streamling transform plugin — Agent Skill

A transform sits in the middle of a pipeline: it receives an upstream RecordBatch, returns a (possibly reshaped) RecordBatch, and propagates checkpoints. Transforms are stateless-by-default row pipelines — use one when the built-in sql transform can't express the logic (custom Rust, per-row external calls, non-SQL projections).

Prerequisite: [streamling-plugin-basics](skill://streamling-plugin-basics) (crate setup, registration, lifecycle, errors).

When NOT to write a transform: if the work is column projection/renaming, a UNION ALL, or a JOIN, the built-in type: sql transform (DataFusion) is simpler and faster — see [sql-transform](skill://sql-transform). Reach for a plugin transform only when you need imperative Rust or side effects the SQL engine can't do.

The trait

#[async_trait]
pub trait TransformPlugin: SupportsGracefulShutdown + Send + Sync {
    async fn initialize(&self) -> Result<(), PluginError>;
    fn output_schema(&self) -> Result<SchemaRef, PluginError>;
    fn labels(&self) -> Vec<PluginLabel> { Vec::new() }
    async fn process_batch(&self, data: RecordBatch) -> Result<RecordBatch, PluginError>;
    async fn process_checkpoint_marker(&self, epoch: CheckpointEpoch) -> Result<(), PluginError>;
    async fn process_checkpoint_finalizer(&self, epoch: CheckpointEpoch) -> Result<(), PluginError>;
}

Constructor (called by registerplugintransform! — schema first):

pub fn new(
    schema: SchemaRef,                       // upstream input schema
    rt: PluginAsyncRuntimeObj,
    state_backend_factory: PluginStateBackendFactory,
    metrics_recorder: PluginMetricsRecorder,
    options: HashMap<String, String>,
) -> Result<Self, PluginInitializationError>   // or Self

output_schema — pass-through vs reshape

• Pass-through (filter, enrich-in-place): return the input schema unchanged.
• Reshape (drop/add/rename columns): return a different schema, built once in new(). Downstream stages see whatever you return here.

fn output_schema(&self) -> Result<SchemaRef, PluginError> {
    Ok(self.output_schema.clone())     // precomputed in new()
}

process_batch — the core contract

• Receive a RecordBatch, return a RecordBatch.
• Empty in → empty out. Always handle num_rows() == 0 first (return the empty batch unchanged) so you never build zero-length arrays by accident.
• Returning Err fails the pipeline. For per-row soft failures, emit a null or drop the row rather than erroring the whole batch.

Pattern: row filter with a boolean mask

Filtering is the canonical transform. Build a BooleanArray mask and apply it with filterrecordbatch:

use arrow::array::{Array, BooleanArray, StringArray, RecordBatch};
use arrow::compute::{and, filter_record_batch};
use arrow_schema::SchemaRef;
use async_trait::async_trait;
use std::collections::HashMap;
use std::sync::Arc;
use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
use streamling_plugin::api::{PluginStateBackendFactory, SupportsGracefulShutdown};
use streamling_plugin::r#async::PluginAsyncRuntimeObj;
use streamling_plugin::ffi::PluginMetricsRecorder;
use streamling_plugin::{CheckpointEpoch, PluginError, TransformPlugin};

pub struct FilterTransform {
    schema: SchemaRef,
    column: String,                       // parsed from options
    keep_value: String,
    running: Arc<AtomicBool>,
}

impl FilterTransform {
    pub fn new(
        schema: SchemaRef,
        _rt: PluginAsyncRuntimeObj,
        _state: PluginStateBackendFactory,
        _metrics: PluginMetricsRecorder,
        options: HashMap<String, String>,
    ) -> Self {
        Self {
            schema,
            column: options.get("column").cloned().unwrap_or_default(),
            keep_value: options.get("keep").cloned().unwrap_or_default(),
            running: Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(true)),
        }
    }
}

#[async_trait]
impl SupportsGracefulShutdown for FilterTransform {
    fn is_running(&self) -> bool { self.running.load(Ordering::SeqCst) }
    async fn terminate(&self) -> Result<(), PluginError> {
        self.running.store(false, Ordering::SeqCst);
        Ok(())
    }
}

