How to Integrate ParadeDB with Airflow in PostgreSQL

How do I automate ParadeDB index maintenance in Airflow?

Use Airflow DAGs and Postgres operators to automate ParadeDB extension installation, index refreshes, and vector search jobs.

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Description

Example H2

Example H3

Why automate ParadeDB tasks with Airflow?

Manual index refreshes and embedding loads are error-prone. Airflow schedules ParadeDB maintenance, guarantees retries, and provides a visual audit trail, keeping search features consistent across releases.

Which packages do I need?

Install paradedb in PostgreSQL, apache-airflow[postgres] in your environment, and add the psycopg2-binary driver if not included. Verify versions match your Postgres major release.

How do I create the Airflow connection?

In the Airflow UI, create a Postgres connection named paradedb_pg.Provide host, port, database, user, and password. DAGs will reference this ID to run SQL against ParadeDB.

How do I enable ParadeDB via SQL?

Add a PostgresOperator task that runs CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS paradedb;. Run it once per database or schedule it for new schemas.

Can I refresh vector indexes nightly?

Yes.Use a second PostgresOperator calling SELECT paradedb.refresh_index('products_vector_idx'); and set schedule_interval='0 3 * * *'.

How do I bulk-load embeddings?

Store vector data in a staging table, then run INSERT INTO products (id, name, price, stock, embedding) SELECT ... FROM staging_embeddings; in a task with autocommit=True to avoid long transactions.

Best practices for Airflow + ParadeDB

Keep each SQL statement in its own task for idempotency. Parameterize table names with Jinja templates. Enable on_failure_callback to alert when index refreshes fail.

Why How to Integrate ParadeDB with Airflow in PostgreSQL is important

How to Integrate ParadeDB with Airflow in PostgreSQL Example Usage


-- Build a vector index and refresh it nightly
CREATE INDEX products_vector_idx ON Products USING hnsw (embedding);

-- Airflow task SQL
SELECT paradedb.refresh_index('products_vector_idx');

How to Integrate ParadeDB with Airflow in PostgreSQL Syntax


-- Enable ParadeDB extension once
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS paradedb;

-- Example nightly index refresh
SELECT paradedb.refresh_index('products_vector_idx');

-- Airflow DAG snippet
with DAG(
    dag_id="paradedb_maintenance",
    schedule_interval="0 3 * * *",
    start_date=datetime(2024, 2, 1),
    catchup=False,
) as dag:
    enable_ext = PostgresOperator(
        task_id="enable_extension",
        postgres_conn_id="paradedb_pg",
        sql="CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS paradedb;",
    )

    refresh_idx = PostgresOperator(
        task_id="refresh_products_idx",
        postgres_conn_id="paradedb_pg",
        sql="SELECT paradedb.refresh_index('products_vector_idx');",
        autocommit=True,
    )

    enable_ext >> refresh_idx

Common Mistakes

Mistake: Using the default "postgres_default" connection without credentials for ParadeDB. Fix: Create a dedicated Postgres connection (e.g., paradedb_pg) with proper host, db, and SSL settings.
Mistake: Running long embedding loads in a single transaction causing locks. Fix: Set autocommit=True or commit in batches to keep the database responsive.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need separate Airflow workers for ParadeDB?

No. Standard workers with the Postgres provider can run ParadeDB SQL. Heavy embedding generation should run in KubernetesPodOperator or a Python task.