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Astro Airflow MCP

MCP server for Apache Airflow instances. Runs standalone or as an Airflow plugin.

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[!WARNING] This project has been relocated to the Astronomer agents monorepo.

Airflow MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Apache Airflow that provides AI assistants with access to Airflow's REST API. Built with FastMCP.

Quickstart

IDEs

Manual configuration

Add to your MCP settings (Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json, VS Code: .vscode/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airflow": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["astro-airflow-mcp", "--transport", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

CLI Tools

Claude Code

claude mcp add airflow -- uvx astro-airflow-mcp --transport stdio

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add airflow -- uvx astro-airflow-mcp --transport stdio

Codex CLI

codex mcp add airflow -- uvx astro-airflow-mcp --transport stdio

Desktop Apps

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airflow": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["astro-airflow-mcp", "--transport", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients

Manual JSON Configuration

Add to your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "airflow": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["astro-airflow-mcp", "--transport", "stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Or connect to a running HTTP server: "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp"

Note: No installation required - uvx runs directly from PyPI. The --transport stdio flag is required because the server defaults to HTTP mode.

Configuration

By default, the server connects to http://localhost:8080 (Astro CLI default). Set environment variables for custom Airflow instances:

Variable	Description
`AIRFLOW_API_URL`	Airflow webserver URL
`AIRFLOW_USERNAME`	Username (Airflow 3.x uses OAuth2 token exchange)
`AIRFLOW_PASSWORD`	Password
`AIRFLOW_AUTH_TOKEN`	Bearer token (alternative to username/password)

Example with auth (Claude Code):

claude mcp add airflow -e AIRFLOW_API_URL=https://your-airflow.example.com -e AIRFLOW_USERNAME=admin -e AIRFLOW_PASSWORD=admin -- uvx astro-airflow-mcp --transport stdio

Features

Airflow 2.x and 3.x Support: Automatic version detection with adapter pattern
MCP Tools for accessing Airflow data:
- DAG management (list, get details, get source code, stats, warnings, import errors, trigger, pause/unpause)
- Task management (list, get details, get task instances, get logs)
- Pool management (list, get details)
- Variable management (list, get specific variables)
- Connection management (list connections with credentials excluded)
- Asset/Dataset management (unified naming across versions, data lineage)
- Plugin and provider information
- Configuration and version details
Consolidated Tools for agent workflows:
- explore_dag: Get comprehensive DAG information in one call
- diagnose_dag_run: Debug failed DAG runs with task instance details
- get_system_health: System overview with health, errors, and warnings
MCP Resources: Static Airflow info exposed as resources (version, providers, plugins, config)
MCP Prompts: Guided workflows for common tasks (troubleshooting, health checks, onboarding)
Dual deployment modes:
- Standalone server: Run as an independent MCP server
- Airflow plugin: Integrate directly into Airflow 3.x webserver
Flexible Authentication:
- Bearer token (Airflow 2.x and 3.x)
- Username/password with automatic OAuth2 token exchange (Airflow 3.x)
- Basic auth (Airflow 2.x)

Available Tools

Consolidated Tools (Agent-Optimized)

Tool	Description
`explore_dag`	Get comprehensive DAG info: metadata, tasks, recent runs, source code
`diagnose_dag_run`	Debug a DAG run: run details, failed task instances, logs
`get_system_health`	System overview: health status, import errors, warnings, DAG stats

