neon-functions

Files (9)

• SKILL.md
• ai-sdk.md · references/
• function-triggers.md · references/
• mastra-studio.md · references/
• mcp.md · references/
• native-binaries.md · references/
• production-hardening.md · references/
• sentry.md · references/
• sse.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

**FIRST**: Use the parent `neon` skill for a Neon overview, getting started with Neon, Neon development best practices, and more.

If the `neon` skill is not installed, fetch it from https://neon.com/docs/ai/skills/neon/SKILL.md or install it with:

```bash
neon skills -s neon -y
```

# Neon Functions

Currently available in `aws-us-east-2`, `aws-us-east-1`, `aws-eu-central-1`, and `aws-ap-southeast-1`.

Neon Functions are long-running Node.js HTTP handlers deployed onto a Neon branch. Each function gets a public HTTPS URL, runs in the same region as your database, and — if the branch has Postgres — gets `DATABASE_URL` injected automatically. You deploy and manage them through the same Neon CLI, `neon.ts`, and API you already use.

Use this skill to help the user define, run locally, deploy, and manage functions next to their database. Deliver a deployed function with its invocation URL, a working local `neon dev` loop, or a precise answer from the official Neon docs.

## When to Use

Reach for Neon Functions when the workload is a request/response handler that benefits from staying alive and staying close to the data:

- **Long-running request/response flows that outlast lambda-style limits.** Agents that make several LLM calls and tool invocations per request, or image/video generation, routinely blow past the ~10–60s execution caps and short streaming windows of traditional serverless functions. Neon Functions are long-running: the handler just needs to _start_ responding within 15 minutes, and an open stream stays alive as long as bytes keep flowing. That's enough headroom for real agent workloads.
- **Stateful streaming without bolting on Redis.** Because a function stays alive across a request, it can host an SSE endpoint or a WebSocket server and hold the connection open in-process — no external state store (Redis, etc.) needed just to keep a stream coherent. Module-scope state (a `pg` pool, an in-memory counter) persists across requests on the same isolate.
- **Compute that must sit next to Postgres.** The function runs in the same region as the branch's database, so there are no cross-region round trips on every query. `DATABASE_URL` is injected for you.
- **A backend that branches with your data.** Each branch runs its own version of the function at its own URL, against its own isolated database (and storage, and gateway) state. Preview deployments, CI, and dev environments each get a self-contained backend — deploying to a child never affects the parent.
- **Query Postgres from the Function (or an existing framework handler).** Prefer that over the Data API. Use the Data API when the application already uses PostgREST or Supabase-js database calls, or is migrating that client.
- **Webhooks, bots, and post-response work.** Webhook handlers that fan out into multiple DB writes, Discord/WebSocket bots, and fire-and-forget follow-ups via `waitUntil` (analytics, audit logs) all fit.
- **Recurring HTTP work.** A Function Trigger POSTs to the function on a cron (`type: "schedule"`) or when an object is created in Object Storage (`type: "storage_object_created"`). Same `fetch` handler, same 15-minute time-to-first-byte limit. See [Function Triggers](#function-triggers).

If the workload is a pure static site, or something that must run outside the supported regions (`aws-us-east-2`, `aws-us-east-1`, `aws-eu-central-1`, and `aws-ap-southeast-1`) today, this isn't the right tool yet (see [Timeouts and Runtime Limits](#timeouts-and-runtime-limits) and [Availability](#availability)).

## What It Does

- **Long-running & serverless** — Built for WebSocket servers (see [WebSocket Servers](#websocket-servers)), SSE endpoints (see [Server-Sent Events (SSE)](#server-sent-events-sse)), long agent HTTP streams, and APIs. Still scales to zero when idle.
- **Web-standard handler** — A function is any default export with a `fetch(request)` method returning a `Response` (Workers/WinterTC-compatible). A Hono app exports exactly that shape, so `export default app` just works. Runs on Node.js 24, so all Node APIs are available.
- **Close to your database** — Runs in the branch's region; `DATABASE_URL` injected automatically when the branch has Postgres.
- **Branchable** — Each branch runs its own function version at its own URL against its own isolated state.
- **Same CLI/API** — Deploy and manage via `neon`, `neon.ts`, or the Neon API.
- **Function Triggers** — Neon POSTs to the function on a cron or an object-storage upload. See [Function Triggers](#function-triggers).

## Availability

Check this precondition before setting anything up: Neon Functions is currently available in `aws-us-east-2`, `aws-us-east-1`, `aws-eu-central-1`, and `aws-ap-southeast-1`. Confirm the user's Neon project is in one of these regions.

## Architecture: Where Functions Fit

Neon (Functions included) is **backend primitives, not full-stack app hosting**. Host your app on a frontend hosting provider like **Vercel** (or Netlify, Cloudflare, etc.), or serve a small static page from a `public_read` bucket behind a CDN (see the `neon-object-storage` skill for caching); Functions are the long-running, stateful slice of your backend that lives next to your data. They compose with that platform in two ways:

- **Add a Function to a full-stack app.** Your Next.js / TanStack Start app on Vercel (or Netlify) owns UI, auth (Managed Auth, Better Auth, Clerk, or another IdP), and talks directly to Lakebase Postgres and Object Storage. Add a Function as a Hono API layer for the web app and other clients, or for one job next to the data: Object Storage uploads, AI agents, Discord bots, WebSocket or SSE servers. (See [Functions as an Agent Backend](#functions-as-an-agent-backend-nextjs-and-similar-frameworks) for the client-direct pattern.)
- **Run the whole backend control plane on Functions.** Especially when the frontend is **client-only** — TanStack Router, React Router in client mode, and similar SPAs hosted on Vercel or Netlify — the client calls Functions **directly**. Build REST APIs and request/response agents, host **MCP servers**, and run anything stateful or that belongs close to Postgres and Object Storage.

Either way, authenticate by caller: JWT or API key for app and public HTTP (see the WARNING under [Functions as an Agent Backend](#functions-as-an-agent-backend-nextjs-and-similar-frameworks)); `parseTriggerDelivery` for Function Trigger routes; production hardening in [Production hardening](references/production-hardening.md). Because a Function is just your backend, you can **move pieces between your host and Neon** — relocate an agent or a stateful WebSocket server onto a Function when it needs more runtime, and back if needed.

Prefer a Function, or an existing framework handler, that queries Postgres. Use Data API when the application already uses PostgREST/Supabase-js database calls or is migrating that client.

## Production hardening

Before exposing production routes, read [Production hardening](references/production-hardening.md).

Pick by caller: trusted app server, Function Trigger, or public consumer. Keep long browser streams on the client-direct JWT path unless a verified streaming-compatible proxy is required. Authentication rejects application work; requests to the native URL still reach the Function.

## Setup

Functions are declared in `neon.ts` (see the `neon` skill for the branch-first workflow and `neon.ts` basics). Add `@neon/config` and declare functions under `functions`, keyed by **slug**:

```typescript
// neon.ts
import { defineConfig } from "@neon/config/v1";

export default defineConfig({
  functions: {
    todos: {
      // slug: ^[a-z0-9]{1,20}$ — lowercase letters/digits, no hyphens
      name: "todo api", // display label only
      source: "src/index.ts", // entry file, relative to neon.ts
    },
  },
});
```

The slug is the function's permanent identity (it appears in the invocation URL and CLI commands) and can't be changed after the first deploy. Use `name` for a human-readable label.

A minimal function — a Hono app that queries the branch's Postgres via the injected `DATABASE_URL`:

```typescript
// src/index.ts
import { Hono } from "hono";
import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/node-postgres";
import { Pool } from "pg";
import { parseEnv } from "@neon/env";
import { attachDatabasePool } from "@neon/functions";
import config from "../neon";
import { todos } from "./db/schema";

const env = parseEnv(config);
const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: env.postgres.databaseUrl, max: 5 });
attachDatabasePool(pool);
const db = drizzle(pool);

const app = new Hono();
app.get("/", (c) => c.text("Neon + Hono + Drizzle"));
app.post("/todos", async (c) => {
  const { text } = await c.req.json<{ text: string }>();
  const [row] = await db.insert(todos).values({ text }).returning();
  return c.json(row, 201);
});
app.get("/todos", async (c) => c.json(await db.select().from(todos)));

export default app;
```

Create the `pg` pool at module scope (reused across requests on the same isolate) and keep `max` small (e.g. 5), since each isolate keeps its own pool. Call `attachDatabasePool(pool)` so an idle disconnect is not an `uncaughtException` — see [Connecting to Postgres](#connecting-to-postgres).

`parseEnv(config)` requires _every_ variable the config implies. A function that only talks to Postgres over the pooled URL can scope it to just that key — `parseEnv` then validates and returns only what you asked for (the keys autocomplete from your `neon.ts`):

```typescript
const { postgres } = parseEnv(config, ["DATABASE_URL"]); // not the unpooled URL, auth, etc.
const pool = new Pool({ connectionString: postgres.databaseUrl, max: 5 });
attachDatabasePool(pool);
```

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