About mcp-server-apache-airflow
mcp-server-apache-airflow is an MCP server that wraps the Apache Airflow REST API so MCP clients can manage Airflow in a standard way. It is built on the official apache-airflow-client library and suits teams that want AI tools to operate data pipelines.
Key features
- 01DAG, DAG run and task instance management
- 02Variables, connections and pools management
- 03Read-only mode to block write operations
- 04Selectable API groups for exposed tools
- 05Basic and JWT authentication support
Use cases
- 01Checking DAG run status and task logs from an MCP client
- 02Letting an AI assistant troubleshoot Airflow in read-only mode
- 03Triggering or pausing DAG runs manually
MCP support
This is an MCP server that converts Airflow REST API endpoints into MCP tools for clients such as Claude Desktop. It supports stdio, sse and http transports.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
We haven’t collected a package or remote endpoint for this server. Follow the instructions in the project README.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMEmcp-server-apache-airflow
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation for Apache Airflow, enabling seamless integration with MCP clients. This project provides a standardized way to interact with Apache Airflow through the Model Context Protocol.
About
This project implements a Model Context Protocol server that wraps Apache Airflow's REST API, allowing MCP clients to interact with Airflow in a standardized way. It uses the official Apache Airflow client library to ensure compatibility and maintainability.
Feature Implementation Status
| Feature | API Path | Status |
|---|---|---|
| DAG Management | ||
| List DAGs | /api/v1/dags | ✅ |
| Get DAG Details | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id} | ✅ |
| Pause DAG | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id} | ✅ |
| Unpause DAG | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id} | ✅ |
| Update DAG | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id} | ✅ |
| Delete DAG | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id} | ✅ |
| Get DAG Source | /api/v1/dagSources/{file_token} | ✅ |
| Patch Multiple DAGs | /api/v1/dags | ✅ |
| Reparse DAG File | /api/v1/dagSources/{file_token}/reparse | ✅ |
| DAG Runs | ||
| List DAG Runs | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns | ✅ |
| Create DAG Run | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns | ✅ |
| Get DAG Run Details | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id} | ✅ |
| Update DAG Run | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id} | ✅ |
| Delete DAG Run | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id} | ✅ |
| Get DAG Runs Batch | /api/v1/dags/~/dagRuns/list | ✅ |
| Clear DAG Run | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/clear | ✅ |
| Set DAG Run Note | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/setNote | ✅ |
| Get Upstream Dataset Events | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/upstreamDatasetEvents | ✅ |
| Tasks | ||
| List DAG Tasks | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/tasks | ✅ |
| Get Task Details | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/tasks/{task_id} | ✅ |
| Get Task Instance | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/taskInstances/{task_id} | ✅ |
| List Task Instances | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/taskInstances | ✅ |
| Update Task Instance | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/taskInstances/{task_id} | ✅ |
| Get Task Instance Log | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/taskInstances/{task_id}/logs/{task_try_number} | ✅ |
| Clear Task Instances | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/clearTaskInstances | ✅ |
