Introduction
OpenETL is an open-source ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) framework implemented in TypeScript. This introduction covers the framework's purpose, architecture, and use cases.
What is OpenETL?
OpenETL is a TypeScript framework for building data pipelines that extract data from source systems, apply transformations, and load results into target systems. The framework uses a modular adapter architecture to connect different data sources and destinations.
Core components:
- Adapters: Interface implementations for specific data sources (APIs, databases)
- Vault: Credential storage and management system
- Orchestrator: Pipeline execution engine
- Connectors: Configuration objects that link adapters to pipelines
The framework includes adapters for HubSpot and PostgreSQL, with an extensible interface for custom adapter development.
Technical Characteristics
OpenETL provides:
- Type-safe pipeline configuration using TypeScript interfaces
- Stateless architecture requiring external state management for incremental syncs
- Modular design supporting selective adapter loading
- Built-in error handling with configurable retry logic
- Rate limiting and pagination support for API adapters
- Credential isolation through the Vault abstraction
Use Cases
OpenETL is applicable for:
- API-to-database data synchronization
- Cross-system data migration
- Data extraction for analysis pipelines
- Scheduled data synchronization workflows
- Custom ETL pipelines requiring specific transformation logic
For implementation examples, see the Getting Started guide.