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Use your existing middleware framework (e.g. Express, Koa) in AWS Lambda 🎉

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Quick Overview

Serverless-http is a middleware library that allows you to wrap Node.js server frameworks like Express or Koa for use with serverless platforms, particularly AWS Lambda. It enables developers to run existing web applications in a serverless environment with minimal code changes, bridging the gap between traditional server-based applications and serverless architectures.

Pros

  • Easy integration with existing Express, Koa, and other Node.js web applications
  • Minimal code changes required to adapt applications for serverless environments
  • Supports various serverless platforms, with a focus on AWS Lambda
  • Maintains compatibility with standard Node.js HTTP request and response objects

Cons

  • May introduce slight performance overhead compared to native serverless functions
  • Limited support for certain advanced server features or custom middleware
  • Requires understanding of both serverless concepts and traditional web frameworks
  • May not be suitable for all types of applications or use cases

Code Examples

  1. Basic Express app with serverless-http:
const express = require('express')
const serverless = require('serverless-http')

const app = express()

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello, serverless world!')
})

module.exports.handler = serverless(app)
  1. Using serverless-http with Koa:
const Koa = require('koa')
const serverless = require('serverless-http')

const app = new Koa()

app.use(async (ctx) => {
  ctx.body = 'Hello from Koa in a serverless function!'
})

module.exports.handler = serverless(app)
  1. Configuring serverless-http options:
const express = require('express')
const serverless = require('serverless-http')

const app = express()

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello with custom options!')
})

module.exports.handler = serverless(app, {
  binary: ['image/png'],
  request: {
    logger: console,
    basePath: '/api'
  }
})

Getting Started

To use serverless-http in your project:

  1. Install the package:

    npm install serverless-http
    
  2. Import and use in your application:

    const serverless = require('serverless-http')
    const express = require('express')
    
    const app = express()
    // ... your express routes and middleware
    
    module.exports.handler = serverless(app)
    
  3. Configure your serverless platform (e.g., AWS Lambda) to use the exported handler function.

Competitor Comparisons

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Fast and low overhead web framework, for Node.js

Pros of Fastify

  • High performance: Fastify is one of the fastest web frameworks for Node.js
  • Extensive plugin ecosystem: Offers a wide range of plugins for various functionalities
  • Built-in TypeScript support: Provides excellent TypeScript integration out of the box

Cons of Fastify

  • Learning curve: More complex API compared to simpler frameworks
  • Not specifically designed for serverless: Requires additional setup for serverless environments

Code Comparison

Fastify:

const fastify = require('fastify')()

fastify.get('/', async (request, reply) => {
  return { hello: 'world' }
})

fastify.listen(3000)

serverless-http:

const serverless = require('serverless-http')
const express = require('express')
const app = express()

app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Hello World!'))

module.exports.handler = serverless(app)

While Fastify offers high performance and a rich plugin ecosystem, serverless-http provides a simpler way to adapt existing Express or Koa applications for serverless environments. Fastify requires additional configuration for serverless deployment, whereas serverless-http is specifically designed for this purpose. The code examples demonstrate the different approaches: Fastify focuses on creating a standalone server, while serverless-http wraps an existing application for serverless execution.

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Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework for node.

Pros of Express

  • Mature and widely adopted web application framework for Node.js
  • Extensive ecosystem with numerous middleware and plugins
  • Flexible and unopinionated, allowing for diverse application architectures

Cons of Express

  • Not optimized for serverless environments out of the box
  • Requires additional configuration and adaptation for serverless deployment
  • May include unnecessary overhead for simple serverless functions

Code Comparison

Express:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello World!');
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server running on port 3000'));

serverless-http:

const serverless = require('serverless-http');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello World!');
});

module.exports.handler = serverless(app);

The serverless-http wrapper allows Express applications to run in serverless environments with minimal changes. It adapts the Express app to work with serverless function handlers, making it easier to deploy existing Express applications to serverless platforms while retaining most of the Express functionality and ecosystem benefits.

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Pros of Koa

  • Full-featured web framework with robust middleware ecosystem
  • Designed for modern JavaScript with async/await support
  • Lightweight and modular architecture for flexibility

Cons of Koa

  • Not specifically designed for serverless environments
  • Requires more setup and configuration for serverless deployment
  • May include unnecessary features for simple serverless functions

Code Comparison

Koa:

const Koa = require('koa');
const app = new Koa();

app.use(async ctx => {
  ctx.body = 'Hello World';
});

app.listen(3000);

serverless-http:

const serverless = require('serverless-http');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Hello World'));

module.exports.handler = serverless(app);

Key Differences

  • Koa is a general-purpose web framework, while serverless-http is specifically designed for serverless environments
  • serverless-http wraps existing web frameworks (like Express) for serverless deployment
  • Koa requires additional configuration for serverless use, whereas serverless-http simplifies the process

Use Cases

  • Koa: Full-featured web applications with complex routing and middleware requirements
  • serverless-http: Quickly adapting existing Express/Koa apps for serverless deployment or building simple serverless APIs

Community and Ecosystem

  • Koa has a larger community and more extensive middleware ecosystem
  • serverless-http focuses on serverless integration, with a smaller but growing community
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Pros of Nest

