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Apache Airflow

Airflow is a platform to programmaticaly author, schedule and monitor data pipelines.

Apache Airflow

Apache Airflow Reviews and Details

This page is designed to help you find out whether Apache Airflow is good and if it is the right choice for you.

Screenshots and images

  • Apache Airflow Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-17

Features & Specs

  1. Scalability

    Apache Airflow can scale horizontally, allowing it to handle large volumes of tasks and workflows by distributing the workload across multiple worker nodes.

  2. Extensibility

    It supports custom plugins and operators, making it highly customizable to fit various use cases. Users can define their own tasks, sensors, and hooks.

  3. Visualization

    Airflow provides an intuitive web interface for monitoring and managing workflows. The interface allows users to visualize DAGs, track task statuses, and debug failures.

  4. Flexibility

    Workflows are defined using Python code, which offers a high degree of flexibility and programmatic control over the tasks and their dependencies.

  5. Integrations

    Airflow has built-in integrations with a wide range of tools and services such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Apache Hadoop, making it easier to connect to external systems.

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Videos

Airflow Tutorial for Beginners - Full Course in 2 Hours 2022

Social recommendations and mentions

We have tracked the following product recommendations or mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you see what people think about Apache Airflow and what they use it for.
  • dgsh โ€“ Directed Graph Shell
    There is a lot of stuff for Python which follows the "express computation as a dag" approach, especially Apache Airflow https://airflow.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Unable to emit metadata to DataHub GMS with Airflow - a solution
    Doing ingestion or data processing with Airflow, a very popular open-source platform for developing and running workflows, is a fairly common setup. DataHub's automatic lineage extraction works great with Airflow - provided you configure the Airflow connection to DataHub correctly. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Top ETL Tools for MongoDB in 2025: Which One Fits Your Use Case?
    Apache Airflow represents the open-source workflow orchestration approach to MongoDB ETL. By combining Airflow's powerful scheduling and dependency management with a Python library like PyMongo, you can build highly customized ETL workflows that integrate seamlessly with MongoDB. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Building Effective AI Agents \ Anthropic
    You appear to be making the mistake of assuming that the only valid definition for the term "workflow" is the definition used by software such as https://airflow.apache.org/ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workflow thinks the word dates back to 1921. There no reason Anthropic can't take that word and present their own alternative definition for it in the context of LLM tool usage, which is what they've... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • The DOJ Still Wants Google to Sell Off Chrome
    Is this really true? Something that can be supported by clear evidence? Iโ€™ve seen this trotted out many times, but it seems like there are interesting Apache projects: https://airflow.apache.org/ https://iceberg.apache.org/ https://kafka.apache.org/ https://superset.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • 10 Must-Know Open Source Platform Engineering Tools for AI/ML Workflows
    Apache Airflow offers simplicity when it comes to scheduling, authoring, and monitoring ML workflows using Python. The tool's greatest advantage is its compatibility with any system or process you are running. This also eliminates manual intervention and increases team productivity, which aligns with the principles of Platform Engineering tools. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Data Orchestration Tool Analysis: Airflow, Dagster, Flyte
    Data orchestration tools are key for managing data pipelines in modern workflows. When it comes to tools, Apache Airflow, Dagster, and Flyte are popular tools serving this need, but they serve different purposes and follow different philosophies. Choosing the right tool for your requirements is essential for scalability and efficiency. In this blog, I will compare Apache Airflow, Dagster, and Flyte, exploring... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • AIOps, DevOps, MLOps, LLMOps โ€“ Whatโ€™s the Difference?
    Data pipelines: Apache Kafka and Airflow are often used for building data pipelines that can continuously feed data to models in production. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Data Engineering with DLT and REST
    This article demonstrates how to work with near real-time and historical data using the dlt package. Whether you need to scale data access across the enterprise or provide historical data for post-event analysis, you can use the same framework to provide customer data. In a future article, I'll demonstrate how to use dlt with a workflow orchestrator such as Apache Airflow or Dagster.``. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Data on Kubernetes: Part 3โ€Š-โ€ŠManaging Workflows with Job Schedulers and Batch-Oriented Workflow Orchestrators
    There are several tools available that can help manage these workflows. Apache Airflow is a platform designed to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Apache Doris Job Scheduler for Task Automation
    Job scheduling is an important part of data management as it enables regular data updates and cleanups. In a data platform, it is often undertaken by workflow orchestration tools like Apache Airflow and Apache Dolphinscheduler. However, adding another component to the data architecture also means investing extra resources for management and maintenance. That's why Apache Doris 2.1.0 introduces a built-in Job... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • How I've implemented the Medallion architecture using Apache Spark and Apache Hdoop
    Instead of the custom orchestrator I used, a proper orchestration tool should replace it like Apache Airflow, Dagster, ..., etc. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • 10 Open Source Tools for Building MLOps Pipelines
    An integral part of an ML project is data acquisition and data transformation into the required format. This involves creating ETL (extract, transform, load) pipelines and running them periodically. Airflow is an open source platform that helps engineers create and manage complex data pipelines. Furthermore, the support for Python programming language makes it easy for ML teams to adopt Airflow. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • AI Strategy Guide: How to Scale AI Across Your Business
    Level 1 of MLOps is when you've put each lifecycle stage and their intefaces in an automated pipeline. The pipeline could be a python or bash script, or it could be a directed acyclic graph run by some orchestration framework like Airflow, dagster or one of the cloud-provider offerings. AI- or data-specific platforms like MLflow, ClearML and dvc also feature pipeline capabilities. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • The 2024 Web Hosting Report
    For the third, examples here might be analytics plugins in specialized databases like Clickhouse, data-transformations in places like your ETL pipeline using Airflow or Fivetran, or special integrations in your authentication workflow with Auth0 hooks and rules. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Best ETL Tools And Why To Choose
    Apache Airflow is an open-source platform to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows. The platform features a web-based user interface and a command-line interface for managing and triggering workflows. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Simplifying Data Transformation in Redshift: An Approach with DBT and Airflow
    Airflow is the most widely used and well-known tool for orchestrating data workflows. It allows for efficient pipeline construction, scheduling, and monitoring. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Share Your favorite python related software!
    AIRFLOW This is more of a library in my opinion, but Airflow has become an essential tool for scheduling in my work. All our ML training pipelines are ordered and scheduled with Airflow and it works seamlessly. The dashboard provided is also fantastic! Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Ask HN: What is the correct way to deal with pipelines?
    I agree there are many options in this space. Two others to consider: - https://airflow.apache.org/ - https://github.com/spotify/luigi There are also many Kubernetes based options out there. For the specific use case you specified, you might even consider a plain old Makefile and incrond if you expect these all to run on a single host and be triggered by a new file... - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • PyJaws: A Pythonic Way to Define Databricks Jobs and Workflows
    Folks who have used Python-based orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow, Luigi and Mage will be familiar with the concepts and the API if PyJaws. Source: about 3 years ago
  • My experience with optimizing machine learning workflow
    There are a range of solutions available to help make this process easier. Some of these options include automation tools such as Apache Airflow and Azure Data Factory, specialized libraries that focus on fine-tuning deep learning models like FinetunerPlus, or machine learning platforms that provide end-to-end solutions like Amazon SageMaker and Google Cloud ML Engine. Source: about 3 years ago

