Getting Started

Run your first data product locally in a few minutes, then move to cloud targets when you are ready.

What this guide assumes

  • Python 3.9+
  • pip
  • No cloud credentials required for the local-first path

Install the CLI

pip install data-product-forge

Check the installed CLI and basic system health:

fluid version
fluid doctor

This docs set tracks CLI release 0.7.9.

Stuck on install? Jump to Troubleshooting further down, or open an issue — happy to help.

Understand the version numbers

You will see two different version concepts in the docs:

  • fluid version reports the installed CLI release, such as 0.7.9
  • fluidVersion inside contract.fluid.yaml selects the contract schema version, such as 0.7.2

Current scaffolds in forge-cli emit fluidVersion: 0.7.2.

Quickstart with fluid init

Create a local project:

fluid init my-project --quickstart
cd my-project

Then run the core workflow:

fluid validate contract.fluid.yaml
fluid plan contract.fluid.yaml
fluid apply contract.fluid.yaml --yes

What the quickstart gives you

The generated project includes a working contract plus local assets so you can validate and apply immediately. The exact scaffold evolves over time, but the important files are:

my-project/
├── README.md
├── contract.fluid.yaml
├── data/
└── .fluid/

Optional AI-assisted path with fluid forge

If you want the CLI to discover local context and scaffold with LLM help, use fluid forge instead of fluid init:

fluid forge
fluid forge --domain finance
fluid forge --llm-provider openai --llm-model gpt-4o-mini

Use fluid init for the fastest deterministic quickstart. Use fluid forge when you want discovery, memory, or domain-guided scaffolding.

fluid test contract.fluid.yaml
fluid verify contract.fluid.yaml
fluid generate schedule --scheduler airflow
fluid publish contract.fluid.yaml

Compatibility note: fluid generate-airflow still exists, but the promoted orchestration path is fluid generate schedule --scheduler airflow.

Move to providers later

When you are ready to target a provider:

Troubleshooting

fluid: command not found

Try the module entry point:

python -m fluid_build.cli --help

Local quickstart dependencies look incomplete

Run:

fluid doctor --verbose

Unsure what to use next

Use the CLI help pages:

fluid --help
fluid <command> -h

Next steps

Need help?