Runenames

Runenames are human-readable labels used to identify specific executions of a process, such as experiments, builds, or data pipelines. They complement opaque run identifiers (for example, UUIDs) by offering mnemonic context that helps users search, compare results, and trace artifacts across stages.

Runenames are typically formed according to an organization’s naming conventions, and may be hierarchical, including project, environment, purpose, date, and version information. Common formats use hyphens or underscores and avoid spaces or sensitive data. In practice, runenames are stored in metadata stores or experiment tracking systems and are linked to the underlying run-id, metrics, logs, and artifacts.

Examples include acme-ml-prod-train-2025-12-01-v2 or siteX-ci-build-prod-2025-10-14. Benefits of using runenames include improved readability, easier collaboration, and a more navigable audit trail during reproducibility and debugging. Best practices emphasize consistent structure, versioning, timezone-aware timestamps, and avoiding personally identifiable information.

Challenges include enforcing standards across teams, dealing with collisions, and balancing readability with global localization. See also Run ID, Experiment tracking, Provenance, and Metadata.