Prefect: automation features and setup

Overview

Prefect is designed for teams that write workflows in code and need scheduling, monitoring, and retries. Define tasks, run them on a schedule or in response to an event, and connect agent steps to tools and data. It does not replace a CRM or a visual no-code workflow builder. Before launch, decide who owns the workflow, what happens if it fails midway, and how secrets are kept out of the code.

Features

• Schedule and run workflows written in code
• Monitor tasks and retry after failures
• Connect agent steps to tools and data sources

Business uses

• Running a nightly pipeline that retrieves data and updates a report
• Starting an agent when a new file appears in a monitored folder

Getting started

• Write a short workflow with two tasks in a test environment.
• Run it manually, then on a schedule.
• Check a mid-workflow failure and what is recorded in the log after a retry.

What to check

• Workflows written in code require change reviews, like any internal service.
• Do not store keys in the workflow definition itself.