---

name: apache-airflow description: "Route Apache Airflow repo tasks across Dag authoring, operations, providers, deployment, and contribution workflows." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: Apache 2.0

Apache Airflow Repo Skill

Use this skill when a task names Apache Airflow, the apache-airflow Python package, the Airflow monorepo, Airflow Dags, Task SDK, airflow/airflowctl, providers, official Docker images, Helm chart, Breeze, or Airflow contribution rules.

This skill is a router. Read the nearest sub-skill for workflow depth and use repo-level references only for shared context.

Start Here

1. Read references/repo-provenance.md before relying on this skill for a checkout; refresh the skill if the commit, dirty state, or public package versions no longer match.
2. Read references/troubleshooting.md for cross-cutting installation, import, routing, and validation failures.
3. Use scripts/check_airflow_skill_environment.py for a quick installed-package and helper-script check when a Python environment is available.
4. Choose exactly one primary sub-skill from the route map, then follow its linked references and bundled scripts.

Route Map

• sub-skills/authoring-task-sdk/ — write, migrate, validate, or debug Airflow 3 Dag authoring code using airflow.sdk, Task SDK, TaskFlow, dynamic task mapping, assets, timetables, Params, XCom/context, and standard provider operators/sensors.
• sub-skills/operations-cli-api/ — install or run Airflow, inspect configuration, use airflow or airflowctl, choose Stable REST API vs CLI, operate core components, test/backfill Dags from the command line, and troubleshoot metadata DB/API/server state.
• sub-skills/providers-extensions/ — use provider packages, standard operators/sensors/hooks, custom operators/hooks/sensors, plugins/listeners/timetables/notifiers/extra links, provider metadata, and provider package conventions.
• sub-skills/deployment-helm-docker/ — plan or debug deployments with the official Helm chart and Docker images, including chart values, custom images, Dag delivery, logs, secrets/config, migrations, and autoscaling.
• sub-skills/contribution-tooling/ — change the Airflow repository safely with Breeze, uv, prek, selective checks, docs/news/changelog rules, generated-file constraints, PR conventions, and component-specific tests.

Common Routing Decisions

• If the task is about a user Dag file, start with authoring-task-sdk even if the symptom appears through airflow dags test; return to operations-cli-api only for command/config execution details.
• If a provider import fails in a Dag, use providers-extensions for package/extras/provider metadata and authoring-task-sdk for Dag structure.
• If a scheduler or Dag processor cannot parse Dags in Kubernetes, use deployment-helm-docker for image/Dag delivery and operations-cli-api for component/database diagnosis.
• If the task is to edit Airflow source code, use contribution-tooling first, then route to the domain sub-skill for product behavior.
• Java SDK, Go SDK, new language SDK, translation, and provider release-manager workflows have specialized repo-local skills in the source checkout; this generated skill keeps only routing-level notes for those areas.

Install and Import Facts

• Public package names verified for this snapshot: apache-airflow, apache-airflow-core, apache-airflow-task-sdk, apache-airflow-ctl, and apache-airflow-providers-standard.
• Public import roots verified for this snapshot: airflow, airflow.sdk, airflowctl, and airflow.providers.standard.
• Airflow installation should use official constraints for repeatability; do not recommend broad [all] extras unless the user explicitly needs broad provider coverage.
• Dag authors should use the Airflow 3 public interface from airflow.sdk; avoid internal metadata DB access from task code.

Bundled Helpers

• scripts/check_airflow_skill_environment.py checks installed distribution metadata/imports and confirms bundled helper scripts are present.
• Sub-skill helpers provide targeted checks: Dag file parsing, CLI parser inspection, provider metadata sanity checks, Helm values summaries, and first-pass Airflow contribution command recommendations.

Safety Boundaries

• Runtime instructions in this skill are self-contained and do not depend on the original repository checkout.
• Do not copy local environment paths, private prefixes, or machine-specific setup details into user-facing work.
• Do not run Airflow native tests, examples, Docker builds, Helm cluster commands, or release-management scripts unless the active sub-skill classifies them as safe for the current environment.
• In Airflow prose, write Dag in title case; preserve literal code/config/CLI tokens such as DAG, dag_id, dag, airflow dags list, and get_dag exactly.