Configure compilation behavior

Use compilation settings to control dry-run behavior and type-error enforcement while developing a model. This guide explains what these settings change during deployment and how to configure them.

Prerequisites

• You have access to a Snowflake account with the RelationalAI Native App installed. If you are unsure, contact your Snowflake administrator.
• You have a working PyRel installation. See Install and run PyRel for instructions.

What compilation configuration covers

When you deploy a model, PyRel compiles its definitions into a plan for creating and refreshing the model’s outputs. Compilation can catch problems such as incompatible types before PyRel applies that plan.

Use this table to choose which setting to change:

Setting	Use it when
Dry-run mode	You want to compile the model without applying the resulting plan or triggering its refreshes. The surrounding deployment workflow can still write metadata.
Soft type errors	You want compilation to continue after reporting type-inference errors while you investigate them.

Enable or disable dry-run mode

Set compiler.dry_run to true to compile the model without executing the resulting plan or starting its refreshes. The setting defaults to false.

Caution

Dry-run mode is not an offline check or a guarantee that the entire deployment command makes no changes. The surrounding workflow can still connect to Snowflake, provision a model schema and metadata, and record deployment history. Use a development target and a role with appropriate permissions rather than relying on this setting to protect an existing deployment.

Dry-run mode doesn’t show what a deployment would change in Snowflake. For that, review a deployment plan instead.

Select the tab for your preferred configuration method to see how to set it up.

raiconfig.yaml

1. Set compiler.dry_run in raiconfig.yaml

   connections:
     # ...
   
   compiler:
       dry_run: true

2. Inspect the parsed config

   Note

   This check assumes your existing raiconfig.yaml already includes a valid connection configuration. If you define more than one connection, set default_connection so Model uses the intended config. See Configure Snowflake authentication for details on connection configuration.

   from relationalai.semantics import Model
   
   m = Model("MyModel")
   
   print(m.config.compiler.dry_run)

   A printed value of True confirms that PyRel loaded the dry_run setting from your config.

Programmatic

Set compiler.dry_run with CompilerConfig or a plain Python dict. These examples assume file discovery already provides a valid connection configuration. Use one of the following approaches:

1. Set the value with a typed config class

   from relationalai.config import CompilerConfig, create_config
   from relationalai.semantics import Model
   
   cfg = create_config(compiler=CompilerConfig(dry_run=True))
   m = Model("MyModel", config=cfg)
   
   print(m.config.compiler.dry_run)

2. Set the value with a dict

   from relationalai.config import create_config
   from relationalai.semantics import Model
   
   cfg = create_config(compiler={"dry_run": True})
   m = Model("MyModel", config=cfg)
   
   print(m.config.compiler.dry_run)

Each example should print True. This confirms only that PyRel loaded the setting, not that the model compiles or that deployment is free of side effects. If the value is different, check the active profile and configuration overrides in Load configuration from files.

Related resources:

• Create configuration in code
• CompilerConfig API reference

Enable or disable soft type errors

Set compiler.soft_type_errors to true to let compilation continue after reporting errors found during type inference. The setting applies when PyRel compiles a model for deployment and defaults to false, so those errors normally stop compilation.

Caution

This setting does not disable other validation or guarantee that an invalid model can be deployed or refreshed. Use it only while investigating type errors. Fix the reported errors and set it back to false before deploying a model you intend others to use.

Select the tab for your preferred configuration method to see how to set it up.

raiconfig.yaml

1. Set compiler.soft_type_errors in raiconfig.yaml

   connections:
     # ...
   
   compiler:
     soft_type_errors: true

2. Inspect the parsed config

   Note

   This check assumes your existing raiconfig.yaml already includes a valid connection configuration. If you define more than one connection, set default_connection so Model uses the intended config. See Configure Snowflake authentication for details on connection configuration.

   from relationalai.semantics import Model
   
   m = Model("MyModel")
   
   print(m.config.compiler.soft_type_errors)

   A printed value of True confirms that PyRel loaded the soft_type_errors setting from your config.

Programmatic

Set compiler.soft_type_errors with CompilerConfig or a plain Python dict. These examples assume file discovery already provides a valid connection configuration. Use one of the following approaches:

1. Set the value with a typed config class

   from relationalai.config import CompilerConfig, create_config
   from relationalai.semantics import Model
   
   cfg = create_config(compiler=CompilerConfig(soft_type_errors=True))
   m = Model("MyModel", config=cfg)
   
   print(m.config.compiler.soft_type_errors)

2. Set the value with a dict

   from relationalai.config import create_config
   from relationalai.semantics import Model
   
   cfg = create_config(compiler={"soft_type_errors": True})
   m = Model("MyModel", config=cfg)
   
   print(m.config.compiler.soft_type_errors)

Each example should print True. This confirms only that PyRel loaded the setting. If the value is different, check the active profile and configuration overrides in Load configuration from files.

Related resources:

• Create configuration in code
• CompilerConfig API reference