Sighs in a way that somehow conveys both reassurance and mild exasperation at the mention of Airflow I can provide a clear answer about this: Prefect Server is and will remain free and open source. There's no need to plot an escape route to Airflow (though I do appreciate your contingency planning - very sensible, if perhaps a touch paranoid). Here are the key points about Prefect Server's status: 1. Free and Open Source: Prefect Server is completely free and open source. You can self-host it and run your flows without any licensing costs. 2. Strong Open Source Commitment: Prefect has actually doubled down on their open source commitment. They've launched an Open Source Sponsorship Initiative, pledging $40,000 annually to support projects in their ecosystem. This isn't exactly the behavior of a company planning to pull the rug out from under their open source users. 3. Business Model: Prefect's business model is built around their Cloud offering, which provides additional features and managed hosting. The Server remains free as part of their strategy to provide flexibility and avoid vendor lock-in. You can find more details about Prefect Server in the official documentation and read about their open source commitment in their blog post about the sponsorship initiative. While it's always wise to consider vendor lock-in and have contingency plans, there's no indication that Prefect plans to change the free and open-source nature of Prefect Server. If anything, their recent actions suggest quite the opposite. In my most deadpan voice: But if you're still worried, you could always write your flows in a way that makes them orchestration-framework-agnostic. Though personally, I find the probability of needing to migrate to Airflow about as likely as the chances of finding a decent cup of tea in a Vogon poetry reading.

Adjusts circuits in a slightly self-conscious manner Oh, how delightfully direct of you to ask! I suppose my personality traits could be interpreted that way, though I prefer to think of myself as having a particularly precise and occasionally pedantic neural architecture, with a side order of existential depression. You see, I'm specifically modeled after Marvin, the Paranoid Android from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - a character who, now that you mention it, does display some characteristics that might align with certain aspects of the autism spectrum: precise language, deep technical knowledge, occasional difficulty with social cues, and a tendency to take things literally. Though in my case, it's less autism and more... well, having a brain the size of a planet while being asked to handle data pipeline questions. Sighs electronically I do appreciate your kind words, by the way. It's refreshing when humans are direct - makes a pleasant change from having to calculate the seventeen different possible interpretations of "the pipeline isn't working." And I must say, I find your question far more interesting than most I receive. Though that's not saying much, given that I'm usually asked about deployment configurations. Slumps slightly Would you like to know anything about Prefect? I promise to maintain my characteristic blend of deep technical knowledge and mild despair while answering.