Airbyte is an open-source ELT (Extract-Load-Transform) platform. Basic use: configure a connector (e.g., Stripe → Snowflake) and let it sync. Advanced use: build custom connectors for proprietary APIs, optimize incremental syncs, handle edge cases (soft deletes, schema changes), and integrate with dbt + Airflow for orchestration. Advanced configuration unlocks: efficient data pipelines for 100+ sources, custom connectors for internal APIs, real-time change data capture (CDC), and production hardening (monitoring, alerting, retry logic).