pipeline

Activate When

• /godmode:pipeline, "build a data pipeline", "ETL"
• "data flow", "sync data", "data quality"
• Move, transform, or load data between systems

Workflow

1. Data Flow Specification

ls dags/ dbt_project.yml dagster.yaml 2>/dev/null
grep -r "airflow\|dagster\|prefect\|kafka" \
  requirements.txt package.json 2>/dev/null

Name: <pipeline>
Type: batch | streaming | micro-batch | CDC
Schedule: cron | event-triggered | continuous
SLA: <max latency>
Sources: <name>: <type> (<format>, <volume/day>)
Transforms: 1. <step> (input -> output)
Destinations: <target>: <type> (<write method>)
Idempotent: yes/no
Error handling: skip | fail | dead-letter | retry

2. Pipeline Pattern

• Batch: Extract -> Stage -> Transform -> Validate -> Load (Airflow+dbt, Dagster, Prefect)
• Streaming: Source -> Processor -> Sink (Kafka+Flink, Spark Streaming)
• CDC: Source DB -> CDC tool -> Target (Debezium, AWS DMS)
• ELT: Extract -> Load raw -> Transform in warehouse (Fivetran/Airbyte + dbt)

IF data changes hourly: batch with cron. IF sub-second latency needed: streaming (Kafka). IF already using PostgreSQL: CDC with Debezium.

3. Implement Components

Extraction: track watermarks, retry with backoff, log metrics. Patterns: API pagination with rate limit, DB incremental by updated_at, file dedup.

Transformation: pure functions only -- no DB calls, no side effects. Composable via .pipe().

Loading strategies:

• UPSERT: insert/update by key (dimensions)
• SWAP: staging + atomic rename (full refresh)
• APPEND: insert only (fact/event tables)
• SCD Type 2: historical tracking with dates

4. Data Quality Checks

Every pipeline needs these (not optional):

• Row: not_null, unique, range, pattern, referential
• Dataset: row count (min/max/threshold), completeness
• Cross-pipeline: source-target count reconciliation

IF quality < 95%: alert and investigate. IF count change > 50%: block load and alert.

5. Observability

Structured logging at every stage. Metrics: duration_seconds, rows_processed/rejected, last_success, data_freshness, quality_score. Alert: failure, 2x duration, quality < 95%, no data > 2 hours.

6. Error Handling

DLQ for bad records. Retry with exponential backoff. Checkpoint and resume for large batches. Circuit breaker if source fails N times.

7. Testing

• Unit: transformation correctness
• Integration: end-to-end with fixtures
• Backfill: run twice, verify identical (idempotency)

Hard Rules

1. NEVER build without data flow diagram first.
2. NEVER skip data quality checks.
3. NEVER make pipeline non-idempotent.
4. NEVER silently drop records (use DLQ).
5. NEVER hardcode credentials.
6. NEVER put side effects in transformations.
7. ALWAYS reconcile source-target counts.
8. ALWAYS design for backfill from day one.

TSV Logging

Append .godmode/pipeline-results.tsv:

timestamp	stage	source	target	records_in	records_out	rejected	quality_pct	status

Keep/Discard

KEEP if: pipeline runs end-to-end AND quality checks
  pass AND SLA met.
DISCARD if: quality fails OR errors OR SLA exceeded.

Stop Conditions

STOP when ALL of:
  - Pipeline runs end-to-end with zero errors
  - Quality checks validate all stages
  - SLA met
  - Backfill tested

Autonomous Operation

On failure: git reset --hard HEAD~1. Never pause.

Error Recovery

Failure	Action
Schema changed	Fail loudly, update contract
Duplicates	Use upsert, add dedup step
DLQ growing	Investigate rejection reason
Exceeds SLA	Profile stages, parallelize
Connection timeout	Retry with backoff, check pool