dvc.yaml

You can configure machine learning projects in one or more dvc.yaml files. The list of stages is typically the most important part of a dvc.yaml file, though the file can also be used to configure artifacts, metrics, params, and plots, either as part of a stage definition or on their own.

dvc.yaml uses the YAML 1.2 format and a human-friendly schema explained below. We encourage you to get familiar with it so you may modify, write, or generate them by your own means.

dvc.yaml files are designed to be small enough so you can easily version them with Git along with other DVC files and your project's code.

Artifacts

This section allows you to declare structured metadata about your artifacts.

artifacts:
  cv-classification: # artifact ID (name)
    path: models/resnet.pt
    type: model
    desc: 'CV classification model, ResNet50'
    labels:
      - resnet50
      - classification
    meta:
      framework: pytorch

For every artifact ID you can specify the following elements (only path is mandatory):

• path (string) - The path to the artifact, either relative to the root of the repository or a full path in an external storage such as S3.
• type (string) - You can specify artifacts of any type. By default, the DVC-based model registry will show any artifacts with type model (you can adjust the filters to also show artifacts of other types).
• desc (string) - A description of your artifact
• labels (list) - Any labels you want to add to the artifact
• meta - Any extra extra information, the content of this element will be ignored by DVC and will not show up in the model registry

Artifact IDs must consist of letters and numbers, and use '-' as separator (but not at the start or end).

Metrics

The list of metrics contains one or more paths to metrics files. Here's an example:

metrics:
  - metrics.json

Metrics are key/value pairs saved in structured files that map a metric name to a numeric value. See dvc metrics for more information and how to compare among experiments, or DVCLive for a helper to log metrics.

Params

The list of params contains one or more paths to parameters files. Here's an example:

params:
  - params.yaml

Parameters are key/value pairs saved in structured files. Unlike stage-level parameter dependencies, which are granular, top-level parameters are defined at the file level and include all parameters in the file. See dvc params for more information and how to compare between experiments.

Plots

The list of plots contains one or more user-defined dvc plots configurations. Every plot must have a unique ID, which may be either a file or directory path (relative to the location of dvc.yaml) or an arbitrary string. If the ID is an arbitrary string, a file path must be provided in the y field (x file path is always optional and cannot be the only path provided).

Available configuration fields

• y (string, list, dict) - source for the Y axis data:

  If plot ID is a path, one or more column/field names is expected, or the last column/field is used by default. For example:

  plots:
    - regression_hist.csv:
        y: mean_squared_error
    - classifier_hist.csv:
        y: [acc, loss]

  If plot ID is an arbitrary string, a dictionary of file paths mapped to column/field names is expected. For example:

  plots:
    - train_val_test:
        y:
          train.csv: [train_acc, val_acc]
          test.csv: test_acc

• x (string, dict) - source for the X axis data. An auto-generated step field is used by default.

  If plot ID is a path, one column/field name is expected. For example:

  plots:
    - classifier_hist.csv:
        y: [acc, loss]
        x: epoch

  If plot ID is an arbitrary string, x may either be one column/field name, or a dictionary of file paths each mapped to one column/field name (the number of column/field names must match the number in y).

  plots:
    - train_val_test: # single x
        y:
          train.csv: [train_acc, val_acc]
          test.csv: test_acc
        x: epoch
    - roc_vs_prc: # x dict
        y:
          precision_recall.json: precision
          roc.json: tpr
        x:
          precision_recall.json: recall
          roc.json: fpr
    - confusion: # different x and y paths
        y:
          dir/preds.csv: predicted
        x:
          dir/actual.csv: actual
        template: confusion

• y_label (string) - Y axis label. If all y data sources have the same field name, that will be the default. Otherwise, it's "y".

• x_label (string) - X axis label. If all y data sources have the same field name, that will be the default. Otherwise, it's "x".

• title (string) - header for the plot(s). Defaults to path/to/dvc.yaml::plot_id.

• template (string) - plot template. Defaults to linear.

Stages

You can construct machine learning pipelines by defining individual stages in one or more dvc.yaml files. Stages constitute a pipeline when they connect with each other (forming a dependency graph, see dvc dag).

The list of stages contains one or more user-defined stages. Here's a simple one named transpose:

stages:
  transpose:
    cmd: ./trans.r rows.txt > columns.txt
    deps:
      - rows.txt
    outs:
      - columns.txt

The only required part of a stage it's the shell command(s) it executes (cmd field). This is what DVC runs when the stage is reproduced (see dvc repro).

If a stage command reads input files, these (or their directory locations) can be defined as dependencies (deps). DVC will check whether they have changed to decide whether the stage requires re-execution (see dvc status).

If it writes files or directories, these can be defined as outputs (outs). DVC will track them going forward (similar to using dvc add on them).

Stage commands

The command(s) defined in the stages (cmd field) can be anything your system terminal would accept and run, for example a shell built-in, an expression, or a binary found in PATH.

Surround the command with double quotes " if it includes special characters like | or <, >. Use single quotes ' instead if there are environment variables in it that should be evaluated dynamically.

