Flowfile Lite (Browser)
Flowfile Lite is the zero-install, browser-only edition of the visual editor. Polars runs entirely in WebAssembly via Pyodide, so your flows execute client-side with no backend, no account, and no data leaving your browser.
No install. No signup. Polars in the browser via Pyodide.
It is also published as the embeddable npm package flowfile-editor, so you can drop the editor into your own web app.
Lite vs. the full build
Flowfile Lite is a deliberately lightweight subset of Flowfile. It covers the most common file-based ETL work, but it has no Python backend — which means no databases, cloud storage, scheduler, kernels, AI assistant, or the Python API. For any of those, install the full build (Desktop, Python package, or Docker). See the feature comparison below.
When to use it
| Use Flowfile Lite when… | Use the full build when… |
|---|---|
| You want to try Flowfile without installing anything | You need databases, cloud storage, or Kafka |
| You're transforming local CSV / Excel / Parquet files | You want to schedule or automate flows |
| Your data should never leave your machine | You want the Python API (flowfile_frame) |
| You want to embed a visual editor in your own web app | You need kernels, ML nodes, the AI assistant, or a governed catalog |
What's included
Flowfile Lite ships 18 nodes across 5 categories — the same canvas, settings panels, and Polars semantics as the full editor:
| Category | Nodes |
|---|---|
| Input | Read File (CSV · Excel · Parquet, local upload or remote URL), Manual Input, Read from Catalog, External Data¹ |
| Transform | Filter, Select, Sort, Unique, Take Sample, Polars Code |
| Combine | Join |
| Aggregate | Group By, Pivot, Unpivot |
| Output | Explore Data (Graphic Walker), Write Data (download CSV · Excel · Parquet), Write to Catalog, External Output¹ |
¹ External Data / External Output are host-integration nodes used when Flowfile Lite is embedded as a library — they let the host app feed in and read out datasets.
It also supports exporting a flow to a standalone Python/Polars script and a lightweight in-browser catalog (CSV-only) for saving and reusing tables between flows.
No Formula node? Use Polars Code
Flowfile Lite swaps the visual Formula node for the Polars Code node, where you can write any Polars expression directly (with autocompletion). Everything with_columns does in the full build is available here as code.
What's not included
Everything that depends on the Python backend, worker, or kernel containers is unavailable in Flowfile Lite:
- Databases — no PostgreSQL / MySQL / SQL Server / Oracle readers or writers
- Cloud storage — no S3 / Azure ADLS / Google Cloud Storage
- Kafka ingestion and REST API / Google Analytics sources
- Kernels / Python Script — no sandboxed user-code execution
- SQL editor and SQL query node
- Machine Learning nodes (Train / Apply / Evaluate Model)
- Scheduler and flow automation
- AI assistant (Chat, Agent, Cmd+K, inline actions)
- Secrets & connections manager — no credentials are stored
- Governed catalog — no Delta Lake versioning, virtual tables, lineage, or saved visualizations
- The Python API (
flowfile_frame) — Lite is visual-only - Extra transforms: Add Record ID, Text to Rows, Fuzzy Match, Union, Cross Join, Graph Solver
Memory is bounded by the browser heap, and data previews are capped (100k rows).
Feature comparison
| Feature | Full Flowfile | Flowfile Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Install / runtime | pip · Desktop · Docker | None — runs in the browser |
| Compute engine | Polars on Python backend + worker | Polars compiled to WebAssembly (Pyodide) |
| Nodes | 40+ | 18 |
| Local files (CSV / Excel / Parquet) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remote URL fetch | ✓ | ✓ |
| Databases (Postgres / MySQL / …) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cloud storage (S3 / ADLS / GCS) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Kafka / REST API / Google Analytics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Polars Code node | ✓ | ✓ |
| Python Script / Kernels | ✓ | ✗ |
| SQL editor & SQL query | ✓ | ✗ |
| Machine Learning nodes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scheduler & automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| AI assistant (BYOK) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Catalog | Delta-backed, versioned, virtual tables | Lightweight (CSV-only) |
| Secrets & connections manager | ✓ | ✗ |
| Export flow to Python | ✓ | ✓ |
| Graphic Walker visualization | ✓ | ✓ |
Python API (flowfile_frame) |
✓ | ✗ |
| Data privacy | Sent to your backend/services as configured | Never leaves your browser |
Embedding Flowfile Lite
The editor is published to npm as flowfile-editor. Host apps can mount the FlowfileEditor component, pass datasets in via inputData, drive it with a template-ref API (executeFlow, exportFlow, importFlow, …), and listen to ready / output / execution-complete events.
npm install flowfile-editor
See the package README for the full props, events, and API reference.
Cross-origin isolation required
Pyodide needs SharedArrayBuffer, so the host page must send COOP/COEP headers (Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy: same-origin, Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy: require-corp) or the runtime will not load.