#[async_trait]
impl TransformPlugin for FilterTransform {
    async fn initialize(&self) -> Result<(), PluginError> { Ok(()) }

    fn output_schema(&self) -> Result<SchemaRef, PluginError> { Ok(self.schema.clone()) }

    async fn process_batch(&self, batch: RecordBatch) -> Result<RecordBatch, PluginError> {
        if batch.num_rows() == 0 { return Ok(batch); }            // empty in → empty out

        let idx = batch.schema().index_of(&self.column)
            .map_err(|e| PluginError::Execution(format!("missing column {}: {e}", self.column)))?;
        let col = batch.column(idx);

        // Start with all-true, AND in each predicate (extend to multiple conditions).
        let mut mask = BooleanArray::from(vec![true; batch.num_rows()]);
        if let Some(strings) = col.as_any().downcast_ref::<StringArray>() {
            let values: Vec<bool> = (0..strings.len())
                .map(|i| strings.value(i) == self.keep_value.as_str())
                .collect();
            let pred = BooleanArray::from(values);
            mask = and(&mask, &pred).map_err(PluginError::ArrowError)?;
        }
        // For other column types, downcast to Int64Array/Float64Array/etc. and compare.

        filter_record_batch(&batch, &mask).map_err(PluginError::ArrowError)
    }

    async fn process_checkpoint_marker(&self, _e: CheckpointEpoch) -> Result<(), PluginError> { Ok(()) }
    async fn process_checkpoint_finalizer(&self, _e: CheckpointEpoch) -> Result<(), PluginError> { Ok(()) }
}

Register it:

register_plugin_transform!("my_plugin", "filter", FilterTransform);
set_plugin_output_buffer!("my_plugin.filter", 1);   // optional backpressure cap

Multi-condition masks

Start from all-true and fold each predicate with and(&mask, &pred). Build each predicate by downcasting the column to its concrete array type (StringArray, Int64Array, Float64Array, BooleanArray, …) and producing a Vec<bool> per row. Nulls are falsy by default — handle them explicitly if your logic differs.

Pattern: project / add a derived column

To produce a different schema, build new arrays and assemble a fresh RecordBatch against your outputschema. Common builders: StringBuilder, Int64Builder, Float64Builder, BooleanBuilder, ListBuilder. For derived columns, iterate the source columns, compute, append, then RecordBatch::trynew(self.output_schema.clone(), vec![...]).

Pattern: stateful transforms

If the transform must remember something across batches (a running aggregate, a de-dup set), use the state backend (see [streamling-plugin-basics.md](./streamling-plugin-basics.md#state-backend)). Restore in initialize, mutate in processbatch, and persist anything that must survive restart in processcheckpoint_finalizer. Keep in-memory state behind the same Arc<AtomicBool> shutdown discipline as sources/sinks.

Checkpoints: pass them through

Unless your transform owns durable state, both checkpoint methods are no-ops — just return Ok(()). Returning Ok propagates the marker downstream; the transform is transparent to the checkpoint protocol.

Backpressure

If a downstream stage is slower than the transform (e.g. the transform fans out to a heavy enricher), cap the output channel:

set_plugin_output_buffer!("my_plugin.filter", 1);

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the empty-batch guard. Building arrays from a zero-row batch can panic or produce schema-mismatched output. Return it unchanged.
• Wrong output schema. If you drop/add columns, output_schema() must match the batches you actually return, or the downstream stage errors at runtime.
• Panicking on a bad row. Downcast failures and index lookups should become PluginError::Execution(..), not panics — a panic crashes the worker.
• Erroring the whole batch for one bad row. Prefer nulling/skipping the row; reserve batch-level errors for unrecoverable problems.
• Re-implementing SQL. If it's a projection/union/join, use [sql-transform](skill://sql-transform).

Related skills

• [streamling-plugin-basics](skill://streamling-plugin-basics) — registration, lifecycle, options, state backend, errors.
• [sql-transform](skill://sql-transform) — the built-in DataFusion transform; prefer it for projection/union/join.
• [streamling-udf-plugin](skill://streamling-udf-plugin) — custom SQL functions; a lighter alternative to a full transform for a single derived column.