Airbyte supports two types of connectors: Sources and Destinations. A connector takes the form of a Docker image which follows the Airbyte specification.
To build a new connector in Java or Python, we provide templates so you don't need to start everything from scratch.
Note: you are not required to maintain the connectors you create. The goal is that the Airbyte core team and the community help maintain the connector.
Before building a new connector, review Airbyte's data protocol specification.
To add a new connector you need to:
Implement & Package your connector in an Airbyte Protocol compliant Docker image
Add integration tests for your connector. At a minimum, all connectors must pass Airbyte's standard test suite, but you can also add your own tests.
Add the appropriate Gradle tasks to build the image within the Airbyte monorepo and CI
Each requirement has a subsection below.
If you are building a connector in any of the following languages/frameworks, then you're in luck! We provide autogenerated templates to get you started quickly:
Python Source Connector
​Singer-based Python Source Connector. Singer.io is an established open source framework with a large community and many available connectors (known as taps & targets). To build an Airbyte connector from a Singer tap, we wrap the tap in a thin Python package to make it Airbyte Protocol-compatible. See the Github Connector for an example of an Airbyte Connector implemented on top of a Singer tap.
If your language/framework is not listed above, we have a minimal generic template option to get you started.
Run the interactive generator:
cd airbyte-integrations/connector-templates/generatornpm installnpm run generate
and choose the relevant template. This will generate a new connector in the airbyte-integrations/connectors/<your-connector>
directory.
If you are developing a Python/Singer connector, you may find the building a Python connector tutorial helpful.
At a minimum, your connector must implement the standard tests described in Testing Connectors​
Generated templates provide the following Gradle tasks:
:airbyte-integrations:connectors:source-<name>:build
should run unit tests and build the integration's Docker image
:airbyte-integrations:connectors:source-<name>:integrationTest
should run integration tests including Airbyte's Standard test suite.
Make sure to review the Best Practices for Connector Development guide. Following best practices is not a requirement for merging your contribution to Airbyte, but it certainly doesn't hurt ;)
Once you've finished iterating on the changes to a connector as specified in its README.md
, follow these instructions to tell Airbyte to use the latest version of your connector.
Bump the version in the Dockerfile
of the connector (LABEL io.airbyte.version=X.X.X
).
Update the connector version in:
STANDARD_SOURCE_DEFINITION
if it is a source
STANDARD_DESTINATION_DEFINITION
if it is a destination.
Build the connector with the semantic version tag locally:
./tools/integrations/manage.sh build airbyte-integrations/connectors/<connector-name>
Submit a PR containing the changes you made.
One of Airbyte maintainers will review the change and publish the new version of the connector to Docker hub:
./tools/integrations/manage.sh publish airbyte-integrations/connectors/<connector-name>
The new version of the connector is now available for everyone who uses it. Thank you!