What is Expanso and how does it work?

Expanso is a managed platform for deploying intelligent data pipelines at the edge. It processes data where it's generated - reducing bandwidth, latency, and costs. You deploy lightweight agents on your infrastructure, build pipelines using our visual builder or YAML, and control everything from a central SaaS platform.

Can I run AI/ML models directly in my data pipelines?

Yes! Expanso supports running ONNX, TensorFlow Lite, and other models as native pipeline steps. Execute low-latency inference on streaming data, enrich events with model outputs (like risk scores), and make decisions at the edge without cloud round-trips.

How many pre-built components are available?

Expanso provides 200+ pre-built components including inputs (Kafka, HTTP, files), processors (transformations, filtering, PII masking, aggregations), and outputs (S3, Snowflake, Datadog, Splunk). Browse the complete catalog in our Component Reference.

Do I need to write code to build pipelines?

No - use our drag-and-drop visual pipeline builder to create sophisticated pipelines without code. For advanced use cases, you can also write pipelines in YAML or use the Bloblang transformation language for complex data mappings.

How does Expanso help with data governance and compliance?

Expanso includes built-in governance features: automatic PII detection and masking, policy enforcement at the edge, RBAC, SSO integration, and comprehensive audit trails. Mask sensitive data before it ever leaves your network.

CLI Reference

Expanso provides command-line tools for managing your edge computing infrastructure.

Available CLIs

expanso-cli - Command-line interface for interacting with Expanso
expanso-edge - Edge agent command-line tool

Installation

For installation instructions, see the Getting Started - Installation guide.

How It Works

The Expanso CLI works against Expanso endpoints, which can be either:

Control plane: The central management service (hosted in Expanso Cloud or your infrastructure)
Edge nodes: Individual edge agents running on your devices

Your configured profile endpoint determines what you're talking to. Most operations work against both types of endpoints, with output varying based on the target.

Local Mode

Edge nodes can run in "local mode" for standalone operation without a control plane connection. This is useful for:

Local development and testing
Troubleshooting specific edge nodes
Air-gapped or isolated deployments

When an edge node runs in local mode, you can deploy jobs directly to it using the CLI by pointing your profile to the edge node's endpoint.

Getting Started

# Configure your profile to point to the control plane
expanso-cli profile save --name production --endpoint https://demo.us1.cloud.expanso.io:9010

# Check status
expanso-cli status

# List your nodes
expanso-cli node list

Available CLIs​

Installation​

How It Works​

Local Mode​

Getting Started​

Available CLIs

Installation

How It Works

Local Mode

Getting Started