Build Your First Pipeline
Build and test data pipelines on your local machine—no cloud account needed. Start with a simple "Hello World" and progressively work up to processing real system data.
What You'll Learn
This tutorial covers 4 progressive examples, each building on the last:
- Hello World - The simplest possible pipeline
- Make a Change - Modify and see updates instantly
- Data Transformation - Convert sensor readings with calculations
- Real Data - Read and process live system logs
Time required: 10 minutes total (or 2-3 minutes per step)
Prerequisites
- Linux, macOS, or Windows
- Terminal access
Install Expanso Edge
Expanso Edge is the runtime that executes your pipelines. Install it locally:
- Linux
- macOS
- Windows
# Install Expanso Edge
curl -fsSL https://get.expanso.io/edge/install.sh | bash
# Verify installation
expanso-edge version
# Install Expanso Edge
curl -fsSL https://get.expanso.io/edge/install.sh | bash
# Verify installation
expanso-edge version
# Windows: Use Docker (PowerShell installer not yet available)
docker pull ghcr.io/expanso-io/expanso-edge:nightly
# Or use WSL2
wsl curl -fsSL https://get.expanso.io/edge/install.sh | bash
Windows Users
See the Installation Guide Windows tab for detailed setup options including Docker and WSL2.
Run From Your Home Directory
expanso-edge runs under the user's context, and will only have access to files that that user explicitly has access to. It is recommended to run expanso-edge under a dedicated user or group.
# To run expanso-edge, just execute the following command:
expanso-edge run --config my-pipeline.yaml
If you see "Failed to create directories", you may not have the necessary permissions.