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Azure Functions Node.js developer guide

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This guide is an introduction to developing Azure Functions using JavaScript or TypeScript. The article assumes that you have already read the Azure Functions developer guide.

Important

The content of this article changes based on your choice of the Node.js programming model in the selector at the top of this page. The version you choose should match the version of the @azure/functions npm package you are using in your app. If you do not have that package listed in your package.json, the default is v3. Learn more about the differences between v3 and v4 in the migration guide.

As a Node.js developer, you might also be interested in one of the following articles:

Getting started Concepts Guided learning

Considerations

  • The Node.js programming model shouldn't be confused with the Azure Functions runtime:
    • Programming model: Defines how you author your code and is specific to JavaScript and TypeScript.
    • Runtime: Defines underlying behavior of Azure Functions and is shared across all languages.
  • The version of the programming model is strictly tied to the version of the @azure/functions npm package. It's versioned independently of the runtime. Both the runtime and the programming model use the number 4 as their latest major version, but that's a coincidence.
  • You can't mix the v3 and v4 programming models in the same function app. As soon as you register one v4 function in your app, any v3 functions registered in function.json files are ignored.

Supported versions

The following table shows each version of the Node.js programming model along with its supported versions of the Azure Functions runtime and Node.js.

Programming Model Version Support Level Functions Runtime Version Node.js Version Description
4.x GA 4.25+ 20.x, 18.x Supports a flexible file structure and code-centric approach to triggers and bindings.
3.x GA 4.x 20.x, 18.x, 16.x, 14.x Requires a specific file structure with your triggers and bindings declared in a "function.json" file
2.x n/a 3.x 14.x, 12.x, 10.x Reached end of support on December 13, 2022. See Functions Versions for more info.
1.x n/a 2.x 10.x, 8.x Reached end of support on December 13, 2022. See Functions Versions for more info.

Folder structure

The required folder structure for a JavaScript project looks like the following example:

<project_root>/
 | - .vscode/
 | - node_modules/
 | - myFirstFunction/
 | | - index.js
 | | - function.json
 | - mySecondFunction/
 | | - index.js
 | | - function.json
 | - .funcignore
 | - host.json
 | - local.settings.json
 | - package.json

The main project folder, <project_root>, can contain the following files:

  • .vscode/: (Optional) Contains the stored Visual Studio Code configuration. To learn more, see Visual Studio Code settings.
  • myFirstFunction/function.json: Contains configuration for the function's trigger, inputs, and outputs. The name of the directory determines the name of your function.
  • myFirstFunction/index.js: Stores your function code. To change this default file path, see using scriptFile.
  • .funcignore: (Optional) Declares files that shouldn't get published to Azure. Usually, this file contains .vscode/ to ignore your editor setting, test/ to ignore test cases, and local.settings.json to prevent local app settings being published.
  • host.json: Contains configuration options that affect all functions in a function app instance. This file does get published to Azure. Not all options are supported when running locally. To learn more, see host.json.
  • local.settings.json: Used to store app settings and connection strings when it's running locally. This file doesn't get published to Azure. To learn more, see local.settings.file.
  • package.json: Contains configuration options like a list of package dependencies, the main entrypoint, and scripts.

The recommended folder structure for a JavaScript project looks like the following example:

<project_root>/
 | - .vscode/
 | - node_modules/
 | - src/
 | | - functions/
 | | | - myFirstFunction.js
 | | | - mySecondFunction.js
 | - test/
 | | - functions/
 | | | - myFirstFunction.test.js
 | | | - mySecondFunction.test.js
 | - .funcignore
 | - host.json
 | - local.settings.json
 | - package.json

The main project folder, <project_root>, can contain the following files:

  • .vscode/: (Optional) Contains the stored Visual Studio Code configuration. To learn more, see Visual Studio Code settings.
  • src/functions/: The default location for all functions and their related triggers and bindings.
  • test/: (Optional) Contains the test cases of your function app.
  • .funcignore: (Optional) Declares files that shouldn't get published to Azure. Usually, this file contains .vscode/ to ignore your editor setting, test/ to ignore test cases, and local.settings.json to prevent local app settings being published.
  • host.json: Contains configuration options that affect all functions in a function app instance. This file does get published to Azure. Not all options are supported when running locally. To learn more, see host.json.
  • local.settings.json: Used to store app settings and connection strings when it's running locally. This file doesn't get published to Azure. To learn more, see local.settings.file.
  • package.json: Contains configuration options like a list of package dependencies, the main entrypoint, and scripts.

Registering a function

The v3 model registers a function based on the existence of two files. First, you need a function.json file located in a folder one level down from the root of your app. Second, you need a JavaScript file that exports your function. By default, the model looks for an index.js file in the same folder as your function.json. If you're using TypeScript, you must use the scriptFile property in function.json to point to the compiled JavaScript file. To customize the file location or export name of your function, see configuring your function's entry point.

The function you export should always be declared as an async function in the v3 model. You can export a synchronous function, but then you must call context.done() to signal that your function is completed, which is deprecated and not recommended.

Your function is passed an invocation context as the first argument and your inputs as the remaining arguments.

