Turbo Pipeline Configuration & Architecture
YAML configuration reference and architecture guide for Turbo pipelines. For interactive pipeline building, use /turbo-builder. For troubleshooting, use /turbo-doctor. For transform implementation, use /turbo-transforms.
CRITICAL: Always validate YAML with goldsky turbo validate <file.yaml> before showing complete pipeline YAML to the user or deploying.Quick Start
name: my-first-pipeline
resource_size: s
sources:
transfers:
type: dataset
dataset_name: base.erc20_transfers
version: 1.2.0
start_at: latest
transforms: {}
sinks:
output:
type: blackhole
from: transfersgoldsky turbo validate pipeline.yaml # Validate first
goldsky turbo apply pipeline.yaml -i # Deploy + inspectPrerequisites
- Goldsky CLI —
curl https://goldsky.com | sh - Turbo extension (separate binary) —
curl https://install-turbo.goldsky.com | sh - Logged in —
goldsky login - Secrets created for sinks if using PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Kafka, etc. (see
/secrets)
Architecture Decisions
Source Type Selection
| Scenario | Source Type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Decode contract events from logs | dataset | Need raw_logs + _gs_log_decode() |
| Track token transfers | dataset | erc20_transfers has structured data |
| Historical backfill + live | dataset | start_at: earliest processes history |
| Live token balances | kafka | latest_balances_v2 is a streaming topic |
| Real-time state snapshots | kafka | Kafka delivers latest state continuously |
| Only need new data going forward | Either | Dataset with start_at: latest or Kafka |
Note: Kafka sources are used in production but are not documented in official Goldsky docs. Contact Goldsky support for topic names.
Data Flow Patterns
| Pattern | When to Use | Template |
|---|---|---|
| Linear | Single source, single destination, simple processing | templates/linear-pipeline.yaml |
| Fan-out | One source → multiple sinks (different views/subsets) | templates/fan-out-pipeline.yaml |
| Fan-in | Multiple event types → UNION ALL → one table | templates/fan-in-pipeline.yaml |
| Multi-chain | Same logic across chains (separate pipelines) | templates/multi-chain-templated.yaml |
For detailed pattern diagrams, YAML examples, and multi-chain deployment guidance, read references/architecture-patterns.md.
Resource Sizing
| Size | Workers | CPU | Memory | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
xs | — | 0.4 | 0.5 Gi | Small datasets, light testing |
s | 1 | 0.8 | 1.0 Gi | Simple filters, single source/sink, low volume (default) |
m | 4 | 1.6 | 2.0 Gi | Multiple sinks, Kafka streaming, moderate transform complexity |
l | 10 | 3.2 | 4.0 Gi | Multi-event decoding + UNION ALL, high-volume backfill |
xl | 20 | 6.4 | 8.0 Gi | Large chain backfills, complex JOINs |
xxl | 40 | 12.8 | 16.0 Gi | Highest throughput; up to 6.3M rows/min |
Start small and scale up — defensive sizing avoids wasted resources.
Sink Selection
| Destination | Sink Type | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Application DB | postgres | Row-level lookups, joins, application serving |
| Real-time aggregates | postgres_aggregate | Balances, counters, running totals via triggers |
| Analytics queries | clickhouse | Large-scale aggregations, time-series data |
| Event processing | kafka | Downstream consumers, event-driven systems |
| Serverless streaming | s2_sink | S2.dev streams, alternative to Kafka |
| Notifications | webhook | Lambda functions, API callbacks, alerts |
| Data lake | s3_sink | Long-term archival, batch processing |
| Testing | blackhole | Validate pipeline without writing data |
For full sink field specifications, read references/sink-reference.md.
Streaming vs Job Mode
| Scenario | Mode | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time dashboard | Streaming | Continuous updates needed |
| Backfill 6 months of history | Job | One-time, stops when done |
| Real-time + catch-up on deploy | Streaming | start_at: earliest does backfill then streams |
| Export data to S3 once | Job | No need for continuous processing |
| Webhook notifications on events | Streaming | Needs to react as events happen |
| Load test with historical data | Job | Process and inspect, then discard |
Job mode rules: Runs to completion, auto-deletes ~1hr after finishing. Must delete before redeploying. Cannot pause/resume/restart.
Pipeline Splitting
Default to one pipeline with multiple sinks when the user wants the same source data sent to multiple destinations. A single Turbo pipeline supports multiple sinks natively — each sink has a from: field pointing at a source or transform by name, and sinks run independently (one failing does not block the others, and each can have its own batch_size / batch_flush_interval).
Do NOT split into separate pipelines just because there are multiple destinations. Generating one pipeline per sink duplicates the source ingestion, wastes resources, and decouples deployments that should be atomic.
Split into multiple pipelines only when: sources are fundamentally different (different chains with independent lifecycles), the destinations need different resource sizes, or the user explicitly asks for separate pipelines.
See references/architecture-patterns.md for fan-out (one source → multiple sinks) and fan-in (UNION ALL) YAML examples, and templates/multi-sink-pipeline.yaml / templates/fan-out-pipeline.yaml / templates/fan-in-pipeline.yaml for ready-to-adapt configs.
