[Regression] Existing Dynamic Tables Are Being Recreated Even Without Full Refresh

[gseda19]

Is this a regression in a recent version of dbt-snowflake?

• I believe this is a regression in dbt-snowflake functionality
• I have searched the existing issues, and I could not find an existing issue for this regression

Current Behavior

Dynamic tables are being recreated even without using full-refresh. This behavior is observed in dbt Cloud versionless and dbt Core (tested with dbt-core 1.8.9 and dbt-snowflake 1.9.0rc1).

This is not the case for dbt Cloud v1.7 and dbt Core using dbt-snowflake 1.8.4

cc: @amychen1776

Expected/Previous Behavior

When dbt run or dbt build is run, the existing dynamic tables should not be recreated without the full-refresh flag.

Steps To Reproduce

Using dbt Cloud versionless or dbt Core (dbt-snowflake 1.9.0rc1), run a dbt run or dbt build then check the logs and see that the existing dynamic tables are having CREATE OR REPLACE code.

dbt Cloud Versionless:
dynamic_table_2.sql:

{{ config(
    materialized="dynamic_table",
    target_lag="downstream",
    snowflake_warehouse="MY_WAREHOUSE",
    refresh_mode="AUTO", 

) }}
select * from my_first_dbt_model

Logs:

08:56:29 Applying ALTER to: "MY_DATABASE"."DBT_GSEDA"."DYNAMIC_TABLE_2"
08:56:29 Applying REPLACE to: "MY_DATABASE"."DBT_GSEDA"."DYNAMIC_TABLE_2"
08:56:29 Writing runtime sql for node "model.my_new_project.dynamic_table_2"
08:56:29 Using snowflake connection "model.my_new_project.dynamic_table_2"
08:56:29 On model.my_new_project.dynamic_table_2: /* {"app": "dbt", "dbt_version": "2024.11.25+e9c6e22", "profile_name": "user", "target_name": "default", "node_id": "model.my_new_project.dynamic_table_2"} */
create or replace dynamic table MY_DATABASE.dbt_gseda.dynamic_table_2
        target_lag = 'downstream'
        warehouse = MY_WAREHOUSE
        refresh_mode = AUTO

        initialize = ON_CREATE

        as (
            
select * from my_first_dbt_model
        )
08:56:30 SQL status: SUCCESS 1 in 1.239 seconds
08:56:30 6 of 17 OK created sql dynamic_table model dbt_gseda.dynamic_table_2 ........... [SUCCESS 1 in 3.98s]

dbt Core (adapter version: 1.9.0rc1; dbt version: 1.8.9):
dynamic_table_2_core.sql:

{{
    config(
        materialized="dynamic_table",
        target_lag="downstream",
        snowflake_warehouse="MY_WAREHOUSE",
        refresh_mode="AUTO",
        initialize="on_create"
    )
}}
select * from my_first_dbt_model

Logs:

08:54:39  Applying ALTER to: "MY_DATABASE"."DBT_GSEDA_CORE"."DYNAMIC_TABLE_2_CORE"
08:54:39  Applying REPLACE to: "MY_DATABASE"."DBT_GSEDA_CORE"."DYNAMIC_TABLE_2_CORE"
08:54:39  Writing runtime sql for node "model.snowflake_core_2.dynamic_table_2_core"
08:54:39  Using snowflake connection "model.snowflake_core_2.dynamic_table_2_core"
08:54:39  On model.snowflake_core_2.dynamic_table_2_core: /* {"app": "dbt", "dbt_version": "1.8.9", "profile_name": "snowflake_core_2", "target_name": "dev", "node_id": "model.snowflake_core_2.dynamic_table_2_core"} */
create or replace dynamic table MY_DATABASE.DBT_GSEDA_CORE.dynamic_table_2_core
        target_lag = 'downstream'
        warehouse = MY_WAREHOUSE
        refresh_mode = AUTO

        initialize = ON_CREATE

        as (


select * from my_first_dbt_model
        )
08:54:41  SQL status: SUCCESS 1 in 2.863 seconds
08:54:41  Sending event: {'category': 'dbt', 'action': 'run_model', 'label': 'd0e5e21f-fbcb-4222-911f-5d7faa085964', 'context': [<snowplow_tracker.self_describing_json.SelfDescribingJson object at 0x108caf110>]}
08:54:41  1 of 10 OK created sql dynamic_table model DBT_GSEDA_CORE.dynamic_table_2_core . [SUCCESS 1 in 4.29s]

Please note that CREATE OR REPLACE is only present on subsequent runs but on initial run, it's just CREATE which I think is expected:

create dynamic table MY_DATABASE.dbt_gseda.dynamic_table_2
        target_lag = 'downstream'
        warehouse = MY_WAREHOUSE
        refresh_mode = AUTO

        initialize = ON_CREATE

        as (
            
select * from my_first_dbt_model
        )
08:08:42 Opening a new connection, currently in state init
08:08:45 SQL status: SUCCESS 1 in 3.161 seconds
08:08:45 6 of 17 OK created sql dynamic_table model dbt_gseda.dynamic_table_2 ........... [SUCCESS 1 in 3.26s]

Relevant log output

No response

Environment

- OS:
- Python:
- dbt-core (working version): dbt cloud v1.7 
- dbt-snowflake (working version): dbt-snowflake 1.8.4
- dbt-core (regression version): Versionless
- dbt-snowflake (regression version): 1.9.0rc1

Additional Context

No response