The following example is a simple function that logs that it was triggered and responds with Hello, world!:

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "type": "httpTrigger",
      "direction": "in",
      "name": "req",
      "authLevel": "anonymous",
      "methods": [
        "get",
        "post"
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "http",
      "direction": "out",
      "name": "res"
    }
  ]
}

module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    context.log('Http function was triggered.');
    context.res = { body: 'Hello, world!' };
};

The programming model loads your functions based on the main field in your package.json. You can set the main field to a single file or multiple files by using a glob pattern. The following table shows example values for the main field:

Example Description
src/index.js Register functions from a single root file.
src/functions/*.js Register each function from its own file.
src/{index.js,functions/*.js} A combination where you register each function from its own file, but you still have a root file for general app-level code.

In order to register a function, you must import the app object from the @azure/functions npm module and call the method specific to your trigger type. The first argument when registering a function is the function name. The second argument is an options object specifying configuration for your trigger, your handler, and any other inputs or outputs. In some cases where trigger configuration isn't necessary, you can pass the handler directly as the second argument instead of an options object.

Registering a function can be done from any file in your project, as long as that file is loaded (directly or indirectly) based on the main field in your package.json file. The function should be registered at a global scope because you can't register functions once executions have started.

The following example is a simple function that logs that it was triggered and responds with Hello, world!:

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');

app.http('helloWorld1', {
    methods: ['POST', 'GET'],
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        context.log('Http function was triggered.');
        return { body: 'Hello, world!' };
    }
});

Inputs and outputs

Your function is required to have exactly one primary input called the trigger. It may also have secondary inputs and/or outputs. Inputs and outputs are configured in your function.json files and are also referred to as bindings.

Inputs

Inputs are bindings with direction set to in. The main difference between a trigger and a secondary input is that the type for a trigger ends in Trigger, for example type blobTrigger vs type blob. Most functions only use a trigger, and not many secondary input types are supported.

Inputs can be accessed in several ways:

  • [Recommended] As arguments passed to your function: Use the arguments in the same order that they're defined in function.json. The name property defined in function.json doesn't need to match the name of your argument, although it's recommended for the sake of organization.

    module.exports = async function (context, myTrigger, myInput, myOtherInput) { ... };

  • As properties of context.bindings: Use the key matching the name property defined in function.json.

    module.exports = async function (context) {
    context.log("This is myTrigger: " + context.bindings.myTrigger);
    context.log("This is myInput: " + context.bindings.myInput);
    context.log("This is myOtherInput: " + context.bindings.myOtherInput);
};

Outputs

Outputs are bindings with direction set to out and can be set in several ways:

  • [Recommended for single output] Return the value directly: If you're using an async function, you can return the value directly. You must change the name property of the output binding to $return in function.json like in the following example:

    {
    "name": "$return",
    "type": "http",
    "direction": "out"
}

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    return {
        body: "Hello, world!"
    };
}

  • [Recommended for multiple outputs] Return an object containing all outputs: If you're using an async function, you can return an object with a property matching the name of each binding in your function.json. The following example uses output bindings named "httpResponse" and "queueOutput":

    {
    "name": "httpResponse",
    "type": "http",
    "direction": "out"
},
{
    "name": "queueOutput",
    "type": "queue",
    "direction": "out",
    "queueName": "helloworldqueue",
    "connection": "storage_APPSETTING"
}

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    let message = 'Hello, world!';
    return {
        httpResponse: {
            body: message
        },
        queueOutput: message
    };
};

  • Set values on context.bindings: If you're not using an async function or you don't want to use the previous options, you can set values directly on context.bindings, where the key matches the name of the binding. The following example uses output bindings named "httpResponse" and "queueOutput":

    {
    "name": "httpResponse",
    "type": "http",
    "direction": "out"
},
{
    "name": "queueOutput",
    "type": "queue",
    "direction": "out",
    "queueName": "helloworldqueue",
    "connection": "storage_APPSETTING"
}

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    let message = 'Hello, world!';
    context.bindings.httpResponse = {
        body: message
    };
    context.bindings.queueOutput = message;
};

Bindings data type

You can use the dataType property on an input binding to change the type of your input, however it has some limitations:

  • In Node.js, only string and binary are supported (stream isn't)
  • For HTTP inputs, the dataType property is ignored. Instead, use properties on the request object to get the body in your desired format. For more information, see HTTP request.

In the following example of a storage queue trigger, the default type of myQueueItem is a string, but if you set dataType to binary, the type changes to a Node.js Buffer.

{
    "name": "myQueueItem",
    "type": "queueTrigger",
    "direction": "in",
    "queueName": "helloworldqueue",
    "connection": "storage_APPSETTING",
    "dataType": "binary"
}

const { Buffer } = require('node:buffer');

module.exports = async function (context, myQueueItem) {
    if (typeof myQueueItem === 'string') {
        context.log('myQueueItem is a string');
    } else if (Buffer.isBuffer(myQueueItem)) {
        context.log('myQueueItem is a buffer');
    }
};

Your function is required to have exactly one primary input called the trigger. It may also have secondary inputs, a primary output called the return output, and/or secondary outputs. Inputs and outputs are also referred to as bindings outside the context of the Node.js programming model. Before v4 of the model, these bindings were configured in function.json files.

