---
title: "What is a declarative pipeline?"
description: "A declarative pipeline is a schema of transforms. The engine decides when rows run, instead of you scheduling every step."
url: "https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-declarative-pipeline"
updated: "2026-09-29"
vertical: "Orchestration"
doc: "https://docs.pixeltable.com/datastore/computed-columns"
---

# What is a declarative pipeline?

A declarative pipeline is a schema of transforms. The engine decides when rows run, instead of you scheduling every step.

Updated: 2026-09-29


## On this page

- [How it works](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-declarative-pipeline#how-it-works)
- [What it is not](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-declarative-pipeline#what-it-is-not)
- [Comparison](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-declarative-pipeline#comparison)
- [Where Pixeltable fits](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-declarative-pipeline#where-pixeltable-fits)
- [Questions](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-a-declarative-pipeline#questions)

## How it works {#how-it-works}


- You declare columns, views, and indexes.
- An insert or edit runs the affected expressions.
- You do not enqueue each step.

## What it is not {#what-it-is-not}

It is not an imperative DAG you wire by hand, and it is not a chain of calls with no stored outputs.

## declarative pipeline: this, and the thing it is confused with {#comparison}

|  | This | Not this |
| --- | --- | --- |
| You write | The schema | The scheduler |
| Runs when | Rows change | A cron or a DAG tick |
| Outputs | Columns on the rows | Files in a bucket you track |

## Where Pixeltable fits {#where-pixeltable-fits}

Pixeltable’s computed columns and views are that declaration. Applying the schema is the deploy.

## Questions {#questions}

### How does declarative pipeline work? {#faq-1}

You declare columns, views, and indexes. An insert or edit runs the affected expressions. You do not enqueue each step.

### What is declarative pipeline often confused with? {#faq-2}

It is not an imperative DAG you wire by hand, and it is not a chain of calls with no stored outputs.

## In the blog

- [AI Automation Workflow: The Pipeline Is the Table](https://pixeltable.com/blog/ai-automation-workflow)
- [From Data Silos to Unified AI: The Three-Step Transformation Every AI Team Needs](https://pixeltable.com/blog/from-data-silos-to-unified-ai-three-step-transformation)
- [Unleash Google's Multimodal AI Power with Pixeltable's Gemini Integration](https://pixeltable.com/blog/working-with-gemini)
- [Pixeltable vs Airflow for ML Orchestration: Declarative AI vs Workflow DAGs](https://pixeltable.com/blog/pixeltable-vs-airflow-ml-orchestration)
- [Closing the Loop: Automating Active Learning Pipelines from Production to Training](https://pixeltable.com/blog/closing-the-loop-active-learning)
- [Accelerating Multimodal AI Data Annotations with Pixeltable](https://pixeltable.com/blog/accelerating-multimodal-ai-data-annotations-pixeltable)

## Related

- [Documentation](https://docs.pixeltable.com/datastore/computed-columns)
- [DIY Scripts vs. Declarative Pipelines: Choosing the Right Framework for Your AI/ML Project](https://pixeltable.com/blog/declarative-vs-imperative-ai-pipelines)
- [Declarative Pipelines for Multimodal AI: Why We Built Pixeltable Open Source from Day One](https://pixeltable.com/blog/declarative-ai-pipelines-open-standard)
- [Declarative, Multimodal, Incremental AI Infrastructure with Pixeltable](https://pixeltable.com/blog/declarative-multimodal-incremental)
- [AI Automation Workflow: The Pipeline Is the Table](https://pixeltable.com/blog/ai-automation-workflow)
- [Declarative data infrastructure](https://pixeltable.com/use-cases/declarative-ai-data-infrastructure)
- [Pixeltable vs LangChain](https://pixeltable.com/compare/pixeltable-vs-langchain)