Configuration Reference
Pipeline Structure
name: my-pipeline # Required: unique identifier (lowercase, hyphens)
resource_size: s # Required: xs/s/m/l/xl/xxl
job: true # Optional: one-time batch (default: false = streaming)
sources:
source_name:
type: dataset # or: kafka
# ... source config
transforms: # Optional
transform_name:
type: sql # or: script, handler, dynamic_table
# ... transform config
sinks:
sink_name:
type: postgres # or: clickhouse, kafka, webhook, s3_sink, etc.
# ... sink configSource Configuration
Dataset Source
sources:
my_source:
type: dataset
dataset_name: <chain>.<dataset_type>
version: <version>
start_at: latest | earliest # EVM chains
# start_block: <slot_number> # Solana only
# end_block: <block_number> # Optional: for bounded backfills
# filter: >- # Optional: SQL WHERE for source-level pre-filtering
# address = '0x...' AND block_number >= 10000000| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
type | Yes | dataset for blockchain data |
dataset_name | Yes | Format: <chain>.<dataset_type> |
version | Yes | Dataset version (e.g., 1.2.0) |
start_at | EVM | latest or earliest |
start_block | Solana | Specific slot number (omit for latest) |
end_block | No | Stop at this block (for bounded backfills) |
filter | No | SQL WHERE clause — pre-filters at ingestion (efficient) |
Use filter for contract addresses and block ranges (coarse pre-filtering). Use transform WHERE for fine-grained filtering.
For chain prefixes and dataset types, see /datasets.
Kafka Source
sources:
my_source:
type: kafka
topic: base.raw.latest_balances_v2No start_at or version fields. Optional: filter, include_metadata, starting_offsets.
Transform Configuration
| Type | Use Case |
|---|---|
sql | Filtering, projections, SQL functions |
script | Custom TypeScript/WASM logic |
handler | Call external HTTP APIs to enrich |
dynamic_table | Lookup tables backed by a database |
SQL Transform
transforms:
filtered:
type: sql
primary_key: id
sql: |
SELECT id, sender, recipient, amount
FROM source_name
WHERE amount > 1000| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
type | Yes | sql |
primary_key | Yes | Column for uniqueness/ordering |
sql | Yes | SQL query (reference sources by name) |
from | No | Override default source (for chaining) |
Transform Chaining
Chain transforms using from:
transforms:
step1:
type: sql
primary_key: id
sql: SELECT * FROM source WHERE amount > 100
step2:
type: sql
primary_key: id
from: step1
sql: SELECT *, 'processed' as status FROM step1For TypeScript, handler, and dynamic table transforms, see /turbo-transforms.
Sink Configuration
Quick examples for common sinks. For full field specs of all sink types, read references/sink-reference.md.
PostgreSQL
sinks:
output:
type: postgres
from: my_transform
schema: public
table: my_table
secret_name: MY_POSTGRES_SECRET
primary_key: idClickHouse
sinks:
output:
type: clickhouse
from: my_transform
table: my_table
secret_name: MY_CLICKHOUSE_SECRET
primary_key: idBlackhole (Testing)
sinks:
output:
type: blackhole
from: my_transformCheckpoint Behavior
- Preserved by default when updating a pipeline
- Tied to source names — renaming a source resets its checkpoint
- Tied to pipeline names — renaming the pipeline resets all checkpoints
To reset checkpoints: rename the source or pipeline. Warning: this reprocesses all historical data.
Starter Templates
| Template | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
minimal-erc20-blackhole.yaml | Simplest pipeline, no credentials | Quick testing |
filtered-transfers-sql.yaml | Filter by contract address | USDC, specific tokens |
postgres-output.yaml | Write to PostgreSQL | Production data storage |
multi-chain-pipeline.yaml | Combine multiple chains | Cross-chain analytics |
solana-transfers.yaml | Solana SPL tokens | Non-EVM chains |
multi-sink-pipeline.yaml | Multiple outputs | Archive + alerts + streaming |
linear-pipeline.yaml | Simple decode → filter → sink | Basic linear flow |
fan-out-pipeline.yaml | One source → multiple sinks | Multi-destination |
fan-in-pipeline.yaml | Multiple events → UNION ALL | Activity feeds |
multi-chain-templated.yaml | Per-chain pipeline pattern | Independent chain deploys |
Template location: templates/ (relative to this skill's directory)
CLI Quick Reference
| Action | Command | |
|---|---|---|
| Install Goldsky CLI | `curl https://goldsky.com \ | sh` |
| Install Turbo extension | `curl https://install-turbo.goldsky.com \ | sh` |
| Validate (REQUIRED) | goldsky turbo validate pipeline.yaml | |
| Deploy/Update | goldsky turbo apply pipeline.yaml | |
| Deploy + Inspect | goldsky turbo apply pipeline.yaml -i | |
| List pipelines | goldsky turbo list | |
| List datasets | goldsky dataset list (slow, 30-60s) | |
| List secrets | goldsky secret list |
For lifecycle commands (pause/resume/restart/delete) and monitoring (inspect/logs), see /turbo-operations.
Troubleshooting
See references/troubleshooting.md for CLI hanging, validation errors, and runtime errors.
Related
/turbo-builder— Interactive wizard to build pipelines step-by-step/turbo-doctor— Diagnose and fix pipeline issues/turbo-operations— Lifecycle commands and monitoring reference/turbo-transforms— SQL, TypeScript, and dynamic table transform reference/datasets— Dataset names and chain prefixes/secrets— Sink credential management