What is @google-cloud/functions-framework?
@google-cloud/functions-framework is a Node.js framework for writing, deploying, and running Google Cloud Functions locally. It allows developers to create HTTP functions and background functions that can be triggered by various Google Cloud services.
What are @google-cloud/functions-framework's main functionalities?
HTTP Function
This feature allows you to create an HTTP function that can be triggered by HTTP requests. The example code defines a simple HTTP function that responds with 'Hello, World!'.
const functions = require('@google-cloud/functions-framework');
functions.http('helloHttp', (req, res) => {
res.send('Hello, World!');
});
Background Function
This feature allows you to create a background function that can be triggered by events from Google Cloud services. The example code defines a background function that logs the received event.
const functions = require('@google-cloud/functions-framework');
functions.cloudEvent('helloBackground', (cloudEvent) => {
console.log('Received event:', cloudEvent);
});
Local Development
This feature allows you to run your Google Cloud Functions locally for development and testing. The example code shows how to set up a script in your package.json to start the functions framework targeting the 'helloHttp' function.
{
"scripts": {
"start": "functions-framework --target=helloHttp"
}
}
Other packages similar to @google-cloud/functions-framework
express
Express is a minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework that provides a robust set of features for web and mobile applications. Unlike @google-cloud/functions-framework, Express is not specifically designed for Google Cloud Functions but can be used to create HTTP servers and APIs.
serverless
The Serverless Framework is a toolkit for deploying and operating serverless architectures. It supports multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. While @google-cloud/functions-framework is focused on Google Cloud Functions, Serverless Framework provides a more general solution for serverless deployments across different platforms.
firebase-functions
Firebase Functions is a framework for deploying serverless functions on Firebase. It is tightly integrated with Firebase services and provides similar functionality to @google-cloud/functions-framework but is more focused on Firebase-specific use cases.
Functions Framework for Node.js
An open source FaaS (Function as a Service) framework based on Express
for writing portable Node.js functions -- brought to you by the Google Cloud Functions team.
The Functions Framework lets you write lightweight functions that run in many
different environments, including:
The framework allows you to go from:
exports.helloWorld = (req, res) => {
res.send('Hello, World!');
};
To:
curl http://my-url
All without needing to worry about writing an HTTP server or complicated request
handling logic.
Watch this video to learn more about the Node Functions Framework.
Features
- Spin up a local development server for quick testing
- Invoke a function in response to a request
- Automatically unmarshal events conforming to the
CloudEvents spec
- Portable between serverless platforms
Installation
Add the Functions Framework to your package.json
file using npm
.
npm install @google-cloud/functions-framework
Quickstarts
Quickstart: Hello, World on your local machine
-
Create an index.js
file with the following contents:
exports.helloWorld = (req, res) => {
res.send('Hello, World');
};
-
Run the following command:
npx @google-cloud/functions-framework --target=helloWorld
-
Open http://localhost:8080/ in your browser and see Hello, World.
Quickstart: Set up a new project
-
Create a package.json
file using npm init
:
npm init
-
Create an index.js
file with the following contents:
const functions = require('@google-cloud/functions-framework');
functions.http('helloWorld', (req, res) => {
res.send('Hello, World');
});
-
Now install the Functions Framework:
npm install @google-cloud/functions-framework
-
Add a start
script to package.json
, with configuration passed via
command-line arguments:
"scripts": {
"start": "functions-framework --target=helloWorld"
}
-
Use npm start
to start the built-in local development server:
npm start
...
Serving function...
Function: helloWorld
URL: http://localhost:8080/
-
Send requests to this function using curl
from another terminal window:
curl localhost:8080
Quickstart: Build a Deployable Container
-
Install Docker and the pack
tool.
-
Build a container from your function using the Functions buildpacks:
pack build \
--builder gcr.io/buildpacks/builder:v1 \
--env GOOGLE_FUNCTION_SIGNATURE_TYPE=http \
--env GOOGLE_FUNCTION_TARGET=helloWorld \
my-first-function
-
Start the built container:
docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 my-first-function
-
Send requests to this function using curl
from another terminal window:
curl localhost:8080
Run your function on serverless platforms
Google Cloud Functions
The
Node.js 10 runtime on Google Cloud Functions
is based on the Functions Framework. On Cloud Functions, the Functions Framework
is completely optional: if you don't add it to your package.json
, it will be
installed automatically.
After you've written your function, you can simply deploy it from your local
machine using the gcloud
command-line tool.
Check out the Cloud Functions quickstart.
Cloud Run / Cloud Run for Anthos
After you've written your function, added the Functions Framework and updated your start
script in package.json
, deploy it to Cloud Run with gcloud run deploy
. Check out the Cloud Run quickstart for Node.js.
If you want even more control over the environment, you can deploy to Cloud Run for Anthos. With Cloud Run for Anthos, you can run your function on a GKE cluster, which gives you additional control over the environment (including use of GPU-based instances, longer timeouts and more).
Container environments based on Knative
Cloud Run and Cloud Run for Anthos both implement the Knative Serving API. The Functions Framework is designed to be compatible with Knative environments. Just build and deploy your container to a Knative environment.
Configure the Functions Framework
You can configure the Functions Framework using command-line flags or
environment variables. If you specify both, the environment variable will be
ignored.
Command-line flag | Environment variable | Description |
---|
--port | PORT | The port on which the Functions Framework listens for requests. Default: 8080 |
--target | FUNCTION_TARGET | The name of the exported function to be invoked in response to requests. Default: function |
--signature-type | FUNCTION_SIGNATURE_TYPE | The signature used when writing your function. Controls unmarshalling rules and determines which arguments are used to invoke your function. Default: http ; accepted values: http or event or cloudevent |
--source | FUNCTION_SOURCE | The path to the directory of your function. Default: cwd (the current working directory) |
You can set command-line flags in your package.json
via the start
script.
For example:
"scripts": {
"start": "functions-framework --target=helloWorld"
}
Enable Google Cloud Functions Events
The Functions Framework can unmarshall incoming
Google Cloud Functions event payloads to data
and context
objects.
These will be passed as arguments to your function when it receives a request.
Note that your function must use the event
-style function signature:
exports.helloEvents = (data, context) => {
console.log(data);
console.log(context);
};
To enable automatic unmarshalling, set the function signature type to event
using a command-line flag or an environment variable. By default, the HTTP
signature will be used and automatic event unmarshalling will be disabled.
For more details on this signature type, check out the Google Cloud Functions
documentation on
background functions.
Enable CloudEvents
The Functions Framework can unmarshall incoming
CloudEvents payloads to a cloudevent
object.
It will be passed as an argument to your function when it receives a request.
Note that your function must use the cloudevent
-style function signature:
const functions = require('@google-cloud/functions-framework');
functions.cloudEvent('helloCloudEvents', (cloudevent) => {
console.log(cloudevent.specversion);
console.log(cloudevent.type);
console.log(cloudevent.source);
console.log(cloudevent.subject);
console.log(cloudevent.id);
console.log(cloudevent.time);
console.log(cloudevent.datacontenttype);
});
Advanced Docs
More advanced guides and docs can be found in the docs/
folder.
Contributing
Contributions to this library are welcome and encouraged. See
CONTRIBUTING for more information on how to get started.