Add a cache to Variable and Connection when called at dag parsing time

airflow/config_templates/config.yml

@@ -1090,6 +1090,31 @@ secrets:
       sensitive: true
       example: ~
       default: ""
+    use_cache:
+      description: |
+        .. note:: |experimental|
+
+        Enables local caching of Variables, when parsing DAGs only.
+        Using this option can make dag parsing faster if Variables are used in top level code, at the expense
+        of longer propagation time for changes.
+        Please note that this cache concerns only the DAG parsing step. There is no caching in place when DAG
+        tasks are run.
+      version_added: 2.6.0
+      type: boolean
+      example: ~
+      default: "False"
+    cache_ttl_seconds:
+      description: |
+        .. note:: |experimental|
+
+        When the cache is enabled, this is the duration for which we consider an entry in the cache to be
+        valid. Entries are refreshed if they are older than this many seconds.
+        It means that when the cache is enabled, this is the maximum amount of time you need to wait to see a
+        Variable change take effect.
+      version_added: 2.6.0
+      type: integer
+      example: ~
+      default: "900"
 cli:
   description: ~
   options:

airflow/dag_processing/manager.py

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
 from airflow.models.dagwarning import DagWarning
 from airflow.models.db_callback_request import DbCallbackRequest
 from airflow.models.serialized_dag import SerializedDagModel
+from airflow.secrets.cache import SecretCache
 from airflow.stats import Stats
 from airflow.utils import timezone
 from airflow.utils.file import list_py_file_paths, might_contain_dag
@@ -1073,6 +1074,10 @@ def _create_process(file_path, pickle_dags, dag_ids, dag_directory, callback_req
 
     def start_new_processes(self):
         """Start more processors if we have enough slots and files to process."""
+        # initialize cache to mutualize calls to Variable.get in DAGs
+        # needs to be done before this process is forked to create the DAG parsing processes.
+        SecretCache.init()
+
         while self._parallelism - len(self._processors) > 0 and self._file_path_queue:
             file_path = self._file_path_queue.popleft()
             # Stop creating duplicate processor i.e. processor with the same filepath

airflow/models/connection.py

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 from airflow.exceptions import AirflowException, AirflowNotFoundException, RemovedInAirflow3Warning
 from airflow.models.base import ID_LEN, Base
 from airflow.models.crypto import get_fernet
+from airflow.secrets.cache import SecretCache
 from airflow.utils.log.logging_mixin import LoggingMixin
 from airflow.utils.log.secrets_masker import mask_secret
 from airflow.utils.module_loading import import_string
@@ -451,10 +452,20 @@ def get_connection_from_secrets(cls, conn_id: str) -> Connection:
         :param conn_id: connection id
         :return: connection
         """
+        # check cache first
+        # enabled only if SecretCache.init() has been called first
+        try:
+            uri = SecretCache.get_connection_uri(conn_id)
+            return Connection(conn_id=conn_id, uri=uri)
+        except SecretCache.NotPresentException:
+            pass  # continue business
+
+        # iterate over backends if not in cache (or expired)
         for secrets_backend in ensure_secrets_loaded():
             try:
                 conn = secrets_backend.get_connection(conn_id=conn_id)
                 if conn:
+                    SecretCache.save_connection_uri(conn_id, conn.get_uri())
                     return conn
             except Exception:
                 log.exception(

airflow/models/variable.py

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 from airflow.configuration import ensure_secrets_loaded
 from airflow.models.base import ID_LEN, Base
 from airflow.models.crypto import get_fernet
+from airflow.secrets.cache import SecretCache
 from airflow.secrets.metastore import MetastoreBackend
 from airflow.utils.log.logging_mixin import LoggingMixin
 from airflow.utils.log.secrets_masker import mask_secret
@@ -175,6 +176,10 @@ def set(
         Variable.delete(key, session=session)
         session.add(Variable(key=key, val=stored_value, description=description))
         session.flush()
+        # invalidate key in cache for faster propagation
+        # we cannot save the value set because it's possible that it's shadowed by a custom backend
+        # (see call to check_for_write_conflict above)
+        SecretCache.invalidate_variable(key)
 
     @staticmethod
     @provide_session
@@ -210,7 +215,9 @@ def delete(key: str, session: Session = None) -> int:
 
