---
title: "Upgrade versions in dbt platform"
source: dbt Core Documentation
source_url: https://github.com/dbt-labs/docs.getdbt.com
licence: Apache-2.0
domain: data-and-analysis
subdomain: dbt-docs
date_added: 2026-04-25
---

import FusionDWH from '/snippets/_fusion-dwh.md';
import FusionUpgradeSteps from '/snippets/_fusion-upgrade-steps.md';

In <Constant name="dbt" />, both [jobs](/docs/deploy/jobs) and [environments](/docs/dbt-cloud-environments) are configured to use a specific version of <Constant name="core" />. The version can be upgraded at any time.

## Environments

Navigate to the settings page of an environment, then click **Edit**. Click the **dbt version** dropdown bar and make your selection. You can select a [release track](#release-tracks) to receive ongoing updates (recommended), or a legacy version of <Constant name="core" />. Be sure to save your changes before navigating away.

<Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/example-environment-settings.png" width="90%" title="Example environment settings in dbt"/>

### Release Tracks

Starting in 2024, your project gets upgraded automatically on a cadence that you choose:

The **Latest** track ensures you have up-to-date <Constant name="dbt" /> functionality, and early access to new features of the dbt framework. The **Compatible** and **Extended** tracks are designed for customers who need a less-frequent release cadence, the ability to test new dbt releases before they go live in production, and/or ongoing compatibility with the latest open source releases of <Constant name="core" />.

As a best practice, dbt Labs recommends that you test the upgrade in development first; use the [Override dbt version](#override-dbt-version) setting to test _your_ project on the latest dbt version before upgrading your deployment environments and the default development environment for all your colleagues.

To upgrade an environment in the [<Constant name="dbt" /> Admin API](/docs/dbt-cloud-apis/admin-cloud-api) or [Terraform](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/dbt-labs/dbtcloud/latest), set `dbt_version` to the name of your release track:
- `latest-fusion` <Lifecycle status="private_preview" /> (available to select accounts)
- `latest` (default)
- `compatible` (available to Starter, Enterprise, Enterprise+ plans)
- `extended` (available to all Enterprise plans)

### Override dbt version

Configure your project to use a different dbt version than what's configured in your [development environment](/docs/dbt-cloud-environments#types-of-environments). This _override_ only affects your user account, no one else's. Use this to safely test new dbt features before upgrading the dbt version for your projects. 

1. Click your account name from the left side panel and select **Account settings**. 
2. Choose **Credentials** from the sidebar and select a project. This opens a side panel.
3. In the side panel, click **Edit** and scroll to the **User development settings** section. 
4. Choose a version from the **dbt version** dropdown and click **Save**.

  An example of overriding the configured version to [**Latest** release track](/docs/dbt-versions/cloud-release-tracks) for the selected project:

  <Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/example-override-version.png" width="60%" title="Example of overriding the dbt version on your user account"/>

5. (Optional) Verify that <Constant name="dbt" /> will use your override setting to build the project by invoking a `dbt build` command in the <Constant name="studio_ide" />'s command bar. Expand the **System Logs** section and find the output's first line. It should begin with `Running with dbt=` and list the version <Constant name="dbt" /> is using. 
   For users on Release tracks, the output will display `Running dbt...` instead of a specific version, reflecting the flexibility and continuous automatic updates provided by the release track functionality.

## dbt Fusion engine <Lifecycle status="private_preview" />

dbt Labs has introduced the new [<Constant name="fusion_engine" />](/docs/fusion), a ground-up rebuild of dbt. This is currently in private preview on the dbt platform. Eligible customers can update environments to Fusion using the same workflows as v1.x, but remember:
- If you don't see the `Latest Fusion` release track as an option, you should check with your dbt Labs account team about eligibility.
- To increase the compatibility of your project, update all jobs and environments to the **Latest** release track and read more about the changes in our [upgrade guide](/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/upgrading-to-fusion).
- Make sure you're using a supported adapter and authentication method:
  <FusionDWH /> 
- Once you upgrade your development environment(s) to `Latest Fusion`, every user will have to restart the IDE.

  <Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/cloud-upgrading-dbt-versions/upgrade-fusion.png" width="90%" title="Upgrade to the Fusion engine in your environment settings." />

### Upgrading environments to Fusion <Lifecycle status="private_preview" />

When you're ready to upgrade your project(s) to <Constant name="fusion_engine" />, there are some tools available to you in the dbt platform UI to help you get started. The <Constant name="fusion" /> upgrade assistant will step you through the process of preparing and upgrading your projects. 

  <Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/fusion-upgrade-gui.png" width="60%" title="The Fusion upgrade assistant."/>

#### Prerequisites

To take advantage of the upgrade assistant, you'll need to meet the following prerequisites:
- Your dbt project must be updated to use the **Latest** release track.
- You must have a `developer` license.
- You must have the <Constant name="Fusion" /> beta enabled for your account. For more information, please contact your account manager. 

#### Assign access to upgrade

The <Constant name="fusion" /> readiness & upgrade flow are controlled by two account-level settings that an admin must configure.

Step 1: Enable Fusion readiness features (required)

The upgrade assistant and readiness panel only appear after enabling this setting. From your **Account settings**:

1. Navigate to the **Account** screen.
2. Click **Edit** and scroll to the **Settings** section.
3. Click the box next to **Enable Fusion readiness & upgrade features**.
4. Click **Save**.

Once enabled, all admins and developers can see each project's Fusion readiness status and which jobs are eligible or ineligible for <Constant name="fusion" />. Admins can also initiate the <Constant name="fusion" /> upgrade from development environments, environment settings, and job settings (subject to existing user permissions). Developer-licensed users will have access to debug tools to help make projects <Constant name="fusion" /> eligible in both development and production environments.

Step 2: Restrict upgrade access (optional, Enterprise/Enterprise+ only)

By default, all admins and developer-licensed users can access the <Constant name="fusion" /> readiness & upgrade flow. To restrict upgrade execution to users with the `Fusion admin` permission set, enable this additional setting. From your **Account settings**:

1. Navigate to the **Account** screen.
2. Click **Edit** and scroll to the **Settings** section.
3. Click the box next to **Enable restricted Fusion upgrade permissions**.
4. Click **Save**.

This hides the <Constant name="fusion" /> upgrade workflows from users who don't have the [`Fusion admin`](/docs/cloud/manage-access/enterprise-permissions#fusion-admin) permission set. To grant access to the upgrade workflows to specific projects and/or specific users:
1. Navigate to an existing group in your **Account settings** and click **Edit**, or click [**Create group**](/docs/cloud/manage-access/about-user-access#create-new-groups) to create a new one.
2. Scroll to the **Access and permissions** section and click **Add permission**.
3. Select the **Fusion admin** permission set from the dropdown, then select the project(s) you want the users to access. 
4. Click **Save**.

  <Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/assign-fusion-admin.png" width="60%" title="Assign Fusion admin to groups and projects."/>

The <Constant name="fusion" /> upgrade workflows helps identify areas of the project that need to be updated and provides tools for manually resolving and autofixing any errors. 

#### Upgrade your development environment

To begin the process of upgrading to <Constant name="fusion" /> with the assistant:
1. From the project homepage or sidebar menu, click the **Start Fusion upgrade** or **Get started** button. You will be redirected to the <Constant name="studio_ide" />.
  <Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/start-upgrade.png" width="60%" title="Start the Fusion upgrade."/>
2. At the top of the <Constant name="studio_ide" /> click **Check deprecation warnings**. 
  <Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/check-deprecations.png" width="60%" title="Begin the process of parsing for deprecation warnings."/>
3. dbt parses your project for the deprecations and presents a list of all deprecation warnings along with the option to **Autofix warnings**. Autofixing attempts to correct all syntax errors automatically. See [Fix deprecation warnings](/docs/cloud/studio-ide/autofix-deprecations) for more information. 
  <Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/check-deprecations.png" width="60%" title="Begin the process of parsing for deprecation warnings."/>
4. Once the deprecation warnings have been resolved, click the **Enable Fusion** button. This upgrades your development environment to Fusion!

  <Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/autofix-success.png" width="60%" title="You're now ready to upgrade to Fusion in your development environment!"/>

Now that you've upgraded your development environment to <Constant name="Fusion" />, you're ready to start the process of upgrading your Production, Staging, and General environments. Follow your organization's standard procedures and use the [release tracks](#release-tracks) to upgrade.

import FusionReadinessPanel from '/snippets/_fusion-migration-readiness-panel.md';

<FusionReadinessPanel />

<FusionUpgradeSteps />

## Jobs

Each job in <Constant name="dbt" /> can be configured to inherit parameters from the environment it belongs to.

<Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/choosing-dbt-version/job-settings.png" width="200%" title="Settings of a dbt job"/>

The example job seen in the screenshot above belongs to the environment "Prod". It inherits the dbt version of its environment as shown by the **Inherited from ENVIRONMENT_NAME (DBT_VERSION)** selection. You may also manually override the dbt version of a specific job to be any of the current Core releases supported by Cloud by selecting another option from the dropdown.

## Supported versions

dbt Labs has always encouraged users to upgrade dbt Core versions whenever a new minor version is released. We released our first major version of dbt - `dbt 1.0` - in December 2021. Alongside this release, we updated our policy on which versions of dbt Core we will support in the <Constant name="dbt_platform" />.

> **Starting with v1.0, all subsequent minor versions are available in <Constant name="dbt" />. Versions are actively supported, with patches and bug fixes, for 1 year after their initial release. At the end of the 1-year window, we encourage all users to upgrade to a newer version for better ongoing maintenance and support.**

We provide different support levels for different versions, which may include new features, bug fixes, or security patches:

<Snippet path="core-version-support" />

We'll continue to update the following release table so that users know when we plan to stop supporting different versions of Core in <Constant name="dbt" />.

<Snippet path="core-versions-table" />

Starting with v1.0, <Constant name="dbt" /> will ensure that you're always using the latest compatible patch release of `dbt-core` and plugins, including all the latest fixes. You may also choose to try prereleases of those patch releases before they are generally available.


For more on version support and future releases, see [Understanding <Constant name="core" /> versions](/docs/dbt-versions).

### Need help upgrading?

If you want more advice on how to upgrade your dbt projects, check out our [migration guides](/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/) and our [upgrading Q&A page](/docs/dbt-versions/upgrade-dbt-version-in-cloud#upgrading-legacy-versions-under-10).

### Testing your changes before upgrading

Once you know what code changes you'll need to make, you can start implementing them. We recommend you:
- Create a separate dbt project, "Upgrade project", to test your changes before making them live in your main dbt project.
- In your "Upgrade project", connect to the same repository you use for your production project.
- Set the development environment [settings](/docs/dbt-versions/upgrade-dbt-version-in-cloud) to run the latest version of <Constant name="core" />.
- Check out a branch `dbt-version-upgrade`, make the appropriate updates to your project, and verify your dbt project compiles and runs with the new version in the <Constant name="studio_ide" />.
  - If upgrading directly to the latest version results in too many issues, try testing your project iteratively on successive minor versions. There are years of development and a few breaking changes between distant versions of <Constant name="core" /> (for example, 1.0 --> 1.10). The likelihood of experiencing problems upgrading between successive minor versions is much lower, which is why upgrading regularly is recommended.
- Once you have your project compiling and running on the latest version of dbt in the development environment for your `dbt-version-upgrade` branch, try replicating one of your production jobs to run off your branch's code.
- You can do this by creating a new deployment environment for testing, setting the custom branch to 'ON' and referencing your `dbt-version-upgrade` branch. You'll also need to set the dbt version in this environment to the latest dbt Core version.

<Lightbox src="/img/docs/dbt-cloud/cloud-configuring-dbt-cloud/cloud-upgrading-dbt-versions/upgrade-environment.png" width="90%" title="Setting your testing environment" />

- Then add a job to the new testing environment that replicates one of the production jobs your team relies on.
  - If that job runs smoothly, you should be all set to merge your branch into main. 
  - Then change your development and deployment environments in your main dbt project to run off the newest version of <Constant name="core" />.
