v0.28.0

pathwaycom/pathwayv0.28.0Jan 8, 2026by github-actions[bot]

AI Summary

This release enhances connector groups with idle duration and priority support, allows schema fields to be specified from message keys or values in Kafka/Redpanda, enables connector groups in multiprocess runs, and includes breaking changes to JSON string handling.

Key Highlights

Kafka and Redpanda read connectors allow schema fields from message key or value
Connector groups support idle duration to exclude inactive sources
Connector groups support priorities to prevent source lagging
Connector groups now work in multiprocess runs
Window functions now use deterministic UDFs internally

Breaking Changes

pw.Json __str__ and dumps methods no longer enforce ASCII string output

New Features

Flexible schema field mapping from message key or value in Kafka/Redpanda
Idle duration specification for connector groups
Priority assignment for sources within connector groups
Multiprocess support for connector groups

Full Release Notes

### Added
- `pw.io.kafka.read` and `pw.io.redpanda.read` now allow each schema field to be specified as coming from either the message key or the message value.
- Connector groups now support the specification of an idle duration. When this is set, if a source does not provide any data for the specified period of time, it will be excluded from the group until it produces data again.
- It is now possible to assign priorities to sources within a connector group. When a priority is set, it ensures that at any moment, the source is not lagging behind any other source with a higher priority in terms of the tracked column.
- Connector groups can now be used in the multiprocess runs.

### Changed
- **BREAKING**: The `__str__` and `dumps` methods in `pw.Json` no longer enforce the result to be an ASCII string. This way, the behavior of `pw.debug.compute_and_print` is now consistent with other output connectors.
- The window functions now internally use deterministic UDFs, where possible.