`dvc exp show -A` does not show all experiments
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Description
Bug Report
exp show: doesn't show all experiments.
Description
I have a slightly non-conventional git workflow that involves frequent rebasing and re-writing of history. I have found during this workflow that experiments can be lost from the dvc exp show -A view though they can still be interacted with, for example, by running commands like dvc exp apply <exp-name>.
For example, my repository has the experiment ./.git/refs/exps/a0/79b1b80f5d926dc321d3abebc13ffc23011e16/vatic-eild, but it does not appear in dvc exp show -A even though I can apply it with dvc exp apply vatic-eild.
Reproduce
I'm not exactly sure how to reproduce the issue. I'm not familiar enough with dvc internals to determine why it would be excluded even though I do have a ref in .git/refs/exps for this experiment.
Expected
I should see all experiments when I run dvc exp show -A.
Environment information
Output of dvc doctor:
$ dvc doctor
DVC version: 3.59.1 (pip)
-------------------------
Platform: Python 3.12.9 on macOS-15.3.2-arm64-arm-64bit
Subprojects:
dvc_data = 3.16.9
dvc_objects = 5.1.0
dvc_render = 1.0.2
dvc_task = 0.40.2
scmrepo = 3.3.10
Supports:
http (aiohttp = 3.11.14, aiohttp-retry = 2.9.1),
https (aiohttp = 3.11.14, aiohttp-retry = 2.9.1),
s3 (s3fs = 2025.3.0, boto3 = 1.37.1)
Config:
Global: /Users/kevinblissett/Library/Application Support/dvc
System: /Library/Application Support/dvc
Cache types: reflink, hardlink, symlink
Cache directory: apfs on /dev/disk3s1s1
Caches: local
Remotes: s3
Workspace directory: apfs on /dev/disk3s1s1
Repo: dvc, git
Repo.site_cache_dir: /Library/Caches/dvc/repo/6f599a00529264e4aa3d71daa522caf0
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by comparing the experiment ref under .git/refs/exps with the output of dvc exp show -A, then trace the exp show CLI path that discovers experiments. Reproduce the missing vatic-eild case if possible; done means every existing experiment ref appears in the all-experiments view while remaining usable by dvc exp apply.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- git, python
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100