[Bug] can't override namespaced macros for unit testing

[graciegoheen]

Is this a new bug in dbt-core?

• I believe this is a new bug in dbt-core
• I have searched the existing issues, and I could not find an existing issue for this bug

Current Behavior

I have a model called stg_payments that uses {{ dbt.current_timestamp() }}:

with

source as (

    select * from {{ source('jaffle_shop',  'orders') }}

),

staged as (

    select 
        id as order_id,
        user_id as customer_id,
        order_date,
        datediff('day', order_date, {{ dbt.current_timestamp() }} ) as days_since_ordered
    from source

)

select * from staged

I try to unit test this model with an override for current_timestamp:

unit_tests:
  - name: test_days_since_ordered
    description: Test my datediff caluclation for days_since_ordered
    model: stg_orders
    overrides:
      macros:
        current_timestamp: "date('2023-01-15')"
    given:
      - input: source('jaffle_shop',  'orders')
        rows:
          - {order_date: 2023-01-01}
    expect:
      rows:
        - {order_date: 2023-01-01, days_since_ordered: 14}

My unit test fails because the current_timestamp macro is not overridden.

I get the same failure when I try:

    overrides:
      macros:
        dbt.current_timestamp: "date('2023-01-15')"

Current workaround

If I instead don't use dbt. in front of my current_timestamp() macro, the unit test succeeds as expected:

datediff('day', order_date, {{ current_timestamp() }} ) as days_since_ordered

# OR

{{ dbt.datediff('order_date', current_timestamp(), 'day') }} as days_since_ordered

But this SQL goes against our documentation which tells you to use the current_timestamp() macro within your dbt SQL files like this:

{{ dbt.current_timestamp() }}

This also prevents you from being able to override macros from other namespaces (like imported packages). :(

Expected Behavior

I should be able to override namespaced macros (dbt., dbt_utils., etc.) in my unit test definition.

Which database adapter are you using with dbt?

snowflake