Amazon Web Services has launched AWS Lambda Web Functions, adding a new way to run HTTP web applications on Lambda.
The launch gives Lambda three product forms, alongside what AWS now calls Event Functions and the existing Lambda MicroVMs.
Web Functions let developers deploy standard port-listening web servers on Lambda without rewriting them as event handlers. The service works with Node.js frameworks including Express, Hono, Fastify and Next.js.
Under this model, applications listen on a port and process HTTP requests directly. Each execution environment can handle up to 128 concurrent requests. Billing measures CPU use and separately meters memory for as long as the execution environment exists.
AWS positions the service for web applications, API back ends and other interactive HTTP workloads. The billing model is aimed at workloads with significant I/O wait, such as server-side rendering, API processing and AI inference endpoints that stream token responses.
Three models
Lambda Event Functions remain the event-driven option customers have used under the Lambda name to date. AWS is introducing the Event Functions label to distinguish that model from Web Functions, while MicroVMs remain the isolated, stateful option for running untrusted or user-generated code.
Customers can use all three approaches within the same AWS account. AWS gave the example of using Event Functions for asynchronous processing, Web Functions for user-facing APIs and server-side rendering, and MicroVMs for interactive code execution.
Deployment flow
AWS outlined a deployment process based on a new command-line interface command, aws lambda-web deploy. The command bundles source code, creates the Web Function, publishes a revision, attaches an endpoint and returns a live HTTPS address.
AWS also described multi-region deployment through a single command. In that setup, code can be replicated across selected regions and requests routed on a best-effort basis to the region with the lowest latency for the caller through one global URL.
Developers can also direct traffic between revisions by setting weights for different versions. AWS described this as a way to carry out canary deployments without extra tooling.
CloudFront link
The launch also extends integration with Amazon CloudFront for applications that mix static and dynamic content. Customers can use a Web Function endpoint as the origin for a CloudFront distribution, allowing static assets to be cached while dynamic requests are sent to the function.
Web Functions also support CloudFront origin access control. In that configuration, CloudFront signs requests to the origin, and the endpoint accepts requests only from the designated distribution.
Availability
At launch, AWS Lambda Web Functions is available in US East (N. Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), Asia Pacific (Tokyo) and Europe (Ireland). The service runs Node.js 24 on Arm64 and supports Amazon Virtual Private Cloud connectivity for access to resources inside a VPC.
The release reflects a broader AWS effort to separate Lambda usage into clearer compute patterns. Rather than requiring developers to adapt standard web servers to an event-driven model, Web Functions is designed to let them deploy HTTP-native applications in the form they already use.
Each Lambda form runs on the same Firecracker isolation technology, but with different programming models. Web Functions is intended for multiple concurrent HTTP requests, while Event Functions remain focused on single-concurrent event handling and MicroVMs on isolated, stateful sandboxes.
The service is limited to Node.js at launch, meaning broader language support has not yet been announced. Even so, the introduction of a dedicated web application form marks a notable change for Lambda, which has largely been associated with event-driven serverless workloads since its debut.