| Set Task Instances State | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/updateTaskInstancesState | ✅ |
| List Task Instance Tries | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/taskInstances/{task_id}/tries | ✅ |
| Variables | ||
| List Variables | /api/v1/variables | ✅ |
| Create Variable | /api/v1/variables | ✅ |
| Get Variable | /api/v1/variables/{variable_key} | ✅ |
| Update Variable | /api/v1/variables/{variable_key} | ✅ |
| Delete Variable | /api/v1/variables/{variable_key} | ✅ |
| Connections | ||
| List Connections | /api/v1/connections | ✅ |
| Create Connection | /api/v1/connections | ✅ |
| Get Connection | /api/v1/connections/{connection_id} | ✅ |
| Update Connection | /api/v1/connections/{connection_id} | ✅ |
| Delete Connection | /api/v1/connections/{connection_id} | ✅ |
| Test Connection | /api/v1/connections/test | ✅ |
| Pools | ||
| List Pools | /api/v1/pools | ✅ |
| Create Pool | /api/v1/pools | ✅ |
| Get Pool | /api/v1/pools/{pool_name} | ✅ |
| Update Pool | /api/v1/pools/{pool_name} | ✅ |
| Delete Pool | /api/v1/pools/{pool_name} | ✅ |
| XComs | ||
| List XComs | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/taskInstances/{task_id}/xcomEntries | ✅ |
| Get XCom Entry | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/{dag_run_id}/taskInstances/{task_id}/xcomEntries/{xcom_key} | ✅ |
| Datasets | ||
| List Datasets | /api/v1/datasets | ✅ |
| Get Dataset | /api/v1/datasets/{uri} | ✅ |
| Get Dataset Events | /api/v1/datasetEvents | ✅ |
| Create Dataset Event | /api/v1/datasetEvents | ✅ |
| Get DAG Dataset Queued Event | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/queued/datasetEvents/{uri} | ✅ |
| Get DAG Dataset Queued Events | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/queued/datasetEvents | ✅ |
| Delete DAG Dataset Queued Event | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/queued/datasetEvents/{uri} | ✅ |
| Delete DAG Dataset Queued Events | /api/v1/dags/{dag_id}/dagRuns/queued/datasetEvents | ✅ |
| Get Dataset Queued Events | /api/v1/datasets/{uri}/dagRuns/queued/datasetEvents | ✅ |
| Delete Dataset Queued Events | /api/v1/datasets/{uri}/dagRuns/queued/datasetEvents | ✅ |
| Monitoring | ||
| Get Health | /api/v1/health | ✅ |
| DAG Stats | ||
| Get DAG Stats | /api/v1/dags/statistics | ✅ |
| Config | ||
| Get Config | /api/v1/config | ✅ |
| Plugins | ||
| Get Plugins | /api/v1/plugins | ✅ |
| Providers | ||
| List Providers | /api/v1/providers | ✅ |
| Event Logs | ||
| List Event Logs | /api/v1/eventLogs | ✅ |
| Get Event Log | /api/v1/eventLogs/{event_log_id} | ✅ |
| System | ||
| Get Import Errors | /api/v1/importErrors | ✅ |
| Get Import Error Details | /api/v1/importErrors/{import_error_id} | ✅ |
| Get Health Status | /api/v1/health | ✅ |
| Get Version | /api/v1/version | ✅ |
Setup
Dependencies
This project depends on the official Apache Airflow client library (apache-airflow-client). It will be automatically installed when you install this package.
Environment Variables
Set the following environment variables:
AIRFLOW_HOST=<your-airflow-host> # Optional, defaults to http://localhost:8080
AIRFLOW_API_VERSION=v1 # Optional, defaults to v1
READ_ONLY=true # Optional, enables read-only mode (true/false, defaults to false)
Authentication
Choose one of the following authentication methods:
Basic Authentication (default):
AIRFLOW_USERNAME=<your-airflow-username>
AIRFLOW_PASSWORD=<your-airflow-password>
JWT Token Authentication:
AIRFLOW_JWT_TOKEN=<your-jwt-token>
To obtain a JWT token, you can use Airflow's authentication endpoint:
ENDPOINT_URL="http://localhost:8080" # Replace with your Airflow endpoint
curl -X 'POST' \
"${ENDPOINT_URL}/auth/token" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{ "username": "<your-username>", "password": "<your-password>" }'
Note: If both JWT token and basic authentication credentials are provided, JWT token takes precedence.
