dvc-freeze:tldr:eb8bd

The command "dvc freeze" is a command used in the DVC (Data Version Control) tool. DVC is an open-source version control system specifically designed for machine learning projects.

The "dvc freeze" command is used to freeze the outputs of certain stages or steps in the DVC pipeline. It creates a separate branch in the Git repository, where the artifacts (such as data files, models, etc.) generated by the specified stages are committed.

The command uses the following syntax:

dvc freeze ${stage_name_a} [${stage_name_b} ...]

• ${stage_name_a} and ${stage_name_b} are placeholders for the names of the stages you want to freeze.

By specifying the stage names, you are indicating which stages' outputs should be frozen. When a stage's output is frozen, it means it is saved and associated with a specific version of the code and dependencies used to generate it. Freezing the outputs allows you to keep track of the exact data and models that were generated during specific runs, which is crucial for reproducibility and auditing purposes.

Once the outputs are frozen, you can switch between different versions of your project, and the frozen outputs associated with each version will be available for access or analysis.

It's worth noting that the freeze command is often used in combination with DVC's pipeline feature, where different stages are defined to represent different steps in the machine learning workflow. Only the specified stages' outputs will be frozen using this command, leaving the rest of the pipeline flexible and subject to changes.