Fingerprint
A hash that identifies a content or file input so the build can detect changes and drive cache/build-state comparison.
Role
Detects whether an input changed. Drives cache and build-state comparison: when a fingerprint differs from the stored one, dependent content is reprocessed.
Types
Content fingerprint: includes source, frontmatter, pipeline fingerprint, cache schema, and plugin cacheVersion. Content fingerprints are computed from the Markdown source, parsed frontmatter, the cache schema version (CONTENT_CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION, currently 5), and the pipeline fingerprint that incorporates plugin configurations, content filters, and plugin cacheVersion values.
Pipeline fingerprint: includes plugin fingerprints, content filters, and compatibility version. The pipeline fingerprint (computePipelineFingerprint in packages/core/src/content/content_persistent_cache.ts) incorporates plugin fingerprints (from pluginFingerprint), content filters (config.content.filters), and the compatibility version (CONTENT_CACHE_COMPATIBILITY_VERSION, currently 3). It is used to determine whether the processing pipeline has changed and needs content to be reprocessed.