Feat: Support the empty backfill mode for the plan command

docs/guides/table_migration.md

@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ Consider an existing table named `my_schema.existing_table`. Migrating this tabl
 
     b. Specify the start of the first time interval SQLMesh should track in the `MODEL` DDL `start` key (example uses "2024-01-01")
 
-    c. Create the model in the SQLMesh project without backfilling any data by running `sqlmesh plan [environment name] --skip-backfill --start 2024-01-01`, replacing "[environment name]" with an environment name other than `prod` and using the same start date from the `MODEL` DDL in step 3b.
+    c. Create the model in the SQLMesh project without backfilling any data by running `sqlmesh plan [environment name] --empty-backfill --start 2024-01-01`, replacing "[environment name]" with an environment name other than `prod` and using the same start date from the `MODEL` DDL in step 3b.
 
 4. Determine the name of the model's snapshot physical table by running `sqlmesh table_name my_schema.existing_table`. For example, it might return `sqlmesh__my_schema.existing_table_123456`.
 5. Rename the original table `my_schema.existing_table_temp` to `sqlmesh__my_schema.existing_table_123456`

docs/reference/cli.md

@@ -295,6 +295,10 @@ Options:
                                   matching models in the target environment.
   --skip-backfill, --dry-run      Skip the backfill step and only create a
                                   virtual update for the plan.
+  --empty-backfill                Produce empty backfill. Like --skip-backfill
+                                  no models will be backfilled, unlike --skip-
+                                  backfill missing intervals will be recorded
+                                  as if they were backfilled.
   --forward-only                  Create a plan for forward-only changes.
   --allow-destructive-model TEXT  Allow destructive forward-only changes to
                                   models whose names match the expression.

sqlmesh/cli/main.py

@@ -333,6 +333,11 @@ def diff(ctx: click.Context, environment: t.Optional[str] = None) -> None:
     is_flag=True,
     help="Skip the backfill step and only create a virtual update for the plan.",
 )
+@click.option(
+    "--empty-backfill",
+    is_flag=True,
+    help="Produce empty backfill. Like --skip-backfill no models will be backfilled, unlike --skip-backfill missing intervals will be recorded as if they were backfilled.",
+)
 @click.option(
     "--forward-only",
     is_flag=True,

sqlmesh/core/context.py

@@ -978,6 +978,7 @@ def plan(
         restate_models: t.Optional[t.Iterable[str]] = None,
         no_gaps: bool = False,
         skip_backfill: bool = False,
+        empty_backfill: bool = False,
         forward_only: t.Optional[bool] = None,
         allow_destructive_models: t.Optional[t.Collection[str]] = None,
         no_prompts: t.Optional[bool] = None,
@@ -1015,6 +1016,7 @@ def plan(
                 part of the target environment have no data gaps when compared against previous
                 snapshots for same models.
             skip_backfill: Whether to skip the backfill step. Default: False.
+            empty_backfill: Like skip_backfill, but also records processed intervals.
             forward_only: Whether the purpose of the plan is to make forward only changes.
             allow_destructive_models: Models whose forward-only changes are allowed to be destructive.
             no_prompts: Whether to disable interactive prompts for the backfill time range. Please note that
@@ -1047,6 +1049,7 @@ def plan(
             restate_models=restate_models,
             no_gaps=no_gaps,
             skip_backfill=skip_backfill,
+            empty_backfill=empty_backfill,
             forward_only=forward_only,
             allow_destructive_models=allow_destructive_models,
             no_auto_categorization=no_auto_categorization,
@@ -1082,6 +1085,7 @@ def plan_builder(
         restate_models: t.Optional[t.Iterable[str]] = None,
         no_gaps: bool = False,
         skip_backfill: bool = False,
+        empty_backfill: bool = False,
         forward_only: t.Optional[bool] = None,
         allow_destructive_models: t.Optional[t.Collection[str]] = None,
         no_auto_categorization: t.Optional[bool] = None,
@@ -1113,6 +1117,7 @@ def plan_builder(
                 part of the target environment have no data gaps when compared against previous
                 snapshots for same models.
             skip_backfill: Whether to skip the backfill step. Default: False.
+            empty_backfill: Like skip_backfill, but also records processed intervals.
             forward_only: Whether the purpose of the plan is to make forward only changes.
             allow_destructive_models: Models whose forward-only changes are allowed to be destructive.
             no_auto_categorization: Indicates whether to disable automatic categorization of model
@@ -1246,6 +1251,7 @@ def plan_builder(
             backfill_models=backfill_models,
             no_gaps=no_gaps,
             skip_backfill=skip_backfill,
+            empty_backfill=empty_backfill,
             is_dev=is_dev,
             forward_only=(
                 forward_only if forward_only is not None else self.config.plan.forward_only