Trigger input

The trigger is the only required input or output. For most trigger types, you register a function by using a method on the app object named after the trigger type. You can specify configuration specific to the trigger directly on the options argument. For example, an HTTP trigger allows you to specify a route. During execution, the value corresponding to this trigger is passed in as the first argument to your handler.

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');

app.http('helloWorld1', {
    route: 'hello/world',
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        ...
    }
});

Return output

The return output is optional, and in some cases configured by default. For example, an HTTP trigger registered with app.http is configured to return an HTTP response output automatically. For most output types, you specify the return configuration on the options argument with the help of the output object exported from the @azure/functions module. During execution, you set this output by returning it from your handler.

The following example uses a timer trigger and a storage queue output:

const { app, output } = require('@azure/functions');

app.timer('timerTrigger1', {
    schedule: '0 */5 * * * *',
    return: output.storageQueue({
        connection: 'storage_APPSETTING',
        ...
    }),
    handler: (myTimer, context) => {
        return { hello: 'world' }
    }
});

Extra inputs and outputs

In addition to the trigger and return, you may specify extra inputs or outputs on the options argument when registering a function. The input and output objects exported from the @azure/functions module provide type-specific methods to help construct the configuration. During execution, you get or set the values with context.extraInputs.get or context.extraOutputs.set, passing in the original configuration object as the first argument.

The following example is a function triggered by a storage queue, with an extra storage blob input that is copied to an extra storage blob output. The queue message should be the name of a file and replaces {queueTrigger} as the blob name to be copied, with the help of a binding expression.

const { app, input, output } = require('@azure/functions');

const blobInput = input.storageBlob({
    connection: 'storage_APPSETTING',
    path: 'helloworld/{queueTrigger}',
});

const blobOutput = output.storageBlob({
    connection: 'storage_APPSETTING',
    path: 'helloworld/{queueTrigger}-copy',
});

app.storageQueue('copyBlob1', {
    queueName: 'copyblobqueue',
    connection: 'storage_APPSETTING',
    extraInputs: [blobInput],
    extraOutputs: [blobOutput],
    handler: (queueItem, context) => {
        const blobInputValue = context.extraInputs.get(blobInput);
        context.extraOutputs.set(blobOutput, blobInputValue);
    }
});

Generic inputs and outputs

The app, trigger, input, and output objects exported by the @azure/functions module provide type-specific methods for most types. For all the types that aren't supported, a generic method is provided to allow you to manually specify the configuration. The generic method can also be used if you want to change the default settings provided by a type-specific method.

The following example is a simple HTTP triggered function using generic methods instead of type-specific methods.

const { app, output, trigger } = require('@azure/functions');

app.generic('helloWorld1', {
    trigger: trigger.generic({
        type: 'httpTrigger',
        methods: ['GET', 'POST']
    }),
    return: output.generic({
        type: 'http'
    }),
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        context.log(`Http function processed request for url "${request.url}"`);

        return { body: `Hello, world!` };
    }
});

Invocation context

Each invocation of your function is passed an invocation context object, used to read inputs, set outputs, write to logs, and read various metadata. In the v3 model, the context object is always the first argument passed to your handler.

The context object has the following properties:

Property Description
invocationId The ID of the current function invocation.
executionContext See execution context.
bindings See bindings.
bindingData Metadata about the trigger input for this invocation, not including the value itself. For example, an event hub trigger has an enqueuedTimeUtc property.
traceContext The context for distributed tracing. For more information, see Trace Context.
bindingDefinitions The configuration of your inputs and outputs, as defined in function.json.
req See HTTP request.
res See HTTP response.

context.executionContext

The context.executionContext object has the following properties:

Property Description
invocationId The ID of the current function invocation.
functionName The name of the function that is being invoked. The name of the folder containing the function.json file determines the name of the function.
functionDirectory The folder containing the function.json file.
retryContext See retry context.

context.executionContext.retryContext

The context.executionContext.retryContext object has the following properties:

Property Description
retryCount A number representing the current retry attempt.
maxRetryCount Maximum number of times an execution is retried. A value of -1 means to retry indefinitely.
exception Exception that caused the retry.

context.bindings

The context.bindings object is used to read inputs or set outputs. The following example is a storage queue trigger, which uses context.bindings to copy a storage blob input to a storage blob output. The queue message's content replaces {queueTrigger} as the file name to be copied, with the help of a binding expression.

{
    "name": "myQueueItem",
    "type": "queueTrigger",
    "direction": "in",
    "connection": "storage_APPSETTING",
    "queueName": "helloworldqueue"
},
{
    "name": "myInput",
    "type": "blob",
    "direction": "in",
    "connection": "storage_APPSETTING",
    "path": "helloworld/{queueTrigger}"
},
{
    "name": "myOutput",
    "type": "blob",
    "direction": "out",
    "connection": "storage_APPSETTING",
    "path": "helloworld/{queueTrigger}-copy"
}

module.exports = async function (context, myQueueItem) {
    const blobValue = context.bindings.myInput;
    context.bindings.myOutput = blobValue;
};

context.done

The context.done method is deprecated. Before async functions were supported, you would signal your function is done by calling context.done():

module.exports = function (context, request) {
    context.log("this pattern is now deprecated");
    context.done();
};

Now, it's recommended to remove the call to context.done() and mark your function as async so that it returns a promise (even if you don't await anything). As soon as your function finishes (in other words, the returned promise resolves), the v3 model knows your function is done.

module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    context.log("you don't need context.done or an awaited call")
};

Each invocation of your function is passed an invocation context object, with information about your invocation and methods used for logging. In the v4 model, the context object is typically the second argument passed to your handler.