         :param key: Variable Keys
         """
-        return session.execute(delete(Variable).where(Variable.key == key)).rowcount
+        rows = session.execute(delete(Variable).where(Variable.key == key)).rowcount
+        SecretCache.invalidate_variable(key)
+        return rows
 
     def rotate_fernet_key(self):
         """Rotate Fernet Key."""
@@ -256,15 +263,26 @@ def get_variable_from_secrets(key: str) -> str | None:
         :param key: Variable Key
         :return: Variable Value
         """
+        # check cache first
+        # enabled only if SecretCache.init() has been called first
+        try:
+            return SecretCache.get_variable(key)
+        except SecretCache.NotPresentException:
+            pass  # continue business
+
+        var_val = None
+        # iterate over backends if not in cache (or expired)
         for secrets_backend in ensure_secrets_loaded():
             try:
                 var_val = secrets_backend.get_variable(key=key)
                 if var_val is not None:
-                    return var_val
+                    break
             except Exception:
                 log.exception(
                     "Unable to retrieve variable from secrets backend (%s). "
                     "Checking subsequent secrets backend.",
                     type(secrets_backend).__name__,
                 )
-        return None
+
+        SecretCache.save_variable(key, var_val)  # we save None as well
+        return var_val

airflow/secrets/cache.py

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import datetime
+import multiprocessing
+
+from airflow.configuration import conf
+
+
+class SecretCache:
+    """A static class to manage the global secret cache."""
+
+    __manager: multiprocessing.managers.SyncManager | None = None
+    _cache: dict[str, _CacheValue] | None = None
+    _ttl: datetime.timedelta
+
+    class NotPresentException(Exception):
+        """Raised when a key is not present in the cache."""
+
+    class _CacheValue:
+        def __init__(self, value: str | None) -> None:
+            self.value = value
+            self.date = datetime.datetime.utcnow()
+
+        def is_expired(self, ttl: datetime.timedelta) -> bool:
+            return datetime.datetime.utcnow() - self.date > ttl
+
+    _VARIABLE_PREFIX = "__v_"
+    _CONNECTION_PREFIX = "__c_"
+
+    @classmethod
+    def init(cls):
+        """Initializes the cache, provided the configuration allows it. Safe to call several times."""
+        if cls._cache is not None:
+            return
+        use_cache = conf.getboolean(section="secrets", key="use_cache", fallback=False)
+        if not use_cache:
+            return
+        if cls.__manager is None:
+            # it is not really necessary to save the manager, but doing so allows to reuse it between tests,
+            # making them run a lot faster because this operation takes ~300ms each time
+            cls.__manager = multiprocessing.Manager()
+        cls._cache = cls.__manager.dict()
+        ttl_seconds = conf.getint(section="secrets", key="cache_ttl_seconds", fallback=15 * 60)
+        cls._ttl = datetime.timedelta(seconds=ttl_seconds)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def reset(cls):
+        """For test purposes only."""
+        cls._cache = None
+
+    @classmethod
+    def get_variable(cls, key: str) -> str | None:
+        """
+        Tries to get the value associated with the key from the cache.
+
+        :return: The saved value (which can be None) if present in cache and not expired,
+            a NotPresent exception otherwise.
+        """
+        return cls._get(key, cls._VARIABLE_PREFIX)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def get_connection_uri(cls, conn_id: str) -> str:
+        """
+        Tries to get the uri associated with the conn_id from the cache.
+
+        :return: The saved uri if present in cache and not expired,
+            a NotPresent exception otherwise.
+        """
+        val = cls._get(conn_id, cls._CONNECTION_PREFIX)
+        if val:  # there shouldn't be any empty entries in the connections cache, but we enforce it here.
+            return val
+        raise cls.NotPresentException
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _get(cls, key: str, prefix: str) -> str | None:
+        if cls._cache is None:
+            # using an exception for misses allow to meaningfully cache None values
+            raise cls.NotPresentException
+
+        val = cls._cache.get(f"{prefix}{key}")
+        if val and not val.is_expired(cls._ttl):
+            return val.value
+        raise cls.NotPresentException
+
+    @classmethod
+    def save_variable(cls, key: str, value: str | None):
+        """Saves the value for that key in the cache, if initialized."""
+        cls._save(key, value, cls._VARIABLE_PREFIX)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def save_connection_uri(cls, conn_id: str, uri: str):
+        """Saves the uri representation for that connection in the cache, if initialized."""
+        if uri is None:
+            # connections raise exceptions if not present, so we shouldn't have any None value to save.
+            return
+        cls._save(conn_id, uri, cls._CONNECTION_PREFIX)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _save(cls, key: str, value: str | None, prefix: str):
+        if cls._cache is not None:
+            cls._cache[f"{prefix}{key}"] = cls._CacheValue(value)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def invalidate_variable(cls, key: str):
+        """Invalidates (actually removes) the value stored in the cache for that Variable."""
+        if cls._cache is not None:
+            # second arg ensures no exception if key is absent
+            cls._cache.pop(f"{cls._VARIABLE_PREFIX}{key}", None)

docs/apache-airflow/best-practices.rst

@@ -200,10 +200,13 @@ Some cases of dynamic DAG generation are described in the :doc:`howto/dynamic-da
 Airflow Variables
 -----------------
 