Usage with Claude Desktop
Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:
Basic Authentication:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-server-apache-airflow": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-server-apache-airflow"],
"env": {
"AIRFLOW_HOST": "https://your-airflow-host",
"AIRFLOW_USERNAME": "your-username",
"AIRFLOW_PASSWORD": "your-password"
}
}
}
}
JWT Token Authentication:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-server-apache-airflow": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-server-apache-airflow"],
"env": {
"AIRFLOW_HOST": "https://your-airflow-host",
"AIRFLOW_JWT_TOKEN": "your-jwt-token"
}
}
}
}
For read-only mode (recommended for safety):
Basic Authentication:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-server-apache-airflow": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-server-apache-airflow"],
"env": {
"AIRFLOW_HOST": "https://your-airflow-host",
"AIRFLOW_USERNAME": "your-username",
"AIRFLOW_PASSWORD": "your-password",
"READ_ONLY": "true"
}
}
}
}
JWT Token Authentication:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-server-apache-airflow": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["mcp-server-apache-airflow", "--read-only"],
"env": {
"AIRFLOW_HOST": "https://your-airflow-host",
"AIRFLOW_JWT_TOKEN": "your-jwt-token"
}
}
}
}
Alternative configuration using uv:
Basic Authentication:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-server-apache-airflow": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/path/to/mcp-server-apache-airflow",
"run",
"mcp-server-apache-airflow"
],
"env": {
"AIRFLOW_HOST": "https://your-airflow-host",
"AIRFLOW_USERNAME": "your-username",
"AIRFLOW_PASSWORD": "your-password"
}
}
}
}
JWT Token Authentication:
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-server-apache-airflow": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/path/to/mcp-server-apache-airflow",
"run",
"mcp-server-apache-airflow"
],
"env": {
"AIRFLOW_HOST": "https://your-airflow-host",
"AIRFLOW_JWT_TOKEN": "your-jwt-token"
}
}
}
}
Replace /path/to/mcp-server-apache-airflow with the actual path where you've cloned the repository.
Selecting the API groups
You can select the API groups you want to use by setting the --apis flag.
uv run mcp-server-apache-airflow --apis dag --apis dagrun
The default is to use all APIs.
Allowed values are:
- config
- connections
- dag
- dagrun
- dagstats
- dataset
- eventlog
- importerror
- monitoring
- plugin
- pool
- provider
- taskinstance
- variable
- xcom
Read-Only Mode
You can run the server in read-only mode by using the --read-only flag or by setting the READ_ONLY=true environment variable. This will only expose tools that perform read operations (GET requests) and exclude any tools that create, update, or delete resources.
Using the command-line flag:
uv run mcp-server-apache-airflow --read-only
Using the environment variable:
READ_ONLY=true uv run mcp-server-apache-airflow
In read-only mode, the server will only expose tools like:
- Listing DAGs, DAG runs, tasks, variables, connections, etc.
- Getting details of specific resources
- Reading configurations and monitoring information
- Testing connections (non-destructive)
Write operations like creating, updating, deleting DAGs, variables, connections, triggering DAG runs, etc. will not be available in read-only mode.
You can combine read-only mode with API group selection:
uv run mcp-server-apache-airflow --read-only --apis dag --apis variable
Manual Execution
You can also run the server manually:
make run
make run accepts following options:
Options:
--port: Port to listen on for SSE (default: 8000)--transport: Transport type (stdio/sse/http, default: stdio)
Or, you could run the sse server directly, which accepts same parameters:
make run-sse
Also, you could start service directly using uv like in the following command:
uv run src --transport http --port 8080
Installing via Smithery
To install Apache Airflow MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install @yangkyeongmo/mcp-server-apache-airflow --client claude
Development
Setting up Development Environment
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/yangkyeongmo/mcp-server-apache-airflow.git
cd mcp-server-apache-airflow
- Install development dependencies:
uv sync --dev
- Create a
.envfile for environment variables (optional for development):
touch .env
Note: No environment variables are required for running tests. The
AIRFLOW_HOSTdefaults tohttp://localhost:8080for development and testing purposes.
Running Tests
The project uses pytest for testing with the following commands available:
# Run all tests
make test
Code Quality
# Run linting
make lint
# Run code formatting
make format
Continuous Integration
The project includes a GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/test.yml) that automatically:
- Runs tests on Python 3.10, 3.11, and 3.12
- Executes linting checks using ruff
- Runs on every push and pull request to
mainbranch
The CI pipeline ensures code quality and compatibility across supported Python versions before any changes are merged.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
The package is deployed automatically to PyPI when project.version is updated in pyproject.toml.
Follow semver for versioning.
Please include version update in the PR in order to apply the changes to core logic.
License
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.