Core Tools

Tool	Description
`list_dags`	Get all DAGs and their metadata
`get_dag_details`	Get detailed info about a specific DAG
`get_dag_source`	Get the source code of a DAG
`get_dag_stats`	Get DAG run statistics (Airflow 3.x only)
`list_dag_warnings`	Get DAG import warnings
`list_import_errors`	Get import errors from DAG files that failed to parse
`list_dag_runs`	Get DAG run history
`get_dag_run`	Get specific DAG run details
`trigger_dag`	Trigger a new DAG run (start a workflow execution)
`pause_dag`	Pause a DAG to prevent new scheduled runs
`unpause_dag`	Unpause a DAG to resume scheduled runs
`list_tasks`	Get all tasks in a DAG
`get_task`	Get details about a specific task
`get_task_instance`	Get task instance execution details
`get_task_logs`	Get logs for a specific task instance execution
`list_pools`	Get all resource pools
`get_pool`	Get details about a specific pool
`list_variables`	Get all Airflow variables
`get_variable`	Get a specific variable by key
`list_connections`	Get all connections (credentials excluded for security)
`list_assets`	Get assets/datasets (unified naming across versions)
`list_plugins`	Get installed Airflow plugins
`list_providers`	Get installed provider packages
`get_airflow_config`	Get Airflow configuration
`get_airflow_version`	Get Airflow version information

MCP Resources

Resource URI	Description
`airflow://version`	Airflow version information
`airflow://providers`	Installed provider packages
`airflow://plugins`	Installed Airflow plugins
`airflow://config`	Airflow configuration

MCP Prompts

Prompt	Description
`troubleshoot_failed_dag`	Guided workflow for diagnosing DAG failures
`daily_health_check`	Morning health check routine
`onboard_new_dag`	Guide for understanding a new DAG

Advanced Usage

Running as Standalone Server

For HTTP-based integrations or connecting multiple clients to one server:

# Run server (HTTP mode is default)
uvx astro-airflow-mcp --airflow-url https://my-airflow.example.com --username admin --password admin

Connect MCP clients to: http://localhost:8000/mcp

Airflow Plugin Mode

Install into your Airflow 3.x environment to expose MCP at http://your-airflow:8080/mcp/v1:

# Add to your Astro project
echo astro-airflow-mcp >> requirements.txt

CLI Options

Flag	Environment Variable	Default	Description
`--transport`	`MCP_TRANSPORT`	`stdio`	Transport mode (`stdio` or `http`)
`--host`	`MCP_HOST`	`localhost`	Host to bind to (HTTP mode only)
`--port`	`MCP_PORT`	`8000`	Port to bind to (HTTP mode only)
`--airflow-url`	`AIRFLOW_API_URL`	Auto-discovered or `http://localhost:8080`	Airflow webserver URL
`--airflow-project-dir`	`AIRFLOW_PROJECT_DIR`	`$PWD`	Astro project directory for auto-discovering Airflow URL from `.astro/config.yaml`
`--auth-token`	`AIRFLOW_AUTH_TOKEN`	`None`	Bearer token for authentication
`--username`	`AIRFLOW_USERNAME`	`None`	Username for authentication (Airflow 3.x uses OAuth2 token exchange)
`--password`	`AIRFLOW_PASSWORD`	`None`	Password for authentication

Architecture

The server is built using FastMCP with an adapter pattern for Airflow version compatibility:

Core Components

Adapters (adapters/): Version-specific API implementations
- AirflowAdapter (base): Abstract interface for all Airflow API operations
- AirflowV2Adapter: Airflow 2.x API (/api/v1) with basic auth
- AirflowV3Adapter: Airflow 3.x API (/api/v2) with OAuth2 token exchange
Version Detection: Automatic detection at startup by probing API endpoints
Models (models.py): Pydantic models for type-safe API responses

Version Handling Strategy

Major versions (2.x vs 3.x): Adapter pattern with runtime version detection
Minor versions (3.1 vs 3.2): Runtime feature detection with graceful fallbacks
New API parameters: Pass-through **kwargs for forward compatibility

Deployment Modes

Standalone: Independent ASGI application with HTTP/SSE transport
Plugin: Mounted into Airflow 3.x FastAPI webserver

Development

# Setup development environment
make install-dev

# Run tests
make test

# Run all checks
make check

# Local testing with Astro CLI
astro dev start  # Start Airflow
make run         # Run MCP server (connects to localhost:8080)

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please ensure:

All tests pass (make test)
Code passes linting (make check)
prek hooks pass (make prek)