sqlmesh/core/plan/builder.py

@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ class PlanBuilder:
             part of the target environment have no data gaps when compared against previous
             snapshots for same nodes.
         skip_backfill: Whether to skip the backfill step.
+        empty_backfill: Like skip_backfill, but also records processed intervals.
         is_dev: Whether this plan is for development purposes.
         forward_only: Whether the purpose of the plan is to make forward only changes.
         allow_destructive_models: A list of fully qualified model names whose forward-only changes are allowed to be destructive.
@@ -83,6 +84,7 @@ def __init__(
         backfill_models: t.Optional[t.Iterable[str]] = None,
         no_gaps: bool = False,
         skip_backfill: bool = False,
+        empty_backfill: bool = False,
         is_dev: bool = False,
         forward_only: bool = False,
         allow_destructive_models: t.Optional[t.Iterable[str]] = None,
@@ -104,6 +106,7 @@ def __init__(
         self._context_diff = context_diff
         self._no_gaps = no_gaps
         self._skip_backfill = skip_backfill
+        self._empty_backfill = empty_backfill
         self._is_dev = is_dev
         self._forward_only = forward_only
         self._allow_destructive_models = set(
@@ -251,6 +254,7 @@ def build(self) -> Plan:
             provided_end=self._end,
             is_dev=self._is_dev,
             skip_backfill=self._skip_backfill,
+            empty_backfill=self._empty_backfill,
             no_gaps=self._no_gaps,
             forward_only=self._forward_only,
             allow_destructive_models=t.cast(t.Set, self._allow_destructive_models),

sqlmesh/core/plan/definition.py

@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ class Plan(PydanticModel, frozen=True):
 
     is_dev: bool
     skip_backfill: bool
+    empty_backfill: bool
     no_gaps: bool
     forward_only: bool
     allow_destructive_models: t.Set[str]
@@ -95,7 +96,11 @@ def previous_plan_id(self) -> t.Optional[str]:
 
     @property
     def requires_backfill(self) -> bool:
-        return not self.skip_backfill and (bool(self.restatements) or bool(self.missing_intervals))
+        return (
+            not self.skip_backfill
+            and not self.empty_backfill
+            and (bool(self.restatements) or bool(self.missing_intervals))
+        )
 
     @property
     def has_changes(self) -> bool:
@@ -264,6 +269,7 @@ def to_evaluatable(self) -> EvaluatablePlan:
             environment=self.environment,
             no_gaps=self.no_gaps,
             skip_backfill=self.skip_backfill,
+            empty_backfill=self.empty_backfill,
             restatements={s.name: i for s, i in self.restatements.items()},
             is_dev=self.is_dev,
             allow_destructive_models=self.allow_destructive_models,
@@ -295,6 +301,7 @@ class EvaluatablePlan(PydanticModel):
     environment: Environment
     no_gaps: bool
     skip_backfill: bool
+    empty_backfill: bool
     restatements: t.Dict[str, Interval]
     is_dev: bool
     allow_destructive_models: t.Set[str]

sqlmesh/core/plan/evaluator.py

@@ -160,6 +160,23 @@ def _backfill(
             plan: The plan to source snapshots from.
             selected_snapshots: The snapshots to backfill.
         """
+        if plan.empty_backfill:
+            intervals_to_add = []
+            for snapshot in snapshots_by_name.values():
+                intervals = [snapshot.inclusive_exclusive(plan.start, plan.end, strict=False)]
+                is_deployable = deployability_index.is_deployable(snapshot)
+                intervals_to_add.append(
+                    SnapshotIntervals(
+                        name=snapshot.name,
+                        identifier=snapshot.identifier,
+                        version=snapshot.version,
+                        intervals=intervals if is_deployable else [],
+                        dev_intervals=intervals if not is_deployable else [],
+                    )
+                )
+            self.state_sync.add_snapshots_intervals(intervals_to_add)
+            return
+
         if not plan.requires_backfill or not selected_snapshots:
             return
 

