Gowtham SB
www.linkedin.com/in/sbgowtham/ Instagram - @dataengineeringtamil
⚙️PART 1: How to Install Apache Airflow on Windows
(Safest Way)
Airflow doesn’t run natively on Windows. So we’ll use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
or Docker — two safe and official ways.
🔹 OPTION 1: Install Airflow on Windows using WSL (Recommended)
✅ Step-by-Step
🧱 Step 1: Install WSL and Ubuntu
In PowerShell (Admin):
wsl --install
Restart PC and Ubuntu will be installed.
📦 Step 2: Update and Install Python, pip, venv
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install python3-pip python3-venv -y
🏗 Step 3: Create and Activate Virtual Environment
python3 -m venv airflow_venv
source airflow_venv/bin/activate
☁️Step 4: Set Airflow Environment Variables
export AIRFLOW_HOME=~/airflow
📥 Step 5: Install Airflow (latest)
pip install apache-airflow
Gowtham SB
www.linkedin.com/in/sbgowtham/ Instagram - @dataengineeringtamil
Optional (with extras like PostgreSQL, Redis):
pip install apache-airflow[celery,postgres,redis]
🏗 Step 6: Initialize Airflow DB
airflow db init
👤 Step 7: Create Admin User
airflow users create \
--username admin \
--firstname Gowtham \
--lastname SB \
--role Admin \
--email
[email protected] \
--password admin123
🚀 Step 8: Start Webserver & Scheduler
In two terminals:
# Terminal 1
airflow webserver --port 8080
# Terminal 2
airflow scheduler
Then open: http://localhost:8080
Login: admin / admin123
🔁 PART 2: Schedule a Python Script in Airflow (DAG)
📂 Step 1: Create a DAG File
Create file: ~/airflow/dags/simple_task.py
from airflow import DAG
Gowtham SB
www.linkedin.com/in/sbgowtham/ Instagram - @dataengineeringtamil
from airflow.operators.python import PythonOperator
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
def my_task():
with open("/home/ubuntu/airflow_output.txt", "a") as f:
f.write(f"Task ran at: {datetime.now()}\n")
print("Task executed!")
default_args = {
'owner': 'gowtham',
'retries': 1,
'retry_delay': timedelta(minutes=2),
}
with DAG(
dag_id='my_first_airflow_dag',
default_args=default_args,
description='Simple Python print task',
start_date=datetime(2024, 1, 1),
schedule_interval='*/2 * * * *', # Every 2 minutes
catchup=False,
) as dag:
task1 = PythonOperator(
task_id='print_time',
python_callable=my_task,
)
task1
✅ Step 2: Wait 1-2 minutes
Then check:
● Airflow UI → DAGs → Enable my_first_airflow_dag
● File: /home/ubuntu/airflow_output.txt
You’ll see:
Task ran at: 2025-05-16 23:58:01
Gowtham SB
www.linkedin.com/in/sbgowtham/ Instagram - @dataengineeringtamil
⚠️OPTION 2: Use Airflow with Docker (If You Prefer
Containers)
You can also use the official Airflow Docker setup:
👉 https://airflow.apache.org/docs/apache-airflow/stable/howto/docker-compose/index.html
But for beginners, WSL method is easier and more flexible.
🧠 Summary Table
Step What You Do
1 Install WSL + Ubuntu
2 Setup virtualenv + Airflow
3 Init DB and create user
4 Create DAG file in ~/airflow/dags
5 View UI at localhost:8080
6 Watch output in
/home/ubuntu/airflow_output.txt
🎯 Final Tips
● Use crontab.guru to generate Airflow schedule_interval
● You can deploy more Python scripts in DAGs folder
● DAGs will auto-refresh every 30 seconds in Airflow UI
Gowtham SB
www.linkedin.com/in/sbgowtham/ Instagram - @dataengineeringtamil
About the Author
Gowtham SB is a Data Engineering expert, educator, and content creator with a
passion for big data technologies, as well as cloud and Gen AI . With years of
experience in the field, he has worked extensively with cloud platforms, distributed
systems, and data pipelines, helping professionals and aspiring engineers master the
art of data engineering.
Beyond his technical expertise, Gowtham is a renowned mentor and speaker, sharing
his insights through engaging content on YouTube and LinkedIn. He has built one of
the largest Tamil Data Engineering communities, guiding thousands of learners to
excel in their careers.
Gowtham SB
www.linkedin.com/in/sbgowtham/ Instagram - @dataengineeringtamil
Through his deep industry knowledge and hands-on approach, Gowtham continues to
bridge the gap between learning and real-world implementation, empowering
individuals to build scalable, high-performance data solutions.
𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬
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