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Prefect avatar

Prefect

Python framework for scheduling and monitoring data pipelines

  • Data and spreadsheets
  • Developer tools
  • Servers and infrastructure
View on GitHub
Website

What it is

Prefect turns ordinary Python functions into orchestrated workflows using flow and task decorators, adding scheduling, retries, caching, and event-triggered runs. A bundled server provides a web UI for tracking runs, triggering deployments, and inspecting logs, and it can be self-hosted or replaced by the managed cloud service. Data engineers and ML teams use it to move scripts into production jobs that recover from failures and run on cron or in response to events.

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Facts

Stars
24,045 GitHub stars.
24,045

Forks
2,600
Commits
22,210
Contributors
425
Language
Python
License
Apache-2.0
Last commit
Oct 19, 2026
On GitHub since
June 2018
First release
August 2018
Platforms
web, CLI, self-hosted, library
Self-hostable
Yes
Alternative to
Astronomer, Control-M
Tags
  • workflow-automation
  • data-pipeline
  • data-science
  • monitoring
  • dashboard

Last synced from GitHub on Oct 20, 2026

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What people are saying

Updated Oct 21, 2026
  • Hacker NewsShow HN: Prefect – A workflow engine designed for modern data engineeringMar 28, 2019 · 59 points · 4 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsThe Prefect Workflow Engine Is Now Open SourceMar 25, 2019 · 18 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsAccelerating AI with FastMCP CloudAug 26, 2025 · 15 points · 2 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker News(Re)Introducing Prefect: The Global Coordination PlaneJul 27, 2022 · 16 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsRebuilding Our Website for the Agent EraDec 12, 2025 · 12 points · 2 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsPrefect Acquires DagsterJul 13, 2026 · 12 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsThe Implications of Scaling Airflow: From Infrastructure to Python LimitationsSep 21, 2023 · 10 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsA Brief History of Dataflow AutomationApr 21, 2022 · 10 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsPerfect – Data workflow automation with PythonNov 18, 2021 · 6 points · 1 comment (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“My prefect.io summit 2024 keynote is up: 4 infrastructure trends in 20 minutes. Covers object storage, composable databases, PostgreSQL's renaissance, and…”Sep 4, 2024 · 5 likes · 1 reply (opens Bluesky in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsPrefect 3.0Jun 25, 2024 · 4 points · 2 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsThe Prefect open source workflow engineJun 6, 2019 · 6 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsControlFlow A new Python framework for building agentic workflowsJun 25, 2024 · 5 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsPrefect OrionOct 5, 2021 · 5 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“Can you help ELI5 prefect.io to me? I scanned their site but was a bit confused. Are they workflows like Temporal/durable execution, or are the orchestration…”Jan 10, 2025 · 3 likes · 1 reply (opens Bluesky in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsWhy Prefect Invested in TextualizeApr 26, 2022 · 4 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsEscape Velocity: Prefect's Series BJun 10, 2021 · 4 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsPrefect: Data Engineering Workflow SystemJun 4, 2019 · 4 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)
  • Bluesky“nice yea i.m.e (i maintained for the last ~4 years) so much of the connector / elt / etl stuff is io-bound and the grugbrained python way is almost always…”Sep 1, 2026 · 3 likes · 0 replies (opens Bluesky in a new tab)
  • Hacker NewsPrefect Workflow Management SystemSep 5, 2020 · 3 points · 0 comments (opens Hacker News in a new tab)