consist 0.2.3

Consist is a caching and provenance layer for scientific simulation workflows. It records the code, configuration, input data, and output artifacts behind each run so expensive steps can be skipped safely and results remain queryable after the fact.

Consist is useful when a workflow has:

• long-running model steps that should cache-hit when inputs are unchanged;
• scenario variants that need explicit lineage and comparison;
• file-based tools that need stable local paths but still need canonical provenance;
• post-run questions like "which config produced this output?"

Installation

pip install consist

Optional integrations are installed as extras:

pip install "consist[ingest]"
pip install "consist[docker]"
pip install "consist[ibis]"

[!NOTE] Consist is pre-1.0. It is ready for real workflows, but minor releases may still include breaking changes while the API settles.

Quick Example

from pathlib import Path

import pandas as pd

import consist
from consist import ExecutionOptions, Tracker

tracker = Tracker(run_dir="./runs", db_path="./provenance.duckdb")


def clean_data(raw: Path, threshold: float = 0.5) -> dict[str, Path]:
    df = pd.read_parquet(raw)
    out = Path("./cleaned.parquet")
    df[df["value"] > threshold].to_parquet(out)
    return {"cleaned": out}


first = tracker.run(
    fn=clean_data,
    inputs={"raw": Path("raw.parquet")},
    config={"threshold": 0.5},
    outputs=["cleaned"],
    execution_options=ExecutionOptions(input_binding="paths"),
)

second = tracker.run(
    fn=clean_data,
    inputs={"raw": Path("raw.parquet")},
    config={"threshold": 0.5},
    outputs=["cleaned"],
    execution_options=ExecutionOptions(input_binding="paths"),
)

print(first.cache_hit, second.cache_hit)  # False, True
cleaned = consist.load_df(second.outputs["cleaned"])

In this example, input_binding="paths" tells Consist to pass local Path objects into the callable instead of loading input files. Those same paths are still hashed and recorded for cache identity and lineage. For tools that need inputs copied to specific local filenames, see Usage Guide.

Documentation

Etymology

In railroad terminology, a consist is the lineup of locomotives and cars that make up a train. In this library, a consist is the immutable record of the code, config, inputs, and outputs coupled together to produce a result.