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Azure Functions

More than just event-driven serverless compute

Accelerate and simplify application development with serverless compute

Develop more efficiently with Functions, an event-driven serverless compute platform that can also solve complex orchestration problems. Build and debug locally without additional setup, deploy and operate at scale in the cloud, and integrate services using triggers and bindings.

Microsoft named a leader in The Forrester New Wave: Functions-as-a-Service Platforms, Q1 2020

Automated and flexible scaling based on your workload volume, keeping the focus on adding value instead of managing infrastructure

Integrated programming model based on triggers and bindings that help you respond to events and seamlessly connect to other services

End-to-end development experience, from building and debugging to deploying and monitoring with integrated tools and built-in DevOps capabilities

Variety of programming languages and hosting options—always pick the best one for each scenario and quickly adjust to meet business needs

Improve your end-to-end development experience

Take advantage of a complete, end-to-end development experience with Functions—from building and debugging locally on major platforms like Windows, macOS, and Linux to deploying and monitoring in the cloud. Use Functions extensions and templates on Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code for a faster and more efficient development on your local machine, fully integrated with the whole Azure platform. Develop using your favorite code editor and the Azure Functions Core Tools. Set up continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) with Azure Pipelines, and get intelligent and proactive insights about the performance of applications in production from Azure Monitor.

Set up your local development environment Learn how to automate delivery with CI/CD pipelines for Functions

Simplify complex orchestration challenges resolution

Serverless functions are meant to be short-lived and stateless—until you need them to solve stateful problems. Remove this limitation in a fully managed way without provisioning more resources, just by coding your workflow definition. Simplify complex, stateful coordination requirements programmatically in event-driven applications with the Durable Functions extension. Use your functions also on declarative workflows that can take advantage of over 250 connectors with Azure Logic Apps.

Learn more about Durable Functions

Connect other services without hard-coding integrations for faster solutions development

Write only the code that truly matters to your business. Save coding time with a programming model based on triggers and bindings that enable your serverless applications to respond to events and connect to other services seamlessly. Build more scalable and stable event-driven applications with a microservices-friendly approach using Functions.

Learn how to save time with triggers and bindings

Build once, deploy anywhere

Not all applications are the same, and one hosting plan won't fit them all. Pick the Functions plan that matches your business needs, and deploy the same code to multiple targets - from pay-per-