RelationNotFound: relation 'analytics.dim_customers' does not exist"

TL;DR

Something queried analytics.dim_customers and the warehouse says it is not there. Either the model was never built in this target, it was built into a different schema, or it was dropped. Rebuild the model with dbt run --select dim_customers, verify the schema in your profile target, and confirm the relation exists before rerunning downstream work.

Error

RelationNotFound: relation 'analytics.dim_customers' does not exist

Steps

1. Check whether the relation exists right now by querying your warehouse's information schema for dim_customers in schema analytics. Expected: you learn whether it is truly missing or just in the wrong schema.
2. Compare the schema against your profile target: the schema (and database) in profiles.yml for the active target must match where you are looking. Expected: the target schema equals analytics, or you adjust your expectation.
3. Rebuild the model: dbt run --select dim_customers. Expected: the run succeeds and the relation appears in the warehouse.
4. If a downstream model or a docs query triggered the error, rerun it now. Expected: the RelationNotFound error is gone.
5. If the relation keeps disappearing, check for a --full-refresh in a scheduled job or a drop step that removes it. Expected: you find the job responsible.

When to use

• A dbt run, test, or docs query fails with RelationNotFound.
• You switched targets (dev to prod) and relations seem missing.

When not to use

• dbt compile fails with a dependency error (the node is missing from the graph, not the warehouse).
• The relation exists but queries fail with permission errors (a grants problem).

Tool compatibility

• dbt Core 1.0 and later, all adapters. Information schema queries differ slightly per warehouse.

Variant phrasings

relation "analytics.dim_customers" does not exist

The Postgres-style quoting of the same error; the fix is identical.

RelationNotFound on a seed or snapshot

Seeds and snapshots are relations too; rebuild with dbt seed or dbt snapshot.

Why it happens

dbt renders relation names from the target's database and schema plus the model name. A mismatch between where dbt built the model and where the query looks, or a model that was never built in this environment, produces this error.

Edge cases

• Custom schemas via generate_schema_name change where models land; check the macro before assuming the default.
• On Snowflake, case matters: unquoted identifiers fold to uppercase.
• Cloned or time-traveled databases can hide recently built relations from the session that built them.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_bdvVfPTOggwj0Km7kfuOjw