The dvc freeze command in DVC (Data Version Control) allows you to freeze stages in the DVC pipeline. Freezing a stage prevents DVC from tracking changes in the dependencies of that stage, thereby preventing re-execution of the stage until it is unfrozen.
Here’s a more detailed explanation of the dvc freeze command:
- DVC Pipeline: DVC enables you to define and execute complex pipelines to process your data. A pipeline consists of multiple stages, where each stage represents a processing step or a computation that transforms data from one form to another.
- Tracking Dependencies: DVC automatically tracks the dependencies of each stage in the pipeline. It ensures that when the dependencies change, the corresponding stages are re-executed to update the output data.
- Freezing Stages: The dvc freeze command allows you to freeze specific stages in the pipeline. When a stage is frozen, DVC stops tracking changes in the dependencies of that stage.
- Preventing Re-execution: By freezing a stage, you prevent DVC from re-executing that stage even if the dependencies change. This can be useful when you want to temporarily disable the execution of a particular stage to focus on other parts of the pipeline.
- Unfreezing Stages: To resume the tracking of dependencies and allow re-execution of a frozen stage, you need to unfreeze it using the dvc unfreeze command.
- Managing Pipeline Changes: When stages are frozen, you can modify the dependencies or the code logic of those stages without triggering re-execution. This gives you more control over the pipeline’s behavior and allows you to experiment with changes without impacting the frozen stages.
Here’s an example usage of dvc freeze:
$ dvc freeze [stage_name]
In this example, you need to replace [stage_name] with the name of the stage you want to freeze. The stage name corresponds to the name specified in the DVC pipeline definition file (e.g., dvc.yaml or dvc.lock).
By using dvc freeze, you can temporarily disable the tracking and re-execution of specific stages in your DVC pipeline. This provides flexibility in managing and experimenting with different parts of your pipeline without affecting the frozen stages.
dvc freeze Command Examples
1. Freeze 1 or more specified stages:
# dvc freeze stage_name_a [stage_name_b ...]