AWS Lambda

Build serverless applications with AWS Lambda, covering function creation, event sources, layers, SAM templates, and cold start optimization.

When to Use This Skill

• Building event-driven applications triggered by API Gateway, S3, SQS, or EventBridge
• Running scheduled tasks (cron) without managing servers
• Processing data streams from Kinesis or DynamoDB
• Building lightweight APIs with API Gateway or function URLs
• Implementing webhooks, Slack bots, or automation scripts
• Reducing compute costs for intermittent or bursty workloads

Prerequisites

• AWS CLI v2 installed and configured
• IAM permissions: lambda:*, iam:PassRole, logs:*, apigateway:*, s3:*
• Python 3.11+, Node.js 20+, or another supported runtime installed locally
• (Optional) AWS SAM CLI for local development and deployment

Create and Deploy a Function

# Create a deployment package
cd my-function
zip -r function.zip app.py

# Create the Lambda function
aws lambda create-function \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --runtime python3.12 \
  --handler app.handler \
  --role arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/LambdaExecRole \
  --zip-file fileb://function.zip \
  --memory-size 256 \
  --timeout 30 \
  --environment 'Variables={STAGE=production,LOG_LEVEL=INFO}' \
  --architectures arm64 \
  --tracing-config Mode=Active \
  --tags '{"Team":"backend","Environment":"production"}'

# Update function code
aws lambda update-function-code \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --zip-file fileb://function.zip

# Update function configuration
aws lambda update-function-configuration \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --memory-size 512 \
  --timeout 60 \
  --environment 'Variables={STAGE=production,LOG_LEVEL=WARNING}'

# Publish a version (immutable snapshot)
aws lambda publish-version \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --description "v1.2.0 - added rate limiting"

# Create an alias pointing to the version
aws lambda create-alias \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --name live \
  --function-version 3

# Weighted alias for canary deployments (90% v3, 10% v4)
aws lambda update-alias \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --name live \
  --function-version 4 \
  --routing-config '{"AdditionalVersionWeights":{"3":0.9}}'

Function Code Examples

# app.py - API Gateway handler with structured logging
import json
import logging
import os

logger = logging.getLogger()
logger.setLevel(os.environ.get("LOG_LEVEL", "INFO"))

def handler(event, context):
    """Handle API Gateway proxy event."""
    logger.info("Request: %s %s", event["httpMethod"], event["path"])

    try:
        body = json.loads(event.get("body", "{}"))
        result = process_request(body)

        return {
            "statusCode": 200,
            "headers": {
                "Content-Type": "application/json",
                "X-Request-Id": context.aws_request_id
            },
            "body": json.dumps(result)
        }
    except ValueError as e:
        logger.warning("Validation error: %s", e)
        return {"statusCode": 400, "body": json.dumps({"error": str(e)})}
    except Exception as e:
        logger.exception("Unhandled error")
        return {"statusCode": 500, "body": json.dumps({"error": "Internal server error"})}

def process_request(body):
    return {"message": "OK", "data": body}

# sqs_processor.py - SQS batch processor with partial failure reporting
import json
import logging

logger = logging.getLogger()
logger.setLevel("INFO")

def handler(event, context):
    """Process SQS messages with partial batch failure reporting."""
    failed_ids = []

    for record in event["Records"]:
        try:
            body = json.loads(record["body"])
            logger.info("Processing message: %s", record["messageId"])
            process_message(body)
        except Exception as e:
            logger.error("Failed message %s: %s", record["messageId"], e)
            failed_ids.append(record["messageId"])

    # Return failed items so only those get retried
    return {
        "batchItemFailures": [
            {"itemIdentifier": msg_id} for msg_id in failed_ids
        ]
    }

def process_message(body):
    pass  # your logic here

Lambda Layers

# Build a layer for Python dependencies
mkdir -p layer/python
pip install requests boto3-stubs -t layer/python/
cd layer
zip -r ../my-layer.zip python/

# Publish the layer
aws lambda publish-layer-version \
  --layer-name common-deps \
  --description "Shared Python dependencies" \
  --zip-file fileb://my-layer.zip \
  --compatible-runtimes python3.11 python3.12 \
  --compatible-architectures arm64 x86_64

# Attach layer to a function
aws lambda update-function-configuration \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --layers "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:layer:common-deps:1"

# List available layers
aws lambda list-layers --compatible-runtime python3.12

Event Source Mappings

# SQS trigger with batch processing
aws lambda create-event-source-mapping \
  --function-name sqs-processor \
  --event-source-arn arn:aws:sqs:us-east-1:123456789012:my-queue \
  --batch-size 10 \
  --maximum-batching-window-in-seconds 5 \
  --function-response-types ReportBatchItemFailures

# DynamoDB Streams trigger
aws lambda create-event-source-mapping \
  --function-name stream-processor \
  --event-source-arn arn:aws:dynamodb:us-east-1:123456789012:table/my-table/stream/2026-01-01T00:00:00.000 \
  --batch-size 100 \
  --starting-position LATEST \
  --maximum-retry-attempts 3 \
  --bisect-batch-on-function-error \
  --destination-config '{"OnFailure":{"Destination":"arn:aws:sqs:us-east-1:123456789012:dlq"}}'

# S3 event notification (via Lambda permission + S3 config)
aws lambda add-permission \
  --function-name image-processor \
  --statement-id s3-trigger \
  --action lambda:InvokeFunction \
  --principal s3.amazonaws.com \
  --source-arn arn:aws:s3:::my-uploads-bucket \
  --source-account 123456789012

aws s3api put-bucket-notification-configuration \
  --bucket my-uploads-bucket \
  --notification-configuration '{
    "LambdaFunctionConfigurations": [{
      "LambdaFunctionArn": "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:image-processor",
      "Events": ["s3:ObjectCreated:*"],
      "Filter": {"Key": {"FilterRules": [{"Name": "suffix", "Value": ".jpg"}]}}
    }]
  }'

# Schedule with EventBridge (cron)
aws events put-rule \
  --name daily-cleanup \
  --schedule-expression "cron(0 2 * * ? *)" \
  --state ENABLED

aws lambda add-permission \
  --function-name daily-cleanup \
  --statement-id eventbridge \
  --action lambda:InvokeFunction \
  --principal events.amazonaws.com \
  --source-arn arn:aws:events:us-east-1:123456789012:rule/daily-cleanup

aws events put-targets \
  --rule daily-cleanup \
  --targets '[{"Id":"1","Arn":"arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:daily-cleanup"}]'

Function URLs (No API Gateway Needed)

# Create a function URL (public HTTPS endpoint)
aws lambda create-function-url-config \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --auth-type NONE \
  --cors '{
    "AllowOrigins": ["https://myapp.com"],
    "AllowMethods": ["GET", "POST"],
    "AllowHeaders": ["Content-Type"],
    "MaxAge": 86400
  }'

# Grant public invoke for function URL
aws lambda add-permission \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --statement-id function-url-public \
  --action lambda:InvokeFunctionUrl \
  --principal "*" \
  --function-url-auth-type NONE

Cold Start Optimization

# Enable provisioned concurrency to eliminate cold starts
aws lambda put-provisioned-concurrency-config \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --qualifier live \
  --provisioned-concurrent-executions 10

# Set reserved concurrency (throttle limit)
aws lambda put-function-concurrency \
  --function-name my-api-handler \
  --reserved-concurrent-executions 100

# Enable SnapStart for Java functions (near-zero cold starts)
aws lambda update-function-configuration \
  --function-name my-java-handler \
  --snap-start '{"ApplyOn": "PublishedVersions"}'
aws lambda publish-version --function-name my-java-handler

Cold start reduction tips:

• Use arm64 architecture (Graviton) for faster init and lower cost
• Minimize deployment package size; use layers for large dependencies
• Initialize SDK clients outside the handler function
• Avoid VPC unless required (VPC cold starts are longer)
• Use provisioned concurrency for latency-sensitive paths

SAM Template

# template.yaml - AWS SAM application
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Transform: AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31
Description: My serverless API

Globals:
  Function:
    Runtime: python3.12
    Architectures: [arm64]
    MemorySize: 256
    Timeout: 30
    Tracing: Active
    Environment:
      Variables:
        STAGE: !Ref Stage
        LOG_LEVEL: INFO

Parameters:
  Stage:
    Type: String
    Default: dev
    AllowedValues: [dev, staging, prod]

Resources:
  ApiFunction:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
    Properties:
      FunctionName: !Sub "${Stage}-api-handler"
      Handler: app.handler
      CodeUri: src/
      Layers:
        - !Ref DepsLayer
      Events:
        GetItems:
          Type: Api
          Properties:
            Path: /items
            Method: get
        PostItem:
          Type: Api
          Properties:
            Path: /items
            Method: post
      Policies:
        - DynamoDBCrudPolicy:
            TableName: !Ref ItemsTable

  QueueProcessor:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
    Properties:
      FunctionName: !Sub "${Stage}-queue-processor"
      Handler: sqs_processor.handler
      CodeUri: src/
      Events:
        SQSEvent:
          Type: SQS
          Properties:
            Queue: !GetAtt ProcessingQueue.Arn
            BatchSize: 10
            FunctionResponseTypes:
              - ReportBatchItemFailures

  DepsLayer:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::LayerVersion
    Properties:
      LayerName: common-deps
      ContentUri: layer/
      CompatibleRuntimes:
        - python3.12

  ItemsTable:
    Type: AWS::DynamoDB::Table
    Properties:
      TableName: !Sub "${Stage}-items"
      BillingMode: PAY_PER_REQUEST
      AttributeDefinitions:
        - AttributeName: id
          AttributeType: S
      KeySchema:
        - AttributeName: id
          KeyType: HASH

  ProcessingQueue:
    Type: AWS::SQS::Queue
    Properties:
      QueueName: !Sub "${Stage}-processing"
      VisibilityTimeout: 360

Outputs:
  ApiEndpoint:
    Value: !Sub "https://${ServerlessRestApi}.execute-api.${AWS::Region}.amazonaws.com/Prod"

# SAM CLI commands
sam build
sam local invoke ApiFunction --event events/get-items.json
sam local start-api --port 3000
sam deploy --guided
sam logs --name ApiFunction --stack-name my-stack --tail

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
Function times out	Timeout too low or downstream slow	Increase timeout; check VPC/NAT config
Out of memory	Memory limit too small	Increase --memory-size; profile with CloudWatch Insights
Permission denied on AWS API	Execution role missing policy	Attach required policy to the execution role
Cold starts > 5s	Large package or VPC overhead	Use layers, arm64, provisioned concurrency; remove VPC if not needed
SQS messages reprocessed	Visibility timeout < function timeout	Set queue visibility timeout to 6x function timeout
Event source mapping disabled	Too many consecutive errors	Fix the function error; re-enable the mapping
Layer not found	Wrong region or deleted version	Verify layer ARN region matches function region
Canary deployment not shifting	Alias routing config wrong	Verify version numbers in routing config
Cannot invoke function URL	Missing resource-based policy	Add lambda:InvokeFunctionUrl permission

Related Skills

• aws-iam (aws-iam) - Execution roles and permissions
• terraform-aws (terraform-aws) - IaC deployment for Lambda
• aws-s3 (aws-s3) - S3 event triggers
• aws-vpc (aws-vpc) - VPC configuration for Lambda
• aws-cost-optimization (aws-cost-optimization) - Optimizing Lambda spend

Limitations

• Infrastructure commands can disrupt services: confirm target host/scope and have backups/snapshots before mutating state.
• Docs-only import: upstream scripts and templates not bundled.