Create new functions¶

Get started¶

Once you've installed the faas-cli you can start creating and deploying functions via the faas-cli up command or using the individual commands:

faas-cli build - build an image into the local Docker library
faas-cli push - push that image to a remote container registry
faas-cli deploy - deploy your function into a cluster

The faas-cli up command automates all of the above in a single command.

For Raspberry Pi and ARM, you must use the publish command instead of build and push, or up.

See the notes here: Building multi-arch images for ARM and Raspberry Pi

Templates¶

The OpenFaaS CLI has a template engine built-in which can create new functions in a given programming language. The way this works is by reading a list of templates from the ./template location in your current working folder.

Before creating a new function make sure you pull in the official OpenFaaS language templates from GitHub via the templates repository.

$ faas-cli template pull

This page shows how to generate functions in the most popular languages and explains how you can manage their dependencies too.

Classic vs. of-watchdog templates¶

The Classic Templates are held in the openfaas/templates repository and are based upon the Classic Watchdog which uses STDIO to communicate with your function. The of-watchdog uses HTTP to communicate with functions and most of its templates are available in the openfaas organisation in their own separate repositories on GitHub and in the store.

How to pick:

Use the Classic Watchdog if you're starting out or following tutorials or guides
Use the of-watchdog if you need more performance or if you need full control of the HTTP response

Template store¶

You can browse templates from the official store or create your own store and add your own templates there.

To see what templates are available type faas-cli template store list and you should see the following in the terminal:

$ faas-cli template store list

NAME                    SOURCE             DESCRIPTION
csharp                  openfaas           Official C# template
dockerfile              openfaas           Official Dockerfile template
...
ruby-http               openfaas-incubator Ruby 2.4 HTTP template
golang-middleware       openfaas Golang Middleware template
csharp-httprequest      distantcam         C# HTTP template
...

Choose a template and retrieve it locally with the command:

$ faas-cli template store pull node10-express

Once downloaded, your chosen template and any others stored in the same repository will be available to use:

$ faas-cli new --list
Languages available as templates:
- node10-express

You can add your own store just by specifying the --url flag for both commands to pull and list your custom templates store.

The classic templates are held in the openfaas/templates repository.

Go templates¶

There are several Golang templates available, which are listed below.

Name	Style	Watchdog	Dependencies	Go version	Base OS
`golang-middleware`	Middleware/HTTP	of-watchdog	vendoring or Go modules	1.18	Alpine Linux
`golang-http`	Function	of-watchdog	vendoring or Go modules	1.18	Alpine Linux
`go`	Function	classic	vendoring or Go modules	1.18	Alpine Linux

All templates are available via faas-cli template store list/pull

Go - use of static files¶

This applies to go, golang-middleware and golang-http.

You may wish to copy some form of static data or files into your container image so that it can be used by the Go code at runtime.

Just create a folder called static and then read from the folder however you need:

tmpl, err := template.ParseFiles("./static/templates/user.html.tpl")

data, err := os.ReadFile("./static/customers.txt")

Go `golang-middleware` - (of-watchdog template)¶

Read the README for golang-middleware, this template is ideal for full control over the HTTP request and response and corresponds to a HTTP middleware in Go.

func Handle(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
}

Go modules are turned on by default.

Go `golang-http` - (of-watchdog template)¶

Read the README for golang-http, this template has a similar-style of API to AWS Lambda.

Go modules are turned on by default.

Go `go` - (classic template)¶

Use a different template for new functions

The classic template for Golang aka go is retained and maintained for backwards compatibility purposes. New functions should be created with the golang-middleware or golang-http templates.

To create a new function named go-fn in Go type in the following:

$ faas-cli new go-fn --lang go

You will now see two files generate:

go-fn.yml
./go-fn/
./go-fn/handler.go

You can now edit handler.go and use the faas-cli to build and deploy your function.

Go `go` - dependencies¶

Dependencies should be managed with a Go modules. Vendoring is also supported when you need to use private code, see the next section.