-As mentioned in the previous chapter, :ref:`best_practices/top_level_code`. you should avoid
-using Airflow Variables at top level Python code of DAGs. You can use the Airflow Variables freely inside the
-``execute()`` methods of the operators, but you can also pass the Airflow Variables to the existing operators
-via Jinja template, which will delay reading the value until the task execution.
+Using Airflow Variables yields network calls and database access, so their usage in top-level Python code for DAGs
+should be avoided as much as possible, as mentioned in the previous chapter, :ref:`best_practices/top_level_code`.
+If Airflow Variables must be used in top-level DAG code, then their impact on DAG parsing can be mitigated by
+:ref:`enabling the experimental cache<config:secrets__use_cache>`, configured with a sensible :ref:`ttl<config:secrets__cache_ttl_seconds>`.
+
+You can use the Airflow Variables freely inside the ``execute()`` methods of the operators, but you can also pass the
+Airflow Variables to the existing operators via Jinja template, which will delay reading the value until the task execution.
 
 The template syntax to do this is:
 
@@ -217,28 +220,32 @@ or if you need to deserialize a json object from the variable :
 
     {{ var.json.<variable_name> }}
 
-In top-level code, variables using jinja templates do not produce a request until a task is running, whereas, ``Variable.get()`` produces a request every time the dag file is parsed by the scheduler. Using ``Variable.get()`` will lead to suboptimal performance in the dag file processing. In some cases this can cause the dag file to timeout before it is fully parsed.
+In top-level code, variables using jinja templates do not produce a request until a task is running, whereas,
+``Variable.get()`` produces a request every time the dag file is parsed by the scheduler if caching is not enabled.
+Using ``Variable.get()`` without :ref:`enabling caching<config:secrets__use_cache>` will lead to suboptimal
+performance in the dag file processing.
+In some cases this can cause the dag file to timeout before it is fully parsed.
 
 Bad example:
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
     from airflow.models import Variable
 
-    foo_var = Variable.get("foo")  # DON'T DO THAT
+    foo_var = Variable.get("foo")  # AVOID THAT
     bash_use_variable_bad_1 = BashOperator(
         task_id="bash_use_variable_bad_1", bash_command="echo variable foo=${foo_env}", env={"foo_env": foo_var}
     )
 
     bash_use_variable_bad_2 = BashOperator(
         task_id="bash_use_variable_bad_2",
-        bash_command=f"echo variable foo=${Variable.get('foo')}",  # DON'T DO THAT
+        bash_command=f"echo variable foo=${Variable.get('foo')}",  # AVOID THAT
     )
 
     bash_use_variable_bad_3 = BashOperator(
         task_id="bash_use_variable_bad_3",
         bash_command="echo variable foo=${foo_env}",
-        env={"foo_env": Variable.get("foo")},  # DON'T DO THAT
+        env={"foo_env": Variable.get("foo")},  # AVOID THAT
     )
 
 

tests/always/test_secrets.py

@@ -21,11 +21,15 @@
 
 from airflow.configuration import ensure_secrets_loaded, initialize_secrets_backends
 from airflow.models import Connection, Variable
+from airflow.secrets.cache import SecretCache
 from tests.test_utils.config import conf_vars
 from tests.test_utils.db import clear_db_variables
 
 
 class TestConnectionsFromSecrets:
+    def setup_method(self) -> None:
+        SecretCache.reset()
+
     @mock.patch("airflow.secrets.metastore.MetastoreBackend.get_connection")
     @mock.patch("airflow.secrets.environment_variables.EnvironmentVariablesBackend.get_connection")
     def test_get_connection_second_try(self, mock_env_get, mock_meta_get):
@@ -114,6 +118,7 @@ def test_backend_fallback_to_env_var(self, mock_get_connection):
 class TestVariableFromSecrets:
     def setup_method(self) -> None:
         clear_db_variables()
+        SecretCache.reset()
 
     def teardown_method(self) -> None:
         clear_db_variables()
@@ -126,7 +131,10 @@ def test_get_variable_second_try(self, mock_env_get, mock_meta_get):
         Metastore DB
         """
         mock_env_get.return_value = None
+        mock_meta_get.return_value = "val"
+
         Variable.get_variable_from_secrets("fake_var_key")
+
         mock_meta_get.assert_called_once_with(key="fake_var_key")
         mock_env_get.assert_called_once_with(key="fake_var_key")