The InvocationContext class has the following properties:

Property Description
invocationId The ID of the current function invocation.
functionName The name of the function.
extraInputs Used to get the values of extra inputs. For more information, see extra inputs and outputs.
extraOutputs Used to set the values of extra outputs. For more information, see extra inputs and outputs.
retryContext See retry context.
traceContext The context for distributed tracing. For more information, see Trace Context.
triggerMetadata Metadata about the trigger input for this invocation, not including the value itself. For example, an event hub trigger has an enqueuedTimeUtc property.
options The options used when registering the function, after they've been validated and with defaults explicitly specified.

Retry context

The retryContext object has the following properties:

Property Description
retryCount A number representing the current retry attempt.
maxRetryCount Maximum number of times an execution is retried. A value of -1 means to retry indefinitely.
exception Exception that caused the retry.

For more information, see retry-policies.

Logging

In Azure Functions, it's recommended to use context.log() to write logs. Azure Functions integrates with Azure Application Insights to better capture your function app logs. Application Insights, part of Azure Monitor, provides facilities for collection, visual rendering, and analysis of both application logs and your trace outputs. To learn more, see monitoring Azure Functions.

Note

If you use the alternative Node.js console.log method, those logs are tracked at the app-level and will not be associated with any specific function. It is highly recommended to use context for logging instead of console so that all logs are associated with a specific function.

The following example writes a log at the default "information" level, including the invocation ID:

context.log(`Something has happened. Invocation ID: "${context.invocationId}"`);

Log levels

In addition to the default context.log method, the following methods are available that let you write logs at specific levels:

Method Description
context.log.error() Writes an error-level event to the logs.
context.log.warn() Writes a warning-level event to the logs.
context.log.info() Writes an information-level event to the logs.
context.log.verbose() Writes a trace-level event to the logs.
Method Description
context.trace() Writes a trace-level event to the logs.
context.debug() Writes a debug-level event to the logs.
context.info() Writes an information-level event to the logs.
context.warn() Writes a warning-level event to the logs.
context.error() Writes an error-level event to the logs.

Configure log level

Azure Functions lets you define the threshold level to be used when tracking and viewing logs. To set the threshold, use the logging.logLevel property in the host.json file. This property lets you define a default level applied to all functions, or a threshold for each individual function. To learn more, see How to configure monitoring for Azure Functions.

Track custom data

By default, Azure Functions writes output as traces to Application Insights. For more control, you can instead use the Application Insights Node.js SDK to send custom data to your Application Insights instance.

const appInsights = require("applicationinsights");
appInsights.setup();
const client = appInsights.defaultClient;

module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    // Use this with 'tagOverrides' to correlate custom logs to the parent function invocation.
    var operationIdOverride = {"ai.operation.id":context.traceContext.traceparent};

    client.trackEvent({name: "my custom event", tagOverrides:operationIdOverride, properties: {customProperty2: "custom property value"}});
    client.trackException({exception: new Error("handled exceptions can be logged with this method"), tagOverrides:operationIdOverride});
    client.trackMetric({name: "custom metric", value: 3, tagOverrides:operationIdOverride});
    client.trackTrace({message: "trace message", tagOverrides:operationIdOverride});
    client.trackDependency({target:"http://dbname", name:"select customers proc", data:"SELECT * FROM Customers", duration:231, resultCode:0, success: true, dependencyTypeName: "ZSQL", tagOverrides:operationIdOverride});
    client.trackRequest({name:"GET /customers", url:"http://myserver/customers", duration:309, resultCode:200, success:true, tagOverrides:operationIdOverride});
};

The tagOverrides parameter sets the operation_Id to the function's invocation ID. This setting enables you to correlate all of the automatically generated and custom logs for a given function invocation.

HTTP triggers

HTTP and webhook triggers use request and response objects to represent HTTP messages.

HTTP and webhook triggers use HttpRequest and HttpResponse objects to represent HTTP messages. The classes represent a subset of the fetch standard, using Node.js's undici package.

HTTP Request

The request can be accessed in several ways:

  • As the second argument to your function:

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    context.log(`Http function processed request for url "${request.url}"`);

  • From the context.req property:

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    context.log(`Http function processed request for url "${context.req.url}"`);

  • From the named input bindings: This option works the same as any non HTTP binding. The binding name in function.json must match the key on context.bindings, or "request1" in the following example:

    {
    "name": "request1",
    "type": "httpTrigger",
    "direction": "in",
    "authLevel": "anonymous",
    "methods": [
        "get",
        "post"
    ]
}

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    context.log(`Http function processed request for url "${context.bindings.request1.url}"`);

The HttpRequest object has the following properties:

Property Type Description
method string HTTP request method used to invoke this function.
url string Request URL.
headers Record<string, string> HTTP request headers. This object is case sensitive. It's recommended to use request.getHeader('header-name') instead, which is case insensitive.
query Record<string, string> Query string parameter keys and values from the URL.
params Record<string, string> Route parameter keys and values.
user HttpRequestUser | null Object representing logged-in user, either through Functions authentication, SWA Authentication, or null when no such user is logged in.
body Buffer | string | any If the media type is "application/octet-stream" or "multipart/*", body is a Buffer. If the value is a JSON parse-able string, body is the parsed object. Otherwise, body is a string.
rawBody string The body as a string. Despite the name, this property doesn't return a Buffer.
bufferBody Buffer The body as a buffer.

