LinuxCommandLibrary

dvc

Manage machine learning experiments and data

TLDR

Execute a DVC subcommand

$ dvc [subcommand]
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Display general help
$ dvc [[-h|--help]]
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Display help about a specific subcommand
$ dvc [subcommand] [[-h|--help]]
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Display version
$ dvc --version
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SYNOPSIS

dvc [options]

PARAMETERS

init
    Initialize a DVC repository.

add
    Track a data file or directory.

run [options]
    Define a pipeline stage to run a command and track its dependencies and outputs.

dag
    Visualize the DVC pipeline as a directed acyclic graph.

commit
    Record changes to tracked data and pipelines.

push
    Upload tracked data to a remote storage location.

pull
    Download tracked data from a remote storage location.

status
    Show the status of the DVC repository.

exp
    Run and manage experiments (DVC Experiment Management). Includes commands like `dvc exp run`, `dvc exp show`, etc.

--version
    Show the DVC version.

--help
    Show help information.

DESCRIPTION

DVC (Data Version Control) is an open-source version control system for machine learning projects. It extends Git to handle large datasets, machine learning models, and experimental workflows.

Unlike traditional Git, which is designed for code, DVC focuses on managing the data and models that are essential for ML projects. It tracks data lineage, dependencies, and metrics, making it easier to reproduce experiments, collaborate with others, and deploy models.

DVC uses a .dvc directory to store metadata about tracked data files and directories. It supports various storage backends, including cloud storage (AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Blob Storage) and local/remote file systems. This allows users to store large datasets externally and track changes without storing the data directly in Git.

CAVEATS

DVC relies on Git for versioning the DVC metadata files (.dvc). Understanding Git is crucial for effective DVC usage. Large datasets may require significant storage space in the configured remote.

DATA CACHING

DVC uses content-addressable storage (CAS) to cache data. This allows DVC to efficiently share data between different experiments and projects, avoiding redundant data storage and transfer.

REPRODUCIBILITY

DVC makes it easier to reproduce machine learning experiments by tracking the data, code, and dependencies used to generate results.

COLLABORATION

DVC enables effective collaboration on ML projects by providing a standardized way to manage data and models, ensuring that team members can easily share and reproduce each other's work.

HISTORY

DVC was created to address the challenges of versioning data and models in machine learning projects. It was initially designed to work alongside Git, providing a familiar interface for managing data assets. Over time, DVC has evolved to include features such as pipeline management, experiment tracking, and collaboration tools, becoming a comprehensive platform for ML project management.

SEE ALSO

git(1)

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