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Manage functions with Netlify CLI

The Netlify CLI offers the ability to create, serve, and test Netlify Functions locally. Once you create a serverless function, you have the option to invoke the function in a local development environment using Netlify Dev, or to invoke the functions with a local standalone server.

To learn about all of the options available, review the command reference for functions.

# Create serverless functions with Netlify Dev

Netlify can create serverless functions for you locally as part of Netlify Functions with the functions:create command:

netlify functions:create

Follow the CLI prompts to select from a number of function templates that are available to get you started. You can also add your own utility functions to suit your project development needs.

# Create a new function from one of the available templates offered
# when prompted
$ netlify functions:create

# Create a new function with a given name using either of the
# following options
$ netlify functions:create hello-world
$ netlify functions:create --name hello-world

# Create a new function by cloning a template from a remote url
# organised with dependencies installed into a subdirectory
$ netlify functions:create hello-world --url https://my-remote-template-URL

Git ignore the node_modules folder

If your functions have node_modules in each function folder, make sure to add them to your .gitignore file. Don’t forget to add bash scripts to install the dependencies for production.

# Deploy unbundled function folders

When a function has node_modules in its own folder, these packages need to be installed during deployment. The Netlify build system does not recursively install dependencies for your function folders but you can write prebuild or postinstall bash scripts to install them for production.

# Invoke functions while running Netlify Dev

Use netlify dev to start a local development environment and Netlify Dev will run the functions as they would run in the Netlify production environment.

To get started, configure the functions directory in your netlify.toml and then run netlify dev.

The functions will be accessible at http://localhost:8888/.netlify/functions/function-name in the browser. Accessing the function through the browser simulates a GET request but you can also use netlify functions:invoke to test other requests. For example, the CLI also models POST requests.

You can use netlify functions: list to get a list of all detected functions.

If you run functions in your local environment with Netlify Dev, you can then test sending payloads of data or authentication payloads:

# with prompting
netlify functions:invoke # we will prompt you at each step
netlify functions:invoke myfunction # invoke a specific function
netlify functions:invoke --name myfunction # invoke a specific function

# no prompting (good for CI)
netlify functions:invoke --name myfunction --identity # invoke a specific function with Netlify Identity headers
netlify functions:invoke --name myfunction --no-identity # invoke a specific function without Netlify Identity headers

# sending payloads
netlify functions:invoke myfunction --payload '{"count": 1}'
netlify functions:invoke myfunction --querystring "count=1"
netlify functions:invoke myfunction --payload "./pathTo.json"

There are special cases for event-triggered functions that will also provide mock data for testing. This makes it possible to manually test event-triggered functions locally, such as on identity-signup, and improves the development experience.

# Serve functions with a standalone server locally

While Netlify Dev will simulate the Netlify production environment, it can be useful to simulate Netlify Functions in a standalone server instead. If you serve functions with a standalone server, you can debug functions without the overhead of starting a framework server.

To start a functions server locally, run netlify functions:serve. Your function will be available at http://localhost:9999/.netlify/functions/<function-name>

If you configure a functions directory, the server will serve functions from that directory. If not, the server will serve functions from netlify/functions. The default port for the functions server is 9999.

To override these settings, use the --functions and --port flags:

netlify functions:serve --functions <path-to-dir> --port <port>

You can also configure the settings in a netlify.toml, under the dev block:

[dev]
  functions = "netlify-functions"
  functionsPort = 7000

# Debug functions locally

Netlify CLI uses Lambda-local to simulate serverless functions. Since the CLI invokes functions in the same process as the functions server, you can debug functions by inspecting the functions server process.

To debug, set the --inspect Node.js option when starting the functions server:

  • On Windows, run cmd /V /C "set NODE_OPTIONS=--inspect && netlify functions:serve"
  • On Mac/Linux, run NODE_OPTIONS=--inspect netlify functions:serve

Then, attach any Node.js debugger to the CLI process to debug your functions. To learn how to debug with Visual Studio Code while running the Netlify CLI, review Debug with VS Code.

← Debug with VS Code →