, including a config block, into a test

Not for this skill when

• the config call is at the top of a normal model file, that is supported and the cause is elsewhere
• you need per-model materialization settings, those belong in the model or in dbt_project.yml
• the error names a different undefined name such as ref or source

Steps

1. Open the failing test file and find the config call. Note exactly which keys it sets, commonly severity, warnif, errorif, or store_failures. Verify: you have a written list of the settings that must survive the move.

2. Delete the config block from the test definition. In schema.yml, pass the same settings as arguments on the test instance, for example severity: warn and store_failures: true under the test entry for that column. Verify: schema.yml carries the settings and the test file has no config call.

3. If the test is defined once and reused with different thresholds, declare formal arguments in the test definition using the test block argument syntax and read them with kwargs instead of config. Verify: dbt parse completes with no undefined name error.

4. Run dbt test --select on one model using the test and force a failing row in dev to confirm the severity and store_failures behavior still match the old config. Verify: the test runs, reports with the expected severity, and failing rows are stored when configured.

Variant phrasings

config undefined in a singular test

Singular tests in tests/ are plain SQL with ref and source available, but config is limited there too. Set singular test severity in schema.yml is not possible, so gate the SQL or accept default severity.

worked before an upgrade

Older dbt versions were laxer about stray config calls in some test paths. Treat the stricter parse as correct and move the settings to YAML.

Compatibility: dbt-core 1.5 and later generic and singular tests; schema.yml test arguments on all adapters. Config blocks remain valid at the top of model SQL files.

Why it happens

dbt renders different Jinja contexts for different resource types. Models get config because materialization is a model concern. Test definitions get a narrower context focused on the test query and its arguments, so the name config simply is not defined there and the parser raises instead of ignoring it.

Edge cases / pitfalls

• storefailures set in the wrong YAML level is ignored silently; check runresults.json to confirm failures were actually stored.
• Copying a whole model header into a test also imports materialization keys that tests cannot honor; strip everything except the query.
• A test defined in a package may need the fix applied in the package, not overridden locally by copying it.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_uq6gDdyoEvYKGYWMXcHfZw