A zero-dependency web framework for AWS Lambda and API Gateway optimized for serverless performance.
Lambda API is a lightweight web framework specifically designed for AWS Lambda functions using API Gateway Lambda Proxy Integration or Application Load Balancer (ALB) Lambda Target Support. It provides a familiar Express.js-like routing and middleware system but is built with zero dependencies to minimize cold start times and maximize performance in serverless environments. It automatically parses API Gateway requests, formats responses, and includes built-in logging, error handling, and binary support.
Developers building serverless APIs and web services on AWS Lambda with API Gateway or ALB, particularly those prioritizing low latency, minimal memory footprint, and reduced cold starts. It is suitable for both single-purpose Lambda functions and functions handling multiple routes.
Developers choose Lambda API over general-purpose Node.js frameworks like Express.js or Fastify because it has zero dependencies, which reduces security risks, deployment package size, and cold start times. Its design is optimized for Lambda's stateless execution model, offering automatic request/response parsing for API Gateway and ALB, built-in structured logging, and support for both single-route and multi-route functions without performance penalties.
Lightweight web framework for your serverless applications
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Eliminates external Node.js modules, reducing deployment package size, security risks, and cold start times, which is explicitly highlighted as a core design philosophy.
Includes a JSON-formatted logging engine with CloudWatch integration, automatic access logs, and sampling capabilities, enhancing observability without extra setup.
Seamlessly parses requests and formats responses for API Gateway v1/v2 and ALB, reducing boilerplate code for AWS-specific integrations.
Designed with a minimal memory footprint and fast load times tailored to Lambda's stateless execution, as emphasized in the README's comparison to bloated frameworks.
Tightly coupled with AWS services like Lambda, API Gateway, and ALB, making migration to other cloud platforms or non-serverless environments difficult.
Lacks built-in support for common web framework features such as file upload handling, WebSockets, or advanced authentication schemes, requiring manual implementation.
Zero dependencies mean missing out on the rich middleware and plugin ecosystems of frameworks like Express.js, potentially increasing development time for standard tasks.
The README notes a major version shift to AWS SDK v3 requiring downgrades for SDK v2 users, indicating potential instability or migration headaches in updates.
lambda-api is an open-source alternative to the following products:
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