Summary of the public mentions of Apache Airflow

Apache Airflow has firmly established itself as a popular open-source tool within the realms of workflow automation and data orchestration, particularly in the fields of ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) and machine learning. This tool is particularly favored for its ability to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows, appealing to teams that prefer a code-centric approach to managing data pipelines. The platform's web-based user interface and command-line capabilities offer flexibility and control, which have contributed to its widespread adoption among data engineers and machine learning practitioners.

Public Perception and Strengths:

Airflow's strengths lie in its Pythonic design, making it highly appealing for teams already employing Python in their workflow processes. Its robust scheduling capabilities and the DAG-based (Directed Acyclic Graph) orchestration system allow users to manage complex pipelines efficiently. Additionally, the platform's compatibility with various systems enhances its integration potential, which is crucial for automating and simplifying workflows in a diverse IT landscape.

The tool is often cited for its ability to automate routine procedures, thereby increasing productivity and minimizing manual interventions. This trait aligns well with the principles of Platform Engineering tools, making it a go-to solution for scheduling and executing machine learning workflows.

Perceived Limitations:

Despite its popularity, Airflow is not without its challenges. Several commentators have highlighted areas of concern, particularly for scenarios involving smaller ETL jobs, where the deployment and management overhead may not justify its use. Additionally, the tool's design does not inherently facilitate the passing of unstructured data between dependent tasks, which can be a limitation in certain use cases.

Furthermore, the community and industry discussions reflect a perception that Airflow, while feature-rich, might sometimes be perceived as overkill for simpler task scheduling needs. This has given rise to the exploration of lighter alternatives like Prefect, Luigi, and cloud-native solutions that might offer more streamlined implementations without sacrificing core functionalities.

Comparisons and Alternatives:

Articles discussing Airflow often include comprehensive comparisons with other data orchestration tools such as Dagster, Flyte, and cloud-based offerings from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, among others. These alternatives are usually highlighted for their specific strengths, like simplicity and ease of integration for certain business needs or more advanced features tailored for machine-learning workflows.

Community and Future Outlook:

Apache Airflow continues to evolve and remains a pillar within the ETL and data orchestration domain. Its community-driven development model ensures a continuous influx of improvements and feature updates, although its setup complexity and resource demands remain considerations for potential adopters. The vibrant community, coupled with its foundational capabilities, ensures Airflow's relevance in modern data engineering practices.

In summary, while Apache Airflow faces competition and scrutiny juxtaposed to emerging tools, it remains highly regarded for its robustness and versatility in handling complex workflows. Its aptitude for integration and automation continues to propel its adoption, albeit with an acknowledgment of its constraints with more basic operational needs. As organizations evaluate their workflow automation solutions, the decision to implement Airflow frequently hinges on the specific scale and complexity of their data management requirements.

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Is Apache Airflow good? This is an informative page that will help you find out. Moreover, you can review and discuss Apache Airflow here. The primary details have not been verified within the last quarter, and they might be outdated. If you think we are missing something, please use the means on this page to comment or suggest changes. All reviews and comments are highly encouranged and appreciated as they help everyone in the community to make an informed choice. Please always be kind and objective when evaluating a product and sharing your opinion.