DVC Repo Skill

Use this skill when a task names DVC, Data Version Control, dvc CLI commands, the dvc Python package, DVC pipeline files, DVC experiments, or maintenance of the DVC codebase itself.

Install And Smoke Check

• End-user install: pip install dvc for core local/HTTP workflows.
• Optional remotes: install only the needed extra, such as pip install 'dvc[s3]', pip install 'dvc[gs]', pip install 'dvc[azure]', pip install 'dvc[ssh]', pip install 'dvc[gdrive]', pip install 'dvc[webdav]', pip install 'dvc[webhdfs]', pip install 'dvc[hdfs]', or pip install 'dvc[oss]'.
• Development install: use an editable checkout and install test/lint extras only when maintaining DVC itself.
• Minimal checks: python -c "import dvc; print(dvc.__version__)", dvc --help, and dvc version.

Route By Task

• sub-skills/data-and-pipelines/SKILL.md: use for dvc init, dvc add, .dvc files, dvc.yaml, dvc.lock, dvc stage add, dvc repro, dvc status, dvc diff, dvc dag, .dvcignore, and safe pipeline planning.
• sub-skills/experiments/SKILL.md: use for dvc exp run/show/diff/apply/branch/save/push/pull/remove/rename/clean, queued sweeps, Hydra/set-param runs, and experiment table troubleshooting.
• sub-skills/remotes-and-cache/SKILL.md: use for dvc remote, storage extras, push, pull, fetch, cloud status, cache configuration, gc, unprotect, import-url, get-url, and missing backend/credential failures.
• sub-skills/metrics-params-plots/SKILL.md: use for dvc metrics, dvc params, dvc plots, stage metric/plot/param declarations, JSON/Markdown/Vega reporting, and API summaries of metrics or params.
• sub-skills/python-api/SKILL.md: use for dvc.api.open, read, get_url, DVCFileSystem, Repo automation, and Python exception handling around DVC data access.
• sub-skills/repo-development/SKILL.md: use only when editing or reviewing the DVC source repository, selecting focused tests, changing CLI command internals, updating package metadata, or maintaining contribution workflows.

Cross-Cutting References

• Read references/troubleshooting.md for install/import, optional extra, no-repo, remote/cache, and command-routing failures that span several sub-skills.
• Read references/repo-provenance.md before deciding whether this skill matches a current DVC checkout or should be refreshed.
• Read references/repo-routing-metadata.json only when importing this skill through DisCo's managed repo-skills-router.
• Run scripts/check_dvc_install.py --help for a safe local package and CLI smoke-check helper.

Decision Pattern

1. Decide whether the task is end-user DVC usage, Python API usage, or DVC codebase maintenance.
2. Route to the most specific sub-skill before reading long references.
3. Prefer dry-run/help/config/API inspection before commands that mutate workspace data, remote storage, cache, Git refs, or experiment queues.
4. Install only the optional remote/backend extra required by the task; do not default to broad dvc[all].
5. For original DVC repository tests or examples, use repo-development guidance; public runtime workflows should not depend on the original checkout.

Safety Boundaries

• Treat cloud remotes, Studio, network URLs, credentials, and large data transfers as opt-in operations.
• Use dvc repro --dry, helper scripts, or CLI --help before expensive or destructive workflow changes.
• Do not assume optional remote backends are installed just because core dvc imports.
• Do not use private dvc.* internals for user projects when a public CLI, dvc.api, or Repo method covers the task.