Apache Airflow

Programmatic workflow orchestration

Apache Airflow is the most popular workflow orchestration platform for data pipelines. DAG-based scheduling with Python. Massive ecosystem but showing its age.

Panel Reviews

The Builder

Developer Perspective

Ship

“The standard for data pipeline orchestration. Massive community, operator ecosystem, and battle-tested at scale.”

The Skeptic

Reality Check

Skip

“Airflow works but its age shows. DAG development is slow, testing is painful, and the UI is dated. Dagster or Prefect are better.”

The Futurist

Big Picture

Skip

“Airflow defined data orchestration but newer tools like Dagster have better abstractions. Inertia keeps Airflow dominant.”