sqlmesh/magics.py

@@ -337,6 +337,11 @@ def test(self, context: Context, line: str, test_def_raw: t.Optional[str] = None
         action="store_true",
         help="Skip the backfill step and only create a virtual update for the plan.",
     )
+    @argument(
+        "--empty-backfill",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Produce empty backfill. Like --skip-backfill no models will be backfilled, unlike --skip-backfill missing intervals will be recorded as if they were backfilled.",
+    )
     @argument(
         "--forward-only",
         action="store_true",
@@ -418,6 +423,7 @@ def plan(self, context: Context, line: str) -> None:
             backfill_models=args.backfill_model,
             no_gaps=args.no_gaps,
             skip_backfill=args.skip_backfill,
+            empty_backfill=args.empty_backfill,
             forward_only=args.forward_only,
             no_prompts=args.no_prompts,
             auto_apply=args.auto_apply,

tests/core/test_integration.py

@@ -1698,6 +1698,24 @@ def test_create_environment_no_changes_with_selector(init_and_plan_context: t.Ca
     assert {o.name for o in schema_objects} == {"top_waiters"}
 
 
+@freeze_time("2023-01-08 15:00:00")
+def test_empty_bacfkill(init_and_plan_context: t.Callable):
+    context, _ = init_and_plan_context("examples/sushi")
+    plan = context.plan("prod", no_prompts=True, skip_tests=True, empty_backfill=True)
+    context.apply(plan)
+
+    for model in context.models.values():
+        if model.is_seed or model.kind.is_symbolic:
+            continue
+        row_num = context.engine_adapter.fetchone(f"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM {model.name}")[0]
+        assert row_num == 0
+
+    plan = context.plan("prod", no_prompts=True, skip_tests=True)
+    assert not plan.requires_backfill
+    assert not plan.has_changes
+    assert not plan.missing_intervals
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "context_fixture",
     ["sushi_context", "sushi_dbt_context", "sushi_test_dbt_context", "sushi_no_default_catalog"],

tests/core/test_plan.py

@@ -695,6 +695,7 @@ def test_missing_intervals_lookback(make_snapshot, mocker: MockerFixture):
         execution_time="2022-01-05 12:00",
         is_dev=True,
         skip_backfill=False,
+        empty_backfill=False,
         no_gaps=False,
         forward_only=False,
         allow_destructive_models=set(),

tests/schedulers/airflow/test_client.py

@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ def test_apply_plan(mocker: MockerFixture, snapshot: Snapshot):
         environment=environment,
         no_gaps=False,
         skip_backfill=False,
+        empty_backfill=False,
         restatements={snapshot.name: (to_timestamp("2024-01-01"), to_timestamp("2024-01-02"))},
         is_dev=False,
         allow_destructive_models=set(),
@@ -176,6 +177,7 @@ def test_apply_plan(mocker: MockerFixture, snapshot: Snapshot):
             },
             "no_gaps": False,
             "skip_backfill": False,
+            "empty_backfill": False,
             "is_dev": False,
             "forward_only": False,
             "allow_destructive_models": [],

tests/schedulers/airflow/test_integration.py

@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ def _create_evaluatable_plan(
         environment=environment,
         no_gaps=False,
         skip_backfill=False,
+        empty_backfill=False,
         restatements={},
         is_dev=is_dev,
         allow_destructive_models=set(),

tests/schedulers/airflow/test_plan.py

@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ def test_create_plan_dag_spec(
         environment=new_environment,
         no_gaps=True,
         skip_backfill=False,
+        empty_backfill=False,
         restatements={},
         is_dev=False,
         forward_only=True,
@@ -249,6 +250,7 @@ def test_restatement(
         environment=new_environment,
         no_gaps=True,
         skip_backfill=False,
+        empty_backfill=False,
         restatements={
             the_snapshot.name: (
                 to_timestamp("2022-01-02"),
@@ -374,6 +376,7 @@ def test_select_models_for_backfill(mocker: MockerFixture, random_name, make_sna
         environment=new_environment,
         no_gaps=True,
         skip_backfill=False,
+        empty_backfill=False,
         restatements={},
         is_dev=False,
         forward_only=True,
@@ -458,6 +461,7 @@ def test_create_plan_dag_spec_duplicated_snapshot(
         environment=new_environment,
         no_gaps=False,
         skip_backfill=False,
+        empty_backfill=False,
         restatements={},
         is_dev=False,
         forward_only=False,
@@ -519,6 +523,7 @@ def test_create_plan_dag_spec_unbounded_end(
         environment=new_environment,
         no_gaps=True,
         skip_backfill=False,
+        empty_backfill=False,
         restatements={},
         is_dev=False,
         forward_only=False,