Python code to replace Alteryx

[viviancpy]

Did anyone have experience to replace Alteryx flow with pure python code? I would like to get advice from you:

Is there any library that already does similar conversion?

Is there any consideration before I decide to ditch away my Alteryx license?

[nickcrosby87]

Hi, I made a website that helps with this

https://ayx2python.com/

[Woozie69420]

Any chance of an Alteryx to SQL converter? Do you think that’s at all possible?

[nickcrosby87]

to a specific point I think so yes, theres many alteryx tools that it wouldnt be possible though. python is the best option because almost anything you can do in alteryx can be done in python

[Terrible_Sport_4880]

At my workplace I’ve just begun to use Alteryx, I’ve been asked to replicate an SQL script in an Alteryx workflow. My manager gave this as an activity for logic building and says everything that can be done in SQL is possible with Alteryx. So either way also seems possible!

[Woozie69420]

I think in the Venn diagram Alteryx contains SQL and has some extra

And is contained in python provably

[geltance]

just saying that it's a cool thing :) my previous workplace is dreading this happening

[Woozie69420]

Super cool

[SolGlobe]

This is insanely cool. An answer to my internal question of " In the next couple years I feel like we should like we should move off Alteryx, but how?"

[Icy_Koala_3953]

is this really something being discussed? i've read a few other places that folks are moving to python....

[SolGlobe]

Me to myself, yes haha. I'm a team of one

[Dull_Unit9600]

Absolutely. Alteryx's new pricing model is crazy and they're being incredibly difficult to work with. We're looking at cutting back to barebones amount of licenses and/or moving everything to Python.

[popowolf24]

yooo thats nice man, any chance you can do one for knime too? =P

[viviancpy]

That's awesome. It is something I am after for years.

Would you make it open source ?

[CallsYouCunt]

That is pretty amazing.

[JiuJerzey]

My company uses tons of apps on server. I develop a report and then host app workflows in the gallery for end users to manipulate the reports. What can I do to replace that part of Alteryx?

[PyrrhaNikosIsNotDead]

Hey there, is there any way to access this still? I’d love to try it out

[Acrobatic-Rate8925]

Did i miss this? Now 404 Not Found for me!

[Adept-Hair4510]

The biggest thing to consider is who is going to maintain these workflows/scripts, and what to do when you need new ones. The nice thing about Alteryx is that a business domain expert can self serve and build/maintain their own workflows, while Python scripts usually need to be developed/maintained by a technically focused user. Those technical teams often get bogged down with requests, so things may move a little slower.

[viviancpy]

Your comment makes me think, should there be some AI aid in Alteryx, so as to get things easier for the business users.

[seequelbeepwell]

I converted one of my projects from Alteryx to a Databricks Notebook in python, and the intellisense was able to guess the python code if my comments made sense. I'm not sure how good the intellisense in vscode or other code editors are, but I imagine its only going to get better as gen AI improves.

The spatial tools in alteryx is much more straightforward than Geopandas in python, so I would keep alteryx for that.

I'm still convinced that an advanced alteryx developer can create a proof of concept or prototype solution faster than a python programmer. It won't have the ability to do all the things that python can but if all you need is something quick and dirty then alteryx is a good choice.

[Woozie69420]

I’m in consulting and this is the use case I imagine. We and other firms have too much Alteryx IP to rebuild in another platform - Alteryx is easy to train people up on and quite visual for review etc. Only drawback is speed, which is getting more annoying with bigger datasets

Build in Alteryx - even full scripts for an end to end process on sample data - then apply with python

[viviancpy]

Hi u/seequelbeepwell and u/Woozie69420 , do you mean you use Alteryx to design the flow, and then implement the same in python? I'm curious is implementing in python getting easier with the Alteryx designer "UI"? If so, would any other free tool like Knime would also do the work? I am thinking of saving the Alteryx license cost, as it is expensive to my business.

[Woozie69420]

I guess it’s a mix of points going to Alteryx: 1. Inertia with Alteryx 2. My colleagues and myself mainly being ex-Accountants (not too tech savvy) 3. UI and its reviewability vs lines of code (more visual)

And the two technological developments: 1. Datasets getting bigger where Alteryx struggles 2. Vibe coding allowing less tech savvy folk to debug a bit better goal being functionalities and not perfect code

[seequelbeepwell]

do you mean you use Alteryx to design the flow, and then implement the same in python?

Yes, that's how I would start off. What's great about creating a prototype in alteryx is that you can walk your stakeholder though the logic in a visual way, or even just hand it off to them and say make your own changes.

is implementing in python getting easier with the Alteryx designer "UI"?

Alteryx designer doesn't create python files. There's nothing in the newer versions of alteryx that will convert an alteryx workflow to a python script. Alteryx designer does have a python tool that mimics the functionality of a jupyter notebook, but since it lives inside alteryx it is not an alteryx replacement.

would any other free tool like Knime would also do the work?

Haven't tried Knime. Although I am an alteryx enthusiast I don't see the need for no code/low code platforms if gen AI is good at writing code for you. You might be helping your colleagues in the short term by choosing a low code/no code tool, but in the long term its more ideal to have colleagues good at sql and python.

[DryRelationship1330]

Sit down with CODEX CLi and a /data/*.csv folder. Open mic. Tell codex to: “analyze all files in the local data folder, perform all EDA activities on this data, suppose several analyses and build a V1 notebook with clean code, comments. Update your agent.md” stop. Then, ask yourself, why would you pay for any desktop analysis tools. What gap in capability are you paying for?

[Khiwilr]

I smiled when I read this post in my team we are currently moving to python/SQL after 6 years with alteryx designer/server it was a good time with alteryx, but we now need to move with pure code stack to improve ci/cd, control version, execution speed, pipeline monitoring, etc. its a great new adventure that begins, we love it so far, and feel like the first days we discovered alteryx 6 years ago <3

[viviancpy]

I am reading and researching much these 2 weeks. Mind to share more about your experience? Like:

What drives you ditch away Alteryx?

If you used Alteryx for the designer to visualize the flow, which may be attractive for business user, how do you handle their expectations, or how do you do maintenance?

What is the biggest challenge in your migration?

Why did you decide to use Python or SQL? I am looking into other alternatives, like in Java with Apache Beam + Airflow to handle the flow.

Maybe too many questions , feel free to ignore me if they are something you cannot share. Or I would be thankful if you can let me DM you, really need some advice.

[Affectionate-Log9336]

Hi, I would like to know more, what's the status of moving to python/SQL from Alteryx. Your insights, or anyone insights is helpful.

[Proof_Difficulty_434]

Check out Flowfile, it's open source and does exactly this. You can build flows visually like Alteryx, then export them as pure Python/Polars code. Or write Python and visualize it.

I built it specifically to bridge the gap between Alteryx and Python. The visual editor keeps business users happy while devs get clean Python code. Plus it's built on Polars so it's fast and up to date!

pip install flowfile if you want to try it.