You must set GO111MODULE=on in the build_args section of stack.yml, or pass the relevant flags with faas-cli build/up/publish --build-arg key=value.

functions:
  with_go_modules:
    handler: ./with_go_modules
    lang: go
    build_args:
      GO111MODULE: on

Now use go mod init function to initialize your function. Once initialized, you can now use go get to manage your dependencies.

Vendoring for use of private repos and modules¶

You must set GO111MODULE=off and GOFLAGS=-mod=vendor in the build_args section of stack.yml, or pass the relevant flags with faas-cli build/up/publish --build-arg key=value.

    build_args:
      GO111MODULE: off
      GOFLAGS: "-mod=vendor"

Including sub-modules¶

If you would like to include sub-modules, a certain replace statement is required in your go.mod file: replace handler/function => ./. This replace statement allows Go to see and use all sub-modules you create with-in your handler, for example

Create your sub-package i.e. handlers and run cd handlers ; go mod init

Here's handlers/handlers.go:

package handlers

import (
    "fmt"

    execute "github.com/alexellis/go-execute/pkg/v1"
)

func Handle() {
    ls := execute.ExecTask{
        Command: "exit 1",
        Shell:   true,
    }
    res, err := ls.Execute()
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("stdout: %q, stderr: %q, exit-code: %d\n", res.Stdout, res.Stderr, res.ExitCode)
}

Within your handler.go:

package function

import (
    "fmt"

    "handler/function/handlers"
)

// Handle a serverless request
func Handle(req []byte) string {

    handlers.Handle()

    return fmt.Sprintf("Hello, Go. You said: %s", string(req))
}

Now add the following replace statement to your go.mod

replace handler/function => ./

This can also be affected using

go mod edit -replace handler/function=./

Now you can build with --build-arg GO111MODULE=on or with a build_arg map entry for the function in its stack.yml.

With vendoring¶

You can also use vendoring with Go modules. This can reduce build times, help deal with private module dependencies, or help with ensuring reproducible builds.

Now vendor a library

Go supports vendoring using go mod vendor. Make sure you're in the go-fn folder, now use go mod vendor to create (or later update) your vendor folder. Go will now use this vendor folder while building your function.

Go `go` - with CGO¶

First you will need to add the dev build option:

    build_options:
    - dev

This installs gcc, make, git and some other related packages for the build portion of the function's Dockerfile.

You can then enable CGO with a build-arg:

faas-cli build --build-arg CGO_ENABLED=1

Python 3 templates¶

For production use, serving machine learning models, and high-traffic functions, it's advisable to use the newer templates built with flask and the OpenFaaS of-watchdog.

See the python-flask-template repo for the following templates:

python27-flask (deprecated)
python3-flask
python3-flask-debian
python3-http
python3-http-debian

We recommend using python3-http in production, if your code is pure Python. If you import pip modules which compile to C during the build, where there are no precompiled wheels available, then use python3-http-debian because it has all the required build tools preinstalled.

The classic templates for Python called python3 or python3-debian are not recommended for production usage because it creates a new process to serve each request.

Python 3 (HTTP templates)¶

See: python-flask-template repo

Python 3 (classic template)¶

To create a Python function named pycon type in:

$ faas-cli new pycon --lang python3

You'll see:

pycon.yml
pycon/handler.py
pycon/requirements.txt

Note: Python 2.7 is also available with the language template python, but the Python community now consider Python version 2.7 to be deprecated and end-of-life.

Python: dependencies¶

You should edit pycon/requirements.txt and add any pip modules you want with each one on a new line, for instance requests.

The primary Python template uses Alpine Linux as a runtime environment due to its minimal size, but if you need a Debian environment so that you can compile numpy or other modules then read on to the next section.

Python: advanced dependencies¶

If you need to use pip modules that require compilation then you should try the python3-debian template then add your pip modules to the requirements.txt file.

$ faas-cli template pull
$ faas-cli new numpy-function --lang python3-debian
$ echo "numpy" > ./numpy-function/requirements.txt
$ faas-cli build -f ./numpy-function.yml
...

Step 11/17 : RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
 ---> Running in d0ff430a607e
Collecting numpy (from -r requirements.txt (line 1))
  Downloading https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/6e/dc/92c0f670e7b986829fc92c4c0208edb9d72908149da38ecda50d816ea057/numpy-1.14.2-cp36-cp36m-manylinux1_x86_64.whl (12.2MB)
Installing collected packages: numpy
Successfully installed numpy-1.14.2

...

Node.js templates (of-watchdog template)¶

There are several Node.js templates available which use the newer of-watchdog:

Name	Style	Runtime	Version	async/await	Supported by nodejs.org
node12	Function	NodeJS	12.x	yes	no
node14	Function	NodeJS	14.x	yes	no
node16	Function	NodeJS	16.x	yes	LTS version, maintenance
node17	Function	NodeJS	17.x	yes	no
node18	Function	NodeJS	18.x	yes	LTS version, active

The nodeXX templates use event and context objects can be used to read the HTTP request and headers, and to set a response. You can learn about what's available in the index.js file.

For a full reference guide to writing functions, managing secrets and connection pools see the manual: Serverless for Everyone Else

Node.js templates - async/await¶

"use strict"

module.exports = async (event, context) => {
    const result = {
        status: "Received input: " + JSON.stringify(event.body),
    };
    return result
}

Node.js templates - adding unit tests¶

Writing unit tests means that you get to exercise your code without building and deploying a container to OpenFaaS. It can save you a lot of time if you need to iterate often. It also means that you can provide tests that run every time your function is built.

By default, an empty test step is written to package.json inside your function's handler folder, you can override this with your own command or test runner.

For example:

{
  "name": "function",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "main": "handler.js",
  "scripts": {
    "test": "mocha test/test.js"
  },
  "keywords": [],
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC",
  "devDependencies": {
    "chai": "^4.2.0",
    "mocha": "^7.0.1"
  }
}

Then create at least one test file such as: function-name/test/test.js:

var chai = require("chai")
var expect = chai.expect;

describe('MyFunction', function() {
  expect("foobar").to.have.lengthOf(3);
})

If the tests fail, this will also fail the build of your function and prevent it from passing.

For a more detailed example, see: Serverless for Everyone Else

Node.js templates - async/await with error¶

"use strict"

module.exports = async (event, context) => {
    throw new Error("there was an error created in the function")
}

Node.js templates - without async/await¶

'use strict'

module.exports = async (event, context) => {
  const result = {
    'body': JSON.stringify(event.body),
    'content-type': event.headers["content-type"]
  }

  return context
    .status(200)
    .succeed(result)
}

Node.js templates - Access to the raw body¶

Set the environment variable RAW_BODY to true to set the context.body to the original request body rather than the default behavior of parsing it as JSON.

This is useful where the original body needs to be passed to the function code without any parsing or processing. For instance, when working with binary data, or verifying the signature of a webhook.

  environment:
    RAW_BODY: true

The raw body has a default maximum size of 100KB to prevent abuse from users. This can be configured manually to deal with larger payloads:

  environment:
    RAW_BODY: true
    MAX_RAW_SIZE: 512kb

Node.js templates - Set max json request body size¶

Change the maximum size of a JSON request body by setting the environment variable MAX_JSON_SIZE. The default value is '100kb'

Note: the value must be enclosed in quotes ' '

This is useful when the function is expected to receive large amounts of JSON data in a single request. For instance, when working with large data sets and complex object types.

  environment:
    MAX_JSON_SIZE: '5mb'

Node.js (classic template)¶

Generate a function named js-fn:

$ faas-cli new js-fn --lang node

You'll see:

./js-fn.yml
./js-fn/
./js-fn/handler.js
./js-fn/package.json

Node.js dependencies¶

Node.js dependencies are managed with npm and the package.json file which was generated for you.

To add the cheerio module type in:

cd js-fn
npm i --save cheerio

You can now add a require('cheerio') statement into your function and make use of this library.

Java¶

Two Java templates are provided java11 and java11-vertx, both of which use Gradle as the build system. Please note that the java8 template is deprecated, and should not be used.

If you need a different version, then please fork the templates repository, or contact sales@openfaas.com to access additional templates via your OpenFaaS Premium Subscription.

Support is made available for external code repositories via the build.gradle file where you specify dependencies to fetch from repositories or JAR files to be added via the build.

Write a function java-function:

$ faas-cli new --lang java11 java-function

Write your code in:

./src/main/Handler.java

Write junit tests in:

./src/tests/

Update gradle config if needed in:

./build.gradle ./settings.gradle

Working with headers (advanced)

You can view the code for the IRequest and IResponse in the OpenFaaS templates-sdk

You can use getHeader(k) on the Request interface to query a header.

To set a header such as content-type you can use setHeader(k, v) on the Response interface.

You can also run the following to create a function using Vert.x

$ faas-cli new --lang java11-vertx java-vertx-function

CSharp / .NET Core 2.1¶

You can create functions in .NET Core 2.1 using C# / CSharp.

Write a function named csharp-function

faas-cli new --lang csharp csharp-function

Now you can open your current folder in a tool such as Visual Studio Code and add dependencies using the project (csproj) file.

Ruby¶

Create a function called ruby-function:

$ faas-cli new --lang ruby ruby-function

The directory structure is:

├── ruby-function
│   ├── Gemfile
│   └── handler.rb
├── ruby-function.yml

Your code should be in the handler.rb file

Ruby: Adding a Gem (Library)¶

Open the Gemfile in the ruby-function directory

Add the following line

gem 'httparty'

Ruby: Using our own Gem¶

Replace your handler.rb code with the following

require 'httparty'

class Handler
    def run(req)
        return HTTParty.get("http://api.stackexchange.com/2.2/questions?site=stackoverflow&tagged=#{req}")
    end
end

Ruby: Building / Deploy / Run¶

Edit the ruby-function.yml and point your image to your dockerhub, for example ${your_user}/ruby-function

$ faas-cli up -f ruby-function.yml
...
Using bundler 1.16.4
Fetching multi_xml 0.6.0
Installing multi_xml 0.6.0
Fetching httparty 0.16.2
Installing httparty 0.16.2
Bundle complete! 1 Gemfile dependency, 3 gems now installed.
Bundled gems are installed into `/usr/local/bundle`
Post-install message from httparty:
When you HTTParty, you must party hard!
...

Now you can invoke the function:

$ echo 'OpenFaaS' | faas-cli invoke ruby-function
{
   "quota_remaining" : 298,
   "quota_max" : 300,
   "has_more" : false,
   "items" : [
      {
         "title" : "Scaling with GPU usage",
         "creation_date" : 1536315498,
         "answer_count" : 0,
         "view_count" : 10,
         "is_answered" : false,
...

Ruby HTTP¶

As an alternative to the ruby template, which uses the classic watchdog, we have an alternative where you can set HTTP response headers.

faas-cli template store pull ruby-http

faas-cli new --lang ruby-http k8s-get-pods

To add support for native dependencies such as kubeclient, you need to add the dev package to the build_options:

version: 1.0
provider:
  name: openfaas
  gateway: http://127.0.0.1:8080
functions:
  k8s-get-pods:
    lang: ruby-http
    handler: ./k8s-get-pods
    image: k8s-get-pods:latest
    build_options:
    - dev

Then update your Gemfile:

source 'https://rubygems.org'

gem "kubeclient"

faas-cli build -f k8s-get-pods.yml

PHP7¶

To create a PHP7 function named my-function type in:

$ faas-cli new my-function --lang php7

You'll see:

my-function.yml
my-function/src/Handler.php
my-function/composer.json
my-function/php-extension.sh

Add any dependencies/extensions as described below and implement your functions business logic in Handler.php.

PHP7 - Composer Dependencies¶

You should edit composer.json and add any required package dependencies, referring to the Composer Documentation for instructions on using composer.json.

PHP7 - Private Composer Repositories¶

Refer to the PHP7 Template Documentation for instructions on how to use Composers COMPOSER_AUTH environment variable to configure access to dependencies in private repositories.

PHP7 - PHP Extensions¶

The PHP7 template is based upon the Docker Library PHP image and provides the php-extension.sh script which exposes the ability to customise extensions installed in a function image.

Refer to the PHP7 Template Documentation for instructions on customising installed extensions.

Customise a template¶

It is recommended that you use the official templates as they are provided and if there is a short-coming that you raise a GitHub issue so we can improve the templates for everyone.

All templates are driven by a Dockerfile and can be customised by editing the files found in the ./template folder.

Update the Dockerfile¶

There are several reasons why you may want to update your Dockerfile, just edit ./template/<language_name>/Dockerfile.

New base image - some companies prefer to use their own base images for Docker images for compliance, support or licensing reasons
Add native package - sometimes you may want to add a native package from the Alpine Linux repository or the Debian package repository - just add a step into the Dockerfile
Try a new version of a base-image - it may be that the project is showing support for Node.js LTS, but you want the cutting-edge version, you can do that too

Update a template's configuration¶

The name of a template is read from a "template.yml" file kept within the template folder: ./template/<language_name>/template.yml

For csharp we have the following:

language: csharp
fprocess: dotnet ./root.dll

language is the display name used for faas-cli new --list.
fprocess provides the process to run for each invocation - i.e. your function

Use your own templates¶

You can use your own Git repository for a custom or forked set of templates. This can be public or private.

See faas-cli template pull for more information.

If you want to set up your own default template location, specify the OPENFAAS_TEMPLATE_URL environmental variable the following way:

export OPENFAAS_TEMPLATE_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/user/mytemplate/customtemplates

Download templates from the template store¶

Note: In order to access the template store you need 0.8.1 version of the CLI or higher

Check what templates are available in the template store with the CLI by typing:

faas-cli template store list

Pull the desired template by specifying NAME attribute only:

faas-cli template store pull go

or pull the template by mixing the REPOSITORY and NAME attributes the following way:

faas-cli template store pull openfaas/go

To get more information on specific store use the describe verb like:

faas-cli template store describe openfaas/go

or if there is no collision between names use only the name field:

faas-cli template store describe go

If you have your own store with templates, you can set that as your default official store by setting the environmental variable OPENFAAS_TEMPLATE_STORE_URL the following way:

export OPENFAAS_TEMPLATE_STORE_URL=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/user/openfaas-templates/templates.json

Now the source of the store is changed to the URL you have specified above.

ARM / Raspberry Pi¶

It is possible to migrate to use multi-arch templates with OpenFaaS, feel free to ask the community for direction here.

Otherwise, for ARM and Raspberry Pi you will need to build on the device, and not on your PC or CI server.

Create new functions¶

Get started¶

Templates¶

Classic vs. of-watchdog templates¶

Template store¶

Go templates¶

Go - use of static files¶

Go golang-middleware - (of-watchdog template)¶

Go golang-http - (of-watchdog template)¶

Go go - (classic template)¶

Go go - dependencies¶

Vendoring for use of private repos and modules¶

Including sub-modules¶

With vendoring¶

Go go - with CGO¶

Python 3 templates¶

Python 3 (HTTP templates)¶

Python 3 (classic template)¶

Python: dependencies¶

Python: advanced dependencies¶

Node.js templates (of-watchdog template)¶

Node.js templates - async/await¶

Node.js templates - adding unit tests¶

Node.js templates - async/await with error¶

Node.js templates - without async/await¶

Node.js templates - Access to the raw body¶

Node.js templates - Set max json request body size¶

Node.js (classic template)¶

Node.js dependencies¶

Java¶

CSharp / .NET Core 2.1¶

Ruby¶

Ruby: Adding a Gem (Library)¶

Ruby: Using our own Gem¶

Ruby: Building / Deploy / Run¶

Ruby HTTP¶

PHP7¶

PHP7 - Composer Dependencies¶

PHP7 - Private Composer Repositories¶

PHP7 - PHP Extensions¶

Customise a template¶

Update the Dockerfile¶

Update a template's configuration¶

Use your own templates¶

Download templates from the template store¶

ARM / Raspberry Pi¶

Go `golang-middleware` - (of-watchdog template)¶

Go `golang-http` - (of-watchdog template)¶

Go `go` - (classic template)¶

Go `go` - dependencies¶

Go `go` - with CGO¶