Implementation:Apache Airflow Boring Cyborg Config

Knowledge Sources	Apache_Airflow
Domains	CI_CD, Automation
Last Updated	2026-02-08 21:00 GMT

Overview

Auto-labeling configuration for the boring-cyborg GitHub bot that automatically triages pull requests by applying labels based on which files are changed.

Description

The .github/boring-cyborg.yml file is a 614-line YAML configuration for the boring-cyborg GitHub bot. It defines a mapping from file path glob patterns to GitHub labels. When a pull request is opened or updated, the bot inspects the changed files and automatically applies the corresponding labels. The configuration covers three primary label categories:

• Provider labels (provider:*): Over 70 provider-specific labels mapping paths like providers/amazon/** to provider:amazon.
• Area labels (area:*): Functional area labels such as area:API, area:dev-tools, area:UI, area:Scheduler, area:Logging, area:helm-chart, area:task-sdk, area:providers, area:CLI, area:Secrets, area:Triggerer, area:db-migrations, and others.
• Kind and translation labels: Labels like kind:documentation, translation:* for localization files, and backport-to-v3-1-test.

The file also configures welcome comments for first-time contributors, first merged PR congratulations, and first issue greetings.

Usage

This configuration is consumed automatically by the boring-cyborg GitHub App installed on the apache/airflow repository. No manual invocation is required. When a PR is opened or its files change, the bot reads this YAML and applies matching labels. The labelOnPRUpdates flag is set to false, meaning labels are only applied on initial PR creation.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: Apache_Airflow
• File: .github/boring-cyborg.yml
• Lines: 614

Signature

# Top-level structure of boring-cyborg.yml
labelPRBasedOnFilePath:
  provider:airbyte:
    - providers/airbyte/**

  provider:amazon:
    - providers/amazon/**

  area:API:
    - airflow-core/src/airflow/api/**/*
    - airflow-core/src/airflow/api_fastapi/core_api/**/*
    - clients/**/*

  area:dev-tools:
    - scripts/**/*
    - dev/**/*
    - .github/**/*

  kind:documentation:
    - airflow-core/docs/**/*
    - providers/**/docs/**/*

  area:helm-chart:
    - chart/**/*

  area:task-sdk:
    - task-sdk/**/*

labelerFlags:
  labelOnPRUpdates: false

firstPRWelcomeComment: >
  Congratulations on your first Pull Request and welcome to the Apache Airflow community!
  ...

firstPRMergeComment: >
  Awesome work, congrats on your first merged pull request!
  ...

firstIssueWelcomeComment: >
  Thanks for opening your first issue here!
  ...

checkUpToDate:
  targetBranch: main
  files: []

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
PR file changes	File path list	Yes	List of files modified in a pull request, provided by GitHub webhook events
PR metadata	GitHub event	Yes	Pull request open/synchronize event triggering the bot

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
GitHub labels	Label set	One or more labels applied to the PR (e.g., provider:amazon, area:API)
Welcome comment	PR comment	First-time contributor welcome message posted on first PR
Merge comment	PR comment	Congratulatory message posted when first PR is merged
Issue comment	Issue comment	Welcome message posted on first issue

Usage Examples

Sample Provider Label Mapping

# When files under providers/google/** are changed,
# the label "provider:google" is automatically applied
labelPRBasedOnFilePath:
  provider:google:
    - providers/google/**

Sample Area Label Mapping

# When files in the scheduler source or docs are changed,
# the label "area:Scheduler" is applied
labelPRBasedOnFilePath:
  area:Scheduler:
    - airflow-core/src/airflow/jobs/scheduler_job_runner.py
    - airflow-core/docs/administration-and-deployment/scheduler.rst
    - airflow-core/tests/unit/jobs/test_scheduler_job.py

Label Categories Summary

Category	Example Labels	Count
Provider labels	provider:amazon, provider:google, provider:celery	70+
Area labels	area:API, area:UI, area:Scheduler, area:task-sdk	15+
Kind labels	kind:documentation	1
Translation labels	translation:zh-CN, translation:ja, translation:fr	18+

Related Pages

• Environment:Apache_Airflow_Development_Contributor_Environment