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Version: 1.5.0

DataHub Airflow Plugin Example DAGs

This directory contains example DAGs demonstrating various features of the DataHub Airflow plugin.

Directory Structure​

example_dags/
├── airflow2/          # Airflow 2.x examples (with compatibility layers)
│   ├── lineage_backend_demo.py
│   ├── lineage_backend_taskflow_demo.py
│   ├── snowflake_sample_dag.py
│   ├── mysql_sample_dag.py
│   ├── generic_recipe_sample_dag.py
│   ├── lineage_emission_dag.py
│   └── graph_usage_sample_dag.py
│
├── airflow3/          # Airflow 3.0+ examples (native syntax, no compatibility)
│   ├── lineage_backend_demo.py
│   ├── lineage_backend_taskflow_demo.py
│   └── snowflake_sample_dag.py
│
└── *.py               # Legacy examples (deprecated - use airflow2/ or airflow3/)

Choosing the Right Examples​

For Airflow 3.0+ Users​

Use the examples in airflow3/. These DAGs:

  • Use native Airflow 3.0 syntax (schedule instead of schedule_interval)
  • Don't include compatibility layers
  • Are simpler and easier to read
  • Demonstrate best practices for Airflow 3.0+

For Airflow 2.x Users​

Use the examples in airflow2/. These DAGs:

  • Work across Airflow 2.3 through 2.9
  • Include compatibility helpers from _airflow_version_specific.py
  • Handle parameter name changes between versions

For Cross-Version Support​

If you need DAGs that work on both Airflow 2.x and 3.x:

  • See airflow2/ examples for patterns using get_airflow_compatible_dag_kwargs()
  • Use days_ago() helper for start_date compatibility
  • Import hooks conditionally based on Airflow version

Example Categories​

1. Lineage Collection​

Examples showing how to automatically collect lineage from your Airflow DAGs:

  • lineage_backend_demo.py: Basic lineage collection using inlets and outlets
  • lineage_backend_taskflow_demo.py: Lineage with TaskFlow API (@task decorator)

2. Metadata Ingestion​

Examples showing how to ingest metadata from data sources into DataHub:

  • snowflake_sample_dag.py: Ingest Snowflake metadata
  • mysql_sample_dag.py: Ingest MySQL metadata
  • generic_recipe_sample_dag.py: Run any DataHub ingestion recipe

3. Advanced Features​

  • lineage_emission_dag.py: Directly emit custom lineage using DatahubEmitterOperator
  • graph_usage_sample_dag.py: Complex DAG graphs with multiple task dependencies

Key Differences: Airflow 2 vs 3​

DAG Parameters​

# Airflow 2.x
DAG(
    schedule_interval=timedelta(days=1),
    default_view="tree",  # Removed in Airflow 3
)

# Airflow 3.0+
DAG(
    schedule=timedelta(days=1),
    # default_view parameter removed
)

Hooks Import​

# Airflow 2.x
from airflow.hooks.base import BaseHook

# Airflow 3.0+
from airflow.hooks.base_hook import BaseHook

Start Date​

# Airflow 2.x (compatibility helper)
from datahub_airflow_plugin._airflow_version_specific import days_ago
start_date=days_ago(2)

# Airflow 3.0+ (direct)
from datetime import datetime
start_date=datetime(2023, 1, 1)

Running the Examples​

  1. Copy the appropriate example to your Airflow DAGs folder:

    # For Airflow 3.0+
    cp airflow3/lineage_backend_demo.py $AIRFLOW_HOME/dags/

    # For Airflow 2.x
    cp airflow2/lineage_backend_demo.py $AIRFLOW_HOME/dags/

  2. Configure the DataHub connection in Airflow:

    airflow connections add datahub_rest_default \
      --conn-type datahub-rest \
      --conn-host http://localhost:8080

  3. Enable the DAG in the Airflow UI or trigger it manually:

    airflow dags trigger datahub_lineage_backend_demo

Additional Resources​