@vendia/serverless-express

What is @vendia/serverless-express?

@vendia/serverless-express is an npm package that allows you to run an Express.js application on AWS Lambda and Amazon API Gateway. It simplifies the process of deploying Express.js applications in a serverless environment, providing a seamless integration with AWS services.

What are @vendia/serverless-express's main functionalities?

Basic Setup

This code demonstrates the basic setup of an Express.js application using @vendia/serverless-express. It creates a simple Express app with a single route and exports a Lambda handler.

const serverlessExpress = require('@vendia/serverless-express');
const app = require('express')();

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

exports.handler = serverlessExpress({ app });

Custom Lambda Handler

This code shows how to create a custom Lambda handler using @vendia/serverless-express. It allows more control over the Lambda function's behavior by manually creating the server and proxying the event and context.

const serverlessExpress = require('@vendia/serverless-express');
const app = require('express')();

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

const server = serverlessExpress.createServer(app);

exports.handler = (event, context) => {
  return serverlessExpress.proxy(server, event, context);
};

Middleware Integration

This example demonstrates how to integrate middleware into an Express.js application using @vendia/serverless-express. It includes JSON parsing and a custom logging middleware.

const serverlessExpress = require('@vendia/serverless-express');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.use(express.json());
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  console.log('Request received:', req.method, req.path);
  next();
});

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

exports.handler = serverlessExpress({ app });

Other packages similar to @vendia/serverless-express

aws-serverless-express

aws-serverless-express is another package that allows you to run Express.js applications on AWS Lambda and Amazon API Gateway. It provides similar functionality to @vendia/serverless-express but is less actively maintained. It also requires more boilerplate code for setup compared to @vendia/serverless-express.

serverless-http

serverless-http is a versatile package that supports multiple web frameworks, including Express.js, Koa, and Hapi, for deployment on AWS Lambda. It offers a more generic solution compared to @vendia/serverless-express, which is specifically tailored for Express.js applications.

lambda-api

lambda-api is a lightweight framework designed specifically for building APIs on AWS Lambda. While it is not based on Express.js, it offers a similar routing and middleware system. It is a good alternative if you are looking for a more Lambda-native solution without the overhead of Express.js.

README

AWS Serverless Express is moving

On 11/30, the AWS Serverless Express library is moving to Vendia and will be rebranded to @vendia/serverless-express. Similarly, the aws-serverless-express NPM package will be deprecated in favor of @vendia/serverless-express.

Brett, the original creator of the Serverless Express library, will continue maintaining the repository and give it the attention and care it deserves. At the same time, we will be looking for additional contributors to participate in the development and stewardship of the Serverless Express library. AWS and the SAM team will remain involved in an administrative role alongside Vendia, Brett, and the new maintainers that will join the project.

We believe this is the best course of action to ensure that customers using this library get the best possible support in the future. To learn more about this move or become a maintainer of the new Serverless Express library, reach out to us through a GitHub issue on this repository.

Best, The AWS Serverless team, Brett & the Vendia team

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Serverless Express

Run serverless applications and REST APIs using your existing Node.js application framework, on top of AWS Lambda and Amazon API Gateway. The sample provided allows you to easily build serverless web applications/services and RESTful APIs using the Express framework.

Getting Started

npm install @vendia/serverless-express

// lambda.js
'use strict'
const serverlessExpress = require('@vendia/serverless-express')
const app = require('./app')
const server = serverlessExpress.createServer(app)

exports.handler = (event, context) => { serverlessExpress.proxy(server, event, context) }

Package and create your Lambda function, then configure a simple proxy API using Amazon API Gateway and integrate it with your Lambda function.

Quick Start/Example

Want to get up and running quickly? Check out our basic starter example which includes:

• Lambda function
• Express server Swagger file
• Serverless Application Model (SAM)/CloudFormation template
• Helper scripts to configure, deploy, and manage your application

Getting the API Gateway event object

This package includes middleware to easily get the event object Lambda receives from API Gateway

const serverlessExpressMiddleware = require('@vendia/serverless-express/middleware')
app.use(serverlessExpressMiddleware.eventContext())
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.json(req.apiGateway.event)
})

Is AWS serverless right for my app?

Benefits

• Pay for what you use
• No infrastructure to manage
• Auto-scaling with no configuration needed
• Usage Plans
• Caching
• Authorization
• Staging
• SDK Generation
• API Monitoring
• Request Validation
• Documentation

Considerations

• For apps that may not see traffic for several minutes at a time, you could see cold starts
• Cannot use native libraries (aka Addons) unless you package your app on an EC2 machine running Amazon Linux
• Stateless only
• API Gateway has a timeout of 29 seconds, and Lambda has a maximum execution time of 15 minutes.