  • Full-featured web application framework with built-in support for dependency injection, modules, and decorators
  • Extensive ecosystem with official packages for various integrations (e.g., GraphQL, WebSockets, microservices)
  • Strong TypeScript support and adherence to OOP principles

Cons of Nest

  • Steeper learning curve due to its comprehensive architecture and concepts
  • Potentially overkill for simple applications or microservices
  • Higher overhead and larger bundle size compared to lightweight alternatives

Code Comparison

Nest:

@Controller('cats')
export class CatsController {
  @Get()
  findAll(): string {
    return 'This action returns all cats';
  }
}

serverless-http:

const app = express();
app.get('/cats', (req, res) => {
  res.send('This action returns all cats');
});
module.exports.handler = serverless(app);

Summary

Nest is a full-fledged framework offering a robust architecture and extensive features, making it suitable for complex applications. serverless-http, on the other hand, is a lightweight wrapper that allows existing Node.js web applications to run on serverless platforms. While Nest provides a more structured approach with built-in dependency injection and modular design, serverless-http offers simplicity and easy integration with existing Express or Koa applications for serverless deployments.

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Pros of Hapi

  • Full-featured web application framework with built-in plugins and extensions
  • Robust validation and authentication systems out of the box
  • Extensive documentation and active community support

Cons of Hapi

  • Steeper learning curve due to its comprehensive feature set
  • Potentially overkill for simple serverless applications
  • May require more configuration and setup compared to serverless-specific solutions

Code Comparison

Hapi server setup:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
    const server = Hapi.server({ port: 3000 });
    await server.start();
    console.log('Server running on %s', server.info.uri);
};

init();

serverless-http usage:

const serverless = require('serverless-http');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.get('/', (req, res) => res.send('Hello World!'));

module.exports.handler = serverless(app);

Summary

Hapi is a comprehensive web application framework suitable for large-scale projects, offering extensive features and plugins. serverless-http, on the other hand, is a lightweight wrapper that allows existing Node.js applications to run in serverless environments. While Hapi provides more built-in functionality, serverless-http offers simplicity and ease of integration for serverless deployments.

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The API and real-time application framework

Pros of Feathers

  • Full-featured framework with built-in support for real-time events, authentication, and database integration
  • Modular architecture allows for easy customization and extensibility
  • Supports multiple databases and ORMs out of the box

Cons of Feathers

  • Steeper learning curve due to its comprehensive feature set
  • May be overkill for simple serverless applications
  • Requires more setup and configuration compared to serverless-http

Code Comparison

Feathers:

const feathers = require('@feathersjs/feathers');
const express = require('@feathersjs/express');

const app = express(feathers());
app.use('/messages', {
  async find() {
    return [{ text: 'Hello, world!' }];
  }
});

serverless-http:

const express = require('express');
const serverless = require('serverless-http');

const app = express();
app.get('/messages', (req, res) => {
  res.json([{ text: 'Hello, world!' }]);
});

module.exports.handler = serverless(app);

Feathers provides a more structured approach with built-in services, while serverless-http allows for a simpler Express-based setup that's easily deployable to serverless environments.

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README

serverless-http

Description

This module allows you to 'wrap' your API for serverless use. No HTTP server, no ports or sockets. Just your code in the same execution pipeline you are already familiar with.

Sponsors

Thank you to Upstash for reaching out to sponsor this project!

Upstash

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  • Serverless Redis with global replication and durable storage
  • Price scales to zero with per request pricing
  • Built-in REST API designed for serverless and edge functions

Start for free in 30 seconds!

Support

Supported Frameworks

(* Experimental)

  • Node (http.createServer)
  • Connect
  • Express
  • Koa
  • Restana
  • Sails *
  • Hapi *
  • Fastify *
  • Restify *
  • Polka *
  • Loopback *

Supported Providers

  • AWS
  • Genezio
  • Azure (Experimental, untested, probably outdated)

Deploy a Hello Word on Genezio

:rocket: You can deploy your own hello world example using the Express framework to Genezio with one click:

Deploy to Genezio

Examples

Please check the examples folder!

Usage example using the Koa framework

const serverless = require('serverless-http');
const Koa = require('koa'); // or any supported framework

const app = new Koa();

app.use(/* register your middleware as normal */);

// this is it!
module.exports.handler = serverless(app);

// or as a promise
const handler = serverless(app);
module.exports.handler = async (event, context) => {
  // you can do other things here
  const result = await handler(event, context);
  // and here
  return result;
};

Usage example using the Express framework with Azure


const serverless = require('serverless-http');
const express = require('express');

const app = express();

app.use(/* register your middleware as normal */);

const handler = serverless(app, { provider: 'azure' });
module.exports.funcName = async (context, req) => {
  context.res = await handler(context, req);
}

Other examples

json-server-less-λ - using serverless-http with json-server and serverless framework in AWS

Limitations

Your code is running in a serverless environment. You cannot rely on your server being 'up' in the sense that you can/should not use in-memory sessions, web sockets, etc. You are also subject to provider specific restrictions on request/response size, duration, etc.

Think of this as a familiar way of expressing your app logic, not trying to make serverless do something it cannot.

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! Especially test scenarios for different situations and configurations.

Further Reading

Here are some more detailed examples and advanced configuration options as well as provider-specific documentation

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