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Getting started

BFast Cloud runs your Node.js functions on a managed Docker Swarm. You write functions with bfast-functions, run them locally with bfast-tools, push to GitHub, and every push to your default branch redeploys the service over HTTPS.

1. Install the CLI

You need Node.js 18 or newer.

bash
npm install -g bfast-tools
bfast --version

2. Create a workspace

bash
bfast fs create my-functions
cd my-functions

The workspace contains bfast.json, package.json and a functions/ folder. Every exported object in functions/ with an onRequest, onEvent, onGuard or onJob handler becomes part of your service.

3. Write a function

js
// functions/index.mjs
export const hello = {
  method: 'get',
  path: '/hello',
  description: 'Say hello',
  onRequest: (req, res) => res.json({message: `Hello ${req.query.name ?? 'world'}`})
};

export const nightly = {
  rule: '0 2 * * *',
  onJob: () => console.log('nightly clean-up')
};

See the function specification for HTTP routes, Socket.IO events, guards and scheduled jobs.

4. Run it locally

bash
bfast fs serve --port 3000
curl http://localhost:3000/hello?name=Asha
curl http://localhost:3000/functions-health

/functions-all lists every function your service exposes.

5. Push to GitHub

Commit the workspace to a GitHub repository. Dependencies in package.json are installed when the service starts.

bash
git init && git add . && git commit -m "First functions"
git remote add origin https://github.com/you/my-functions.git
git push -u origin main

6. Deploy on BFast Cloud

  1. Request early access by emailing mama27j@gmail.com with the Google account you will sign in with and your repository URL.
  2. An administrator creates your service with MODE=git and your repository's GIT_CLONE_URL, and gives your Google account access. The service gets HTTPS hostnames such as my-functions-faas.<cluster>.<domain>.
  3. Sign in to the console with that Google account.
  4. Open the service's Auto-deploy tab and copy the payload URL and secret into your repository under Settings → Webhooks (content type application/json, push events).

From now on every push to the default branch rolls out a fresh copy of your functions. Use the console to edit environment variables, attach secrets, read logs, restart, archive and unarchive the service.

Where next

Maintained with BFast Cloud