The request can be accessed as the first argument to your handler for an HTTP triggered function.

async (request, context) => {
    context.log(`Http function processed request for url "${request.url}"`);

The HttpRequest object has the following properties:

Property Type Description
method string HTTP request method used to invoke this function.
url string Request URL.
headers Headers HTTP request headers.
query URLSearchParams Query string parameter keys and values from the URL.
params Record<string, string> Route parameter keys and values.
user HttpRequestUser | null Object representing logged-in user, either through Functions authentication, SWA Authentication, or null when no such user is logged in.
body ReadableStream | null Body as a readable stream.
bodyUsed boolean A boolean indicating if the body is already read.

In order to access a request or response's body, the following methods can be used:

Method Return Type
arrayBuffer() Promise<ArrayBuffer>
blob() Promise<Blob>
formData() Promise<FormData>
json() Promise<unknown>
text() Promise<string>

Note

The body functions can be run only once; subsequent calls will resolve with empty strings/ArrayBuffers.

HTTP Response

The response can be set in several ways:

  • Set the context.res property:

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    context.res = { body: `Hello, world!` };

  • Return the response: If your function is async and you set the binding name to $return in your function.json, you can return the response directly instead of setting it on context.

    {
  "type": "http",
  "direction": "out",
  "name": "$return"
}

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    return { body: `Hello, world!` };

  • Set the named output binding: This option works the same as any non HTTP binding. The binding name in function.json must match the key on context.bindings, or "response1" in the following example:

    {
    "type": "http",
    "direction": "out",
    "name": "response1"
}

    module.exports = async function (context, request) {
    context.bindings.response1 = { body: `Hello, world!` };

  • Call context.res.send(): This option is deprecated. It implicitly calls context.done() and can't be used in an async function.

    module.exports = function (context, request) {
    context.res.send(`Hello, world!`);

If you create a new object when setting the response, that object must match the HttpResponseSimple interface, which has the following properties:

Property Type Description
headers Record<string, string> (optional) HTTP response headers.
cookies Cookie[] (optional) HTTP response cookies.
body any (optional) HTTP response body.
statusCode number (optional) HTTP response status code. If not set, defaults to 200.
status number (optional) The same as statusCode. This property is ignored if statusCode is set.

You can also modify the context.res object without overwriting it. The default context.res object uses the HttpResponseFull interface, which supports the following methods in addition to the HttpResponseSimple properties:

Method Description
status() Sets the status.
setHeader() Sets a header field. NOTE: res.set() and res.header() are also supported and do the same thing.
getHeader() Get a header field. NOTE: res.get() is also supported and does the same thing.
removeHeader() Removes a header.
type() Sets the "content-type" header.
send() This method is deprecated. It sets the body and calls context.done() to indicate a sync function is finished. NOTE: res.end() is also supported and does the same thing.
sendStatus() This method is deprecated. It sets the status code and calls context.done() to indicate a sync function is finished.
json() This method is deprecated. It sets the "content-type" to "application/json", sets the body, and calls context.done() to indicate a sync function is finished.

The response can be set in several ways:

  • As a simple interface with type HttpResponseInit: This option is the most concise way of returning responses.

    return { body: `Hello, world!` };

    The HttpResponseInit interface has the following properties:

    Property Type Description
    body BodyInit (optional) HTTP response body as one of ArrayBuffer, AsyncIterable<Uint8Array>, Blob, FormData, Iterable<Uint8Array>, NodeJS.ArrayBufferView, URLSearchParams, null, or string.
    jsonBody any (optional) A JSON-serializable HTTP Response body. If set, the HttpResponseInit.body property is ignored in favor of this property.
    status number (optional) HTTP response status code. If not set, defaults to 200.
    headers HeadersInit (optional) HTTP response headers.
    cookies Cookie[] (optional) HTTP response cookies.

  • As a class with type HttpResponse: This option provides helper methods for reading and modifying various parts of the response like the headers.

    const response = new HttpResponse({ body: `Hello, world!` });
response.headers.set('content-type', 'application/json');
return response;

    The HttpResponse class accepts an optional HttpResponseInit as an argument to its constructor and has the following properties:

    Property Type Description
    status number HTTP response status code.
    headers Headers HTTP response headers.
    cookies Cookie[] HTTP response cookies.
    body ReadableStream | null Body as a readable stream.
    bodyUsed boolean A boolean indicating if the body has been read from already.

HTTP streams

HTTP streams is a feature that makes it easier to process large data, stream OpenAI responses, deliver dynamic content, and support other core HTTP scenarios. It lets you stream requests to and responses from HTTP endpoints in your Node.js function app. Use HTTP streams in scenarios where your app requires real-time exchange and interaction between client and server over HTTP. You can also use HTTP streams to get the best performance and reliability for your apps when using HTTP.

