❓ FAQ

A growing collection of common questions. Each answer either resolves the question on this page or points at the canonical doc.

How is Fluid Forge different from dbt / Terraform / Airflow / OPA?

Short answer: it unifies the four contracts (schema + infra + orchestration + policy) into one YAML so they can't drift. Long answer: see Concepts → vs alternatives — there's a side-by-side ownership table.

Why do I see pip install fluid-forge in some old docs and pip install data-product-forge in new docs?

The PyPI package was renamed. Canonical name as of v0.8.0: data-product-forge (the older fluid-forge listing is frozen at 0.7.9 and won't receive new releases). Getting Started has the up-to-date install instructions for the current 0.8.3 release.

What's the difference between fluidVersion and the CLI version?

fluidVersion is the contract schema version declared inside each YAML file (current: "0.7.3"). The CLI version is the version of the data-product-forge package itself (current: 0.8.3). The CLI accepts contracts with fluidVersion 0.4.0, 0.5.7, 0.7.1, 0.7.2, or 0.7.3. Run fluid version for the authoritative compatibility list.

Can I extend the CLI with my own scaffolding, validators, or governance rules?

Yes — 0.8.3 ships three plugin extension points (CLI commands, contract validators, apply hooks) and a companion zero-dependency SDK on PyPI. The journey docs walk you through the common cases: "you have your own CI", "you have your own scaffolding", "you have governance rules". Start at SDK & Plugins.

I get No module named 'duckdb' running the local quickstart.

You installed bare data-product-forge without the [local] extra. Fix:

pip install "data-product-forge[local]"

Or for an isolated CLI install: pipx install "data-product-forge[local]".

Where do I report a bug or ask a question?

How do I upgrade?

pip install --upgrade data-product-forge
fluid doctor                    # verifies the new install

Schema migrations are backward-compatible by default — the latest CLI reads older fluidVersion contracts.

Where's the playground?

/playground/ — Monaco editor pre-loaded with four canonical contracts. No install needed.

This FAQ is a starter set

Each Q&A above is the canonical answer for now. As more questions come in via GitHub Discussions, they'll be added here. Submitting a Q&A you'd like to see is a great first contribution.