# I have an issue trying to document a model

**URL:** <https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/i-have-an-issue-trying-to-document-a-model/12946>\
**Category:** Help\
**Created:** [April 18, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/i-have-an-issue-trying-to-document-a-model/12946 "2024-04-18T03:48:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![andrewnzinuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7feea3/32.png) [@andrewnzinuk](https://discourse.getdbt.com/u/andrewnzinuk)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/i-have-an-issue-trying-to-document-a-model/12946/1 "2024-04-18T03:48:25Z")

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I have a dbt.project.yml file. The file looks like this :

'# Name your project! Project names should contain only lowercase characters  
'# and underscores. A good package name should reflect your organization’s  
'# name or the intended use of these models  
name: ‘edw’  
version: ‘1.0.0’  
config-version: 2

'# This setting configures which “profile” dbt uses for this project.  
profile: ‘edw’

'# These configurations specify where dbt should look for different types of files.  
'# The `model-paths` config, for example, states that models in this project can be  
'# found in the “models/” directory. You probably won’t need to change these!  
model-paths: [“models”]  
analysis-paths: [“analyses”]  
test-paths: [“tests”]  
seed-paths: [“seeds”]  
macro-paths: [“macros”]  
snapshot-paths: [“snapshots”]

clean-targets: # directories to be removed by `dbt clean`

- “target”
- “dbt\_packages”

'# Configuring models  
'# Full documentation: [Model configurations | dbt Developer Hub](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/configuring-models)

'# In this example config, we tell dbt to build all models in the example/  
'# directory as views. These settings can be overridden in the individual model  
'# files using the `{{ config(...) }}` macro.  
models:  
edw:  
name: ReRead\_Source\_File  
description: This is just a random description.  
'# Config indicated by + and applies to all files under models/example/  
example:  
+materialized: view

I can run dbt debug, dbt build, dbt run, dbt docs generate and dbt docs serve, but for the model ReRead\_Source\_File the description states : “The model is not currently documented”.

I have tried creating a .YML file for the model in the same folder as the model. Still no joy.  
Basically, I am clueless as to how to add something as basic as a description.

Clearly debug thinks my file is OK, but I am not putting the description in the right place. Hopefully an easy one for those that have more than a couple of days experience. I am only learning - so ignore the naming etc - just trying to see how things hang together.

Note I put a ’ in front of each # has then it displayed better in this post than without - but it is not in the file on the system

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/getdbt/original/2X/3/39b1db74de92d41d541841c7849626c4156493e4.png)

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**Author:** ![andrewnzinuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7feea3/32.png) [@andrewnzinuk](https://discourse.getdbt.com/u/andrewnzinuk)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 4:02am UTC](https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/i-have-an-issue-trying-to-document-a-model/12946/2 "2024-04-18T04:02:38Z")

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I have also tried putting this in the model :

{{ config(description=‘Does this work’) }}

select \* from {{ ref(‘Projects\_Type1\_and\_2’) }}

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![andrewnzinuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7feea3/32.png) [@andrewnzinuk](https://discourse.getdbt.com/u/andrewnzinuk)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 4:18am UTC](https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/i-have-an-issue-trying-to-document-a-model/12946/3 "2024-04-18T04:18:45Z")

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Just an update. I have found if I create a file in the models folder which looks like this it works :

version: 2

models:

- name: ReRead\_Source\_File  
description: Hello World

Should that work if I put it in the project.yml file at the root level of the project - or does it have to be in the models folder. I suppose I have this working - but am unsure as to whether I have in the correct place, or the only place.

Thanks

Andrew

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![andrewnzinuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7feea3/32.png) [@andrewnzinuk](https://discourse.getdbt.com/u/andrewnzinuk)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 4:51am UTC](https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/i-have-an-issue-trying-to-document-a-model/12946/4 "2024-04-18T04:51:49Z")

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I added another model and now after removing it get the following error :

The schema file at models\Descriptions.yml is invalid because the value of ‘models’ is not a list

What does this mean?

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**Author:** ![lisa.fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee7513/32.png) [@lisa.fang](https://discourse.getdbt.com/u/lisa.fang)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/i-have-an-issue-trying-to-document-a-model/12946/5 "2024-04-18T16:02:50Z")

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Model documentation is handled in the model’s yml file (like in your third message), not the `dbt_project.yml` file.

The [jaffle\_shop](https://github.com/dbt-labs/jaffle_shop/tree/main/models) repo may be helpful to you - the folder I linked has two models (`customers`, `orders`) that are both documented in `schema.yml`. The error you’re getting sounds like a misconfiguration of the values under `models:`. Would expect something like:

```auto
version: 2

models:
   - name: ReRead_Source_file
     description: model description

   - name: second_model
     description: model description

```

The `schema.yml` file in that repo should also show you how to document the columns in those models. Hope this helps!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![andrewnzinuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7feea3/32.png) [@andrewnzinuk](https://discourse.getdbt.com/u/andrewnzinuk)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 11:23pm UTC](https://discourse.getdbt.com/t/i-have-an-issue-trying-to-document-a-model/12946/6 "2024-04-18T23:23:48Z")

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Thanks Lisa. May have had some strange characters in my schema.yml file - so started again and working as expected. Thanks