Model Data in MotherDuck

Core Behavior

For multi-model or transformation-layer work, default to a file-based project scaffold rather than warehouse-only SQL execution.

The project scaffold includes:

• SQL files organized by lifecycle stage (raw/, staging/, analytics/)
• A manifest (model_manifest.yml) defining the DAG: model names, dependencies, materialization strategy, and target database

This is a lightweight framework-agnostic convention for organizing SQL transformations that can be reviewed, versioned, and rerun.

Prerequisites

• MotherDuck connection established via motherduck-connect
• Existing source shape understood via motherduck-explore
• DuckDB SQL syntax available via motherduck-duckdb-sql