The same applies to the command argument for helper commands (dvc stage add), otherwise they would apply to the DVC call itself:

$ dvc stage add -n a_stage "./a_script.sh > /dev/null 2>&1"

Parameters

Parameters are simple key/value pairs consumed by the command code from a structured parameters file. They are defined per-stage in the params field of dvc.yaml and should contain one of these:

1. A param name that can be found in params.yaml (default params file);
2. A dictionary named by the file path to a custom params file, and with a list of param key/value pairs to find in it;
3. An empty set (give no value or use null) named by the file path to a params file: to track all the params in it dynamically.

stages:
  preprocess:
    cmd: bin/cleanup raw.txt clean.txt
    deps:
      - raw.txt
    params:
      - threshold # track specific param (from params.yaml)
      - nn.batch_size
      - myparams.yaml: # track specific params from custom file
          - epochs
      - config.json: # track all parameters in this file
    outs:
      - clean.txt

Parameters files

The supported params file formats are YAML 1.2, JSON, TOML 1.0, and Python. Parameter key/value pairs should be organized in tree-like hierarchies inside. Supported value types are: string, integer, float, boolean, and arrays (groups of params).

These files are typically written manually (or generated) and they can be versioned directly with Git along with other workspace files.

foreach stages

You can define more than one stage in a single dvc.yaml entry with the following syntax. A foreach element accepts a list or dictionary with values to iterate on, while do contains the regular stage fields (cmd, outs, etc.). Here's a simple example:

stages:
  cleanups:
    foreach: # List of simple values
      - raw1
      - labels1
      - raw2
    do:
      cmd: clean.py "${item}"
      outs:
        - ${item}.cln

Upon dvc repro, each item in the list is expanded into its own stage by substituting its value in expression ${item}. The item's value is appended to each stage name after a @. The final stages generated by the foreach syntax are saved to dvc.lock:

schema: '2.0'
stages:
  cleanups@labels1:
    cmd: clean.py "labels1"
    outs:
      - path: labels1.cln
  cleanups@raw1:
    cmd: clean.py "raw1"
    outs:
      - path: raw1.cln
  cleanups@raw2:
    cmd: clean.py "raw2"
    outs:
      - path: raw2.cln

For lists containing complex values (e.g. dictionaries), the substitution expression can use the ${item.key} form. Stage names will be appended with a zero-based index. For example:

stages:
  train:
    foreach:
      - epochs: 3
        thresh: 10
      - epochs: 10
        thresh: 15
    do:
      cmd: python train.py ${item.epochs} ${item.thresh}

# dvc.lock
schema: '2.0'
stages:
  train@0:
    cmd: python train.py 3 10
  train@1:
    cmd: python train.py 10 15

DVC can also iterate on a dictionary given directly to foreach, resulting in two substitution expressions being available: ${key} and ${item}. The former is used for the stage names:

stages:
  build:
    foreach:
      uk:
        epochs: 3
        thresh: 10
      us:
        epochs: 10
        thresh: 15
    do:
      cmd: python train.py '${key}' ${item.epochs} ${item.thresh}
      outs:
        - model-${key}.hdfs

# dvc.lock
schema: '2.0'
stages:
  build@uk:
    cmd: python train.py 'uk' 3 10
    outs:
      - path: model-uk.hdfs
        md5: 17b3d1efc339b416c4b5615b1ce1b97e
  build@us: ...

Importantly, dictionaries from parameters files can be used in foreach stages as well:

stages:
  mystages:
    foreach: ${myobject} # From params.yaml
    do:
      cmd: ./script.py ${key} ${item.prop1}
      outs:
        - ${item.prop2}

matrix stages

matrix allows you do to define multiple stages based on combinations of variables. A matrix element accepts one or more variables, each iterating over a list of values. For example:

stages:
  train:
    matrix:
      model: [cnn, xgb]
      feature: [feature1, feature2, feature3]
    cmd: ./train.py --feature ${item.feature} ${item.model}
    outs:
      - ${key}.pkl # equivalent to: ${item.model}-${item.feature}.pkl

You can reference each variable in your stage definition using the item dictionary key. In the above example, you can access item.model and item.feature. Moreover, matrix exposes a key value, which combines the current item values into one expression (see example below).

On dvc repro, dvc will expand the definition to multiple stages for each possible combination of the variables. In the above example, dvc will create six stages, one for each combination of model and feature. The name of the stages will be generated by appending values of the variables to the stage name after a @ as with foreach. For example, dvc will create the following stages:

$ dvc stage list
train@cnn-feature1  Outputs cnn-feature1.pkl
train@cnn-feature2  Outputs cnn-feature2.pkl
train@cnn-feature3  Outputs cnn-feature3.pkl
train@xgb-feature1  Outputs xgb-feature1.pkl
train@xgb-feature2  Outputs xgb-feature2.pkl
train@xgb-feature3  Outputs xgb-feature3.pkl

Both individual matrix stages (eg: train@cnn-feature1) and group of matrix stages (train) may be used in commands that accept stage targets.

The values in variables can be simple values such as string, integer, etc and composite values such as list, dictionary, etc. For example:

matrix:
  config:
    - n_estimators: 150
      max_depth: 20
    - n_estimators: 120
      max_depth: 30
  labels:
    - [label1, label2, label3]
    - [labelX, labelY, labelZ]

When using a list or a dictionary, dvc will generate the name of stages based on variable name and the index of the value. In the above example, generated stages may look like train@labels0-config0.

Templating can also be used inside matrix, so you can reference variables defined elsewhere. For example, you can define values in params.yaml file and use them in matrix.

# params.yaml
datasets: [dataset1/, dataset2/]
processors: [processor1, processor2]

# dvc.yaml
stages:
  preprocess:
    matrix:      processor: ${processors}      dataset: ${datasets}
    cmd: ./preprocess.py ${item.dataset} ${item.processor}
    deps:
    - ${item.dataset}
    outs:
    - ${item.dataset}-${item.processor}.json

Stage entries

These are the fields that are accepted in each stage:

dvc.yaml files also support # comments.

Output subfields

Templating

dvc.yaml supports a templating format to insert values from different sources in the YAML structure itself. These sources can be parameters files, or vars defined in dvc.yaml instead.

Let's say we have params.yaml (default params file) with the following contents:

models:
  us:
    threshold: 10
    filename: 'model-us.hdf5'
codedir: src

Those values can be used anywhere in dvc.yaml with the ${} substitution expression, for example to pass parameters as command-line arguments to a stage command:

artifacts:
  model-us:
    path: ${models.us.filename}
    type: model

stages:
  build-us:
    cmd: >-
      python ${codedir}/train.py
      --thresh ${models.us.threshold}
      --out ${models.us.filename}
    outs:
      - ${models.us.filename}:
          cache: true

DVC will track simple param values (numbers, strings, etc.) used in ${} (they will be listed by dvc params diff).

mydict:
  foo: foo
  bar: 1
  bool: true
  nested:
    baz: bar
  list: [2, 3, 'qux']

stages:
  train:
    cmd: R train.r ${mydict}

$ R train.r --foo 'foo' --bar 1 --bool \
                  --nested.baz 'bar' --list 2 3 'qux'

Variables

Alternatively (to relying on parameter files), values for substitution can be listed as top-level vars like this:

vars:
  - models:
      us:
        threshold: 10
        filename: 'model-us.hdf5'
  - codedir: src

artifacts:
  model-us:
    path: ${models.us.filename}
    type: model

stages:
  build-us:
    cmd: >-
      python ${codedir}/train.py --thresh ${models.us.threshold} --out
      ${models.us.filename}
    outs:
      - ${models.us.filename}:
          cache: true

To load additional params files, list them in the top-level vars, in the desired order, e.g.:

vars:
  - params.json
  - myvar: 'value'
  - config/myapp.yaml

It's also possible to specify what to include from additional params files, with a : colon:

vars:
  - params.json:clean,feats

stages:
  featurize:
    cmd: ${feats.exec}
    deps:
      - ${clean.filename}
    outs:
      - ${feats.dirname}

DVC merges values from param files or values specified in vars. For example, {"grp": {"a": 1}} merges with {"grp": {"b": 2}}, but not with {"grp": {"a": 7}}.

The substitution expression supports these forms:

${param} # Simple
${param.key} # Nested values through . (period)
${param.list[0]} # List elements via index in [] (square brackets)

dvc.lock file

To record the state of your pipeline(s) and help track its outputs, DVC will maintain a dvc.lock file for each dvc.yaml. Their purposes include:

• Allow DVC to detect when stage definitions, or their dependencies have changed. Such conditions invalidate stages, requiring their reproduction (see dvc status).
• Tracking of intermediate and final outputs of a pipeline — similar to .dvc files.
• Needed for several DVC commands to operate, such as dvc checkout or dvc get.

Here's an example:

schema: '2.0'
stages:
  features:
    cmd: jupyter nbconvert --execute featurize.ipynb
    deps:
      - path: data/clean
        md5: d8b874c5fa18c32b2d67f73606a1be60
    params:
      params.yaml:
        levels.no: 5
    outs:
      - path: features
        md5: 2119f7661d49546288b73b5730d76485
        size: 154683
      - path: performance.json
        md5: ea46c1139d771bfeba7942d1fbb5981e
        size: 975
      - path: logs.csv
        md5: f99aac37e383b422adc76f5f1fb45004
        size: 695947

Stages are listed again in dvc.lock, in order to know if their definitions change in dvc.yaml.

Regular dependency entries and all forms of output entries (including metrics and plots files) are also listed (per stage) in dvc.lock, including a content hash field (md5, etag, or checksum).

Full parameter dependencies (both key and value) are listed too (under params), under each parameters file name. templated dvc.yaml files, the actual values are written to dvc.lock (no ${} expression). As for foreach stages and matrix stages, individual stages are expanded (no foreach or matrix structures are preserved).