Important

HTTP streams aren't supported in the v3 model. Upgrade to the v4 model to use the HTTP streaming feature.

The existing HttpRequest and HttpResponse types in programming model v4 already support various ways of handling the message body, including as a stream.

Prerequisites

Enable streams

Use these steps to enable HTTP streams in your function app in Azure and in your local projects:

  1. If you plan to stream large amounts of data, modify the FUNCTIONS_REQUEST_BODY_SIZE_LIMIT setting in Azure. The default maximum body size allowed is 104857600, which limits your requests to a size of ~100 MB.

  2. For local development, also add FUNCTIONS_REQUEST_BODY_SIZE_LIMIT to the local.settings.json file.

  3. Add the following code to your app in any file included by your main field.

    const { app } = require('@azure/functions'); 

app.setup({ enableHttpStream: true });

Stream examples

This example shows an HTTP triggered function that receives data via an HTTP POST request, and the function streams this data to a specified output file:

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');
const { createWriteStream } = require('fs');
const { Writable } = require('stream');

app.http('httpTriggerStreamRequest', {
    methods: ['POST'],
    authLevel: 'anonymous',
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        const writeStream = createWriteStream('<output file path>');
        await request.body.pipeTo(Writable.toWeb(writeStream));

        return { body: 'Done!' };
    },
});

This example shows an HTTP triggered function that streams a file's content as the response to incoming HTTP GET requests:

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');
const { createReadStream } = require('fs');

app.http('httpTriggerStreamResponse', {
    methods: ['GET'],
    authLevel: 'anonymous',
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        const body = createReadStream('<input file path>');

        return { body };
    },
});

For a ready-to-run sample app using streams, check out this example on GitHub.

Stream considerations

  • Use request.body to obtain the maximum benefit from using streams. You can still continue to use methods like request.text(), which always return the body as a string.

Hooks

Hooks aren't supported in the v3 model. Upgrade to the v4 model to use hooks.

Use a hook to execute code at different points in the Azure Functions lifecycle. Hooks are executed in the order they're registered and can be registered from any file in your app. There are currently two scopes of hooks, "app" level and "invocation" level.

Invocation hooks

Invocation hooks are executed once per invocation of your function, either before in a preInvocation hook or after in a postInvocation hook. By default your hook executes for all trigger types, but you can also filter by type. The following example shows how to register an invocation hook and filter by trigger type:

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');

app.hook.preInvocation((context) => {
    if (context.invocationContext.options.trigger.type === 'httpTrigger') {
        context.invocationContext.log(
            `preInvocation hook executed for http function ${context.invocationContext.functionName}`
        );
    }
});

app.hook.postInvocation((context) => {
    if (context.invocationContext.options.trigger.type === 'httpTrigger') {
        context.invocationContext.log(
            `postInvocation hook executed for http function ${context.invocationContext.functionName}`
        );
    }
});

The first argument to the hook handler is a context object specific to that hook type.

The PreInvocationContext object has the following properties:

Property Description
inputs The arguments passed to the invocation.
functionHandler The function handler for the invocation. Changes to this value affect the function itself.
invocationContext The invocation context object passed to the function.
hookData The recommended place to store and share data between hooks in the same scope. You should use a unique property name so that it doesn't conflict with other hooks' data.

The PostInvocationContext object has the following properties:

Property Description
inputs The arguments passed to the invocation.
result The result of the function. Changes to this value affect the overall result of the function.
error The error thrown by the function, or null/undefined if there's no error. Changes to this value affect the overall result of the function.
invocationContext The invocation context object passed to the function.
hookData The recommended place to store and share data between hooks in the same scope. You should use a unique property name so that it doesn't conflict with other hooks' data.

App hooks

App hooks are executed once per instance of your app, either during startup in an appStart hook or during termination in an appTerminate hook. App terminate hooks have a limited time to execute and don't execute in all scenarios.

The Azure Functions runtime currently doesn't support context logging outside of an invocation. Use the Application Insights npm package to log data during app level hooks.

The following example registers app hooks:

const { app } = require('@azure/functions');

app.hook.appStart((context) => {
    // add your logic here
});

app.hook.appTerminate((context) => {
    // add your logic here
});

The first argument to the hook handler is a context object specific to that hook type.

The AppStartContext object has the following properties:

Property Description
hookData The recommended place to store and share data between hooks in the same scope. You should use a unique property name so that it doesn't conflict with other hooks' data.

The AppTerminateContext object has the following properties:

Property Description
hookData The recommended place to store and share data between hooks in the same scope. You should use a unique property name so that it doesn't conflict with other hooks' data.

Scaling and concurrency

By default, Azure Functions automatically monitors the load on your application and creates more host instances for Node.js as needed. Azure Functions uses built-in (not user configurable) thresholds for different trigger types to decide when to add instances, such as the age of messages and queue size for QueueTrigger. For more information, see How the Consumption and Premium plans work.

This scaling behavior is sufficient for many Node.js applications. For CPU-bound applications, you can improve performance further by using multiple language worker processes. You can increase the number of worker processes per host from the default of 1 up to a max of 10 by using the FUNCTIONS_WORKER_PROCESS_COUNT application setting. Azure Functions then tries to evenly distribute simultaneous function invocations across these workers. This behavior makes it less likely that a CPU-intensive function blocks other functions from running. The setting applies to each host that Azure Functions creates when scaling out your application to meet demand.

Warning

Use the FUNCTIONS_WORKER_PROCESS_COUNT setting with caution. Multiple processes running in the same instance can lead to unpredictable behavior and increase function load times. If you use this setting, it's highly recommended to offset these downsides by running from a package file.

Node version

You can see the current version that the runtime is using by logging process.version from any function. See supported versions for a list of Node.js versions supported by each programming model.

Setting the Node version

The way that you upgrade your Node.js version depends on the OS on which your function app runs.

When running on Windows, the Node.js version is set by the WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION application setting. This setting can be updated either by using the Azure CLI or in the Azure portal.

For more information about Node.js versions, see Supported versions.

Before upgrading your Node.js version, make sure your function app is running on the latest version of the Azure Functions runtime. If you need to upgrade your runtime version, see Migrate apps from Azure Functions version 3.x to version 4.x.

Run the Azure CLI az functionapp config appsettings set command to update the Node.js version for your function app running on Windows:

az functionapp config appsettings set  --settings WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION=~20 \
 --name <FUNCTION_APP_NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME>

This sets the WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION application setting the supported LTS version of ~20.

After changes are made, your function app restarts. To learn more about Functions support for Node.js, see Language runtime support policy.

Environment variables

Environment variables can be useful for operational secrets (connection strings, keys, endpoints, etc.) or environmental settings such as profiling variables. You can add environment variables in both your local and cloud environments and access them through process.env in your function code.

The following example logs the WEBSITE_SITE_NAME environment variable:

module.exports = async function (context) {
    context.log(`WEBSITE_SITE_NAME: ${process.env["WEBSITE_SITE_NAME"]}`);
}

async function timerTrigger1(myTimer, context) {
    context.log(`WEBSITE_SITE_NAME: ${process.env["WEBSITE_SITE_NAME"]}`);
}

In local development environment

When you run locally, your functions project includes a local.settings.json file, where you store your environment variables in the Values object.

{
  "IsEncrypted": false,
  "Values": {
    "AzureWebJobsStorage": "",
    "FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME": "node",
    "CUSTOM_ENV_VAR_1": "hello",
    "CUSTOM_ENV_VAR_2": "world"
  }
}

In Azure cloud environment

When you run in Azure, the function app lets you set and use Application settings, such as service connection strings, and exposes these settings as environment variables during execution.

There are several ways that you can add, update, and delete function app settings:

Changes to function app settings require your function app to be restarted.

Worker environment variables

There are several Functions environment variables specific to Node.js:

languageWorkers__node__arguments

This setting allows you to specify custom arguments when starting your Node.js process. It's most often used locally to start the worker in debug mode, but can also be used in Azure if you need custom arguments.

Warning

If possible, avoid using languageWorkers__node__arguments in Azure because it can have a negative effect on cold start times. Rather than using pre-warmed workers, the runtime has to start a new worker from scratch with your custom arguments.

logging__logLevel__Worker

This setting adjusts the default log level for Node.js-specific worker logs. By default, only warning or error logs are shown, but you can set it to information or debug to help diagnose issues with the Node.js worker. For more information, see configuring log levels.

ECMAScript modules (preview)

Note

As ECMAScript modules are currently a preview feature in Node.js 14 or higher in Azure Functions.

ECMAScript modules (ES modules) are the new official standard module system for Node.js. So far, the code samples in this article use the CommonJS syntax. When running Azure Functions in Node.js 14 or higher, you can choose to write your functions using ES modules syntax.

To use ES modules in a function, change its filename to use a .mjs extension. The following index.mjs file example is an HTTP triggered function that uses ES modules syntax to import the uuid library and return a value.

import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';

async function httpTrigger1(context, request) {
    context.res.body = uuidv4();
};

export default httpTrigger;

import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';

async function httpTrigger1(request, context) {
    return { body: uuidv4() };
};

app.http('httpTrigger1', {
    methods: ['GET', 'POST'],
    handler: httpTrigger1
});

Configure function entry point

The function.json properties scriptFile and entryPoint can be used to configure the location and name of your exported function. The scriptFile property is required when you're using TypeScript and should point to the compiled JavaScript.

Using scriptFile

By default, a JavaScript function is executed from index.js, a file that shares the same parent directory as its corresponding function.json.

scriptFile can be used to get a folder structure that looks like the following example:

<project_root>/
 | - node_modules/
 | - myFirstFunction/
 | | - function.json
 | - lib/
 | | - sayHello.js
 | - host.json
 | - package.json

The function.json for myFirstFunction should include a scriptFile property pointing to the file with the exported function to run.

{
  "scriptFile": "../lib/sayHello.js",
  "bindings": [
    ...
  ]
}

Using entryPoint

In the v3 model, a function must be exported using module.exports in order to be found and run. By default, the function that executes when triggered is the only export from that file, the export named run, or the export named index. The following example sets entryPoint in function.json to a custom value, "logHello":

{
  "entryPoint": "logHello",
  "bindings": [
    ...
  ]
}

async function logHello(context) {
    context.log('Hello, world!');
}

module.exports = { logHello };

Local debugging

It's recommended to use VS Code for local debugging, which starts your Node.js process in debug mode automatically and attaches to the process for you. For more information, see run the function locally.

If you're using a different tool for debugging or want to start your Node.js process in debug mode manually, add "languageWorkers__node__arguments": "--inspect" under Values in your local.settings.json. The --inspect argument tells Node.js to listen for a debug client, on port 9229 by default. For more information, see the Node.js debugging guide.

Recommendations

This section describes several impactful patterns for Node.js apps that we recommend you follow.

Choose single-vCPU App Service plans

When you create a function app that uses the App Service plan, we recommend that you select a single-vCPU plan rather than a plan with multiple vCPUs. Today, Functions runs Node.js functions more efficiently on single-vCPU VMs, and using larger VMs doesn't produce the expected performance improvements. When necessary, you can manually scale out by adding more single-vCPU VM instances, or you can enable autoscale. For more information, see Scale instance count manually or automatically.

Run from a package file

When you develop Azure Functions in the serverless hosting model, cold starts are a reality. Cold start refers to the first time your function app starts after a period of inactivity, taking longer to start up. For Node.js apps with large dependency trees in particular, cold start can be significant. To speed up the cold start process, run your functions as a package file when possible. Many deployment methods use this model by default, but if you're experiencing large cold starts you should check to make sure you're running this way.

Use a single static client

When you use a service-specific client in an Azure Functions application, don't create a new client with every function invocation because you can hit connection limits. Instead, create a single, static client in the global scope. For more information, see managing connections in Azure Functions.

Use async and await

When writing Azure Functions in Node.js, you should write code using the async and await keywords. Writing code using async and await instead of callbacks or .then and .catch with Promises helps avoid two common problems:

  • Throwing uncaught exceptions that crash the Node.js process, potentially affecting the execution of other functions.
  • Unexpected behavior, such as missing logs from context.log, caused by asynchronous calls that aren't properly awaited.

In the following example, the asynchronous method fs.readFile is invoked with an error-first callback function as its second parameter. This code causes both of the issues previously mentioned. An exception that isn't explicitly caught in the correct scope can crash the entire process (issue #1). Returning without ensuring the callback finishes means the http response will sometimes have an empty body (issue #2).

// DO NOT USE THIS CODE
const { app } = require('@azure/functions');
const fs = require('fs');

app.http('httpTriggerBadAsync', {
    methods: ['GET', 'POST'],
    authLevel: 'anonymous',
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        let fileData;
        fs.readFile('./helloWorld.txt', (err, data) => {
            if (err) {
                context.error(err);
                // BUG #1: This will result in an uncaught exception that crashes the entire process
                throw err;
            }
            fileData = data;
        });
        // BUG #2: fileData is not guaranteed to be set before the invocation ends
        return { body: fileData };
    },
});

In the following example, the asynchronous method fs.readFile is invoked with an error-first callback function as its second parameter. This code causes both of the issues previously mentioned. An exception that isn't explicitly caught in the correct scope can crash the entire process (issue #1). Calling the deprecated context.done() method outside of the scope of the callback can signal the function is finished before the file is read (issue #2). In this example, calling context.done() too early results in missing log entries starting with Data from file:.

// NOT RECOMMENDED PATTERN
const fs = require('fs');

module.exports = function (context) {
    fs.readFile('./hello.txt', (err, data) => {
        if (err) {
            context.log.error('ERROR', err);
            // BUG #1: This will result in an uncaught exception that crashes the entire process
            throw err;
        }
        context.log(`Data from file: ${data}`);
        // context.done() should be called here
    });
    // BUG #2: Data is not guaranteed to be read before the Azure Function's invocation ends
    context.done();
}

Use the async and await keywords to help avoid both of these issues. Most APIs in the Node.js ecosystem have been converted to support promises in some form. For example, starting in v14, Node.js provides an fs/promises API to replace the fs callback API.

In the following example, any unhandled exceptions thrown during the function execution only fail the individual invocation that raised the exception. The await keyword means that steps following readFile only execute after it's complete.

// Recommended pattern
const { app } = require('@azure/functions');
const fs = require('fs/promises');

app.http('httpTriggerGoodAsync', {
    methods: ['GET', 'POST'],
    authLevel: 'anonymous',
    handler: async (request, context) => {
        try {
            const fileData = await fs.readFile('./helloWorld.txt');
            return { body: fileData };
        } catch (err) {
            context.error(err);
            // This rethrown exception will only fail the individual invocation, instead of crashing the whole process
            throw err;
        }
    },
});

With async and await, you also don't need to call the context.done() callback.

// Recommended pattern
const fs = require('fs/promises');

module.exports = async function (context) {
    let data;
    try {
        data = await fs.readFile('./hello.txt');
    } catch (err) {
        context.log.error('ERROR', err);
        // This rethrown exception will be handled by the Functions Runtime and will only fail the individual invocation
        throw err;
    }
    context.log(`Data from file: ${data}`);
}

Troubleshoot

See the Node.js Troubleshoot guide.

Next steps

For more information, see the following resources: