Astro IDE overview

The Astro IDE provides a browser-based workspace for Apache Airflow. In the IDE, you can write code, validate and test changes, and deploy or push your work directly, without a local development environment.

With Blueprint, the IDE also supports template-based Dag creation. Platform teams define reusable step templates with built-in guardrails, and team members such as analysts, analytics engineers, and data scientists can assemble them into production Dags through forms and a visual builder, without writing Airflow code or learning Airflow concepts.

What is the Astro IDE?

The Astro IDE is an integrated development environment designed specifically for Airflow Dag development. The AI features help write and edit Dag code with awareness of your Airflow version, existing repository patterns, and Deployment environment. The Astro IDE has additional features that help you build, test, and ship Dags directly in the browser.

Why use the Astro IDE?

General-purpose AI tools generate Dag code without understanding the specifics of your project, often resulting in output that requires significant modification. Traditional Dag development also demands manual local configuration and container management, which slows iteration. The Astro IDE removes these barriers, enabling you to:

• Write and update Airflow Dags more efficiently, with context-aware code generation.
• Test and deploy code directly from the browser with no extra steps or tools required.
• Apply project rules to help maintain code quality.
• Scale Dag creation beyond the platform team by letting analysts and other team members build workflows from governed templates using Blueprint.

Core features

• Domain-trained AI: Generate Dag code that follows Airflow best practices, tailored to your project history, connections, and Astro Workspace. Learn more about authoring Dags.
• No local setup required: Run everything in the browser.
• Project checks and guardrails: Maintain project standards and code quality through linting and project rules. Add custom project rules.
• Integrated deployment and version control: Deploy to Astro and push changes to branches. See Deployment workflows.
• Blueprint (Public Preview): Create Dags by assembling platform-defined templates through a visual builder. Platform teams control defaults, guardrails, and operational settings while other team members focus on their SQL or Python logic. Learn more about Blueprint.

What can you do with the Astro IDE?

• Create new Dags: Generate Airflow-compliant code, including common operators and projects, with AI assistance. Author Dags.
• Create Dags from templates with Blueprint: Browse a curated library of templates defined by your platform team, assemble them into workflows on a visual canvas, configure each step through simple forms, and test the result in an ephemeral deployment — all without writing Airflow code. Use Blueprint. (Public Preview)
• Update and refactor: Edit existing Dags, including performing Airflow version upgrades.
• Import projects: Bring code into the IDE from any supported Git provider:
  • Import from GitHub using the Astro GitHub integration.
  • Import from any Git provider manually.
  • Import a local project with the Astro CLI.
• Customize and extend: Build custom operators or orchestrate dbt projects using Cosmos.
• Test and deploy: Start ephemeral test Deployments for quick feedback and deploy changes to Astro or GitHub. See Test and run code, Deploy code to Astro, and Deploy code to Git.

Project requirements

The following size limits apply to Astro IDE projects:

• Maximum project size: 200MB
• Maximum file size: 1MB

You cannot import or sync projects that exceed these limits. If your project exceeds these limits, consider excluding large files or folders that are not required for Dag development.

To get started, see the IDE quickstart.