@Marvin I’m using Prefect 2.14.3 in EKS. I deploy my flows with S3 block as storage and k8s job block as infrastructure. I pass s3fs to env.EXTRA_PIP_PACKAGES. Why is it needed?

When deploying flows with Prefect's S3 block for storage and using a Kubernetes job block for infrastructure, you might need to include packages like

s3fs

in

EXTRA_PIP_PACKAGES

for compatibility with AWS S3. Here's why it's necessary: 1. Working with S3: The

s3fs

package allows Python to interact with files stored in Amazon S3 using its filesystem-like interface. When your flow reads from or writes to S3 buckets,

s3fs

is required. 2. Custom Dependencies: Prefect allows extending its base image with extra dependencies required at runtime, like

s3fs

or other file system-specific packages (e.g.,

gcsfs

for Google Cloud Storage). By setting

EXTRA_PIP_PACKAGES: s3fs

, these packages will be installed within the Kubernetes Job environment before your flow runs. 3. Environment Customization: Prefect provides options to customize the runtime environment via the EXTA_PIP_PACKAGES variable, ensuring all necessary Python dependencies are present without rebuilding container images. This can be crucial for leveraging Prefect's storage and execution features efficiently. For further reading, you can refer to the Prefect documentation on file systems and Kubernetes deployments with these concepts explained here and Kubernetes example.

@Marvin If I migrate to Prefect 3 and use workers instead of agents will I still need to add the s3fs package? I will still be using S3 as storage of my flow code

If you migrate to Prefect 3 and use workers instead of agents while still using S3 for storage, you will likely still need to include the

s3fs

package as an additional dependency. Here's the reasoning: 1. S3 Access Requirement: Just like in Prefect 2, the

s3fs

package is required for Python to interface with AWS S3 storage directly. This dependency doesn't change with upgrading to Prefect 3. When your flow code is stored in S3, the environment executing the flow must have the capability to connect and interact with S3, which

s3fs

provides. 2. Prefect Workers: In Prefect 3, workers replace agents and provide more flexible options for handling flow execution, but the method of deploying flows (especially in distributed environments like Kubernetes) often still requires the installation of external Python packages necessary for flow code execution. 3. Environment Configuration: Prefect 3 allows configuration like installing packages using a

requirements.txt

file. This means you can ensure that

s3fs

and any other necessary packages are installed when the flow environment is set up, as described in the Prefect 3 deployment documentation. For more detailed information, you can look at Prefect 3 documentation about running flows with Kubernetes and handling dependencies. In summary, ensure that your deployment/image includes

s3fs

to provide seamless operation when interacting with S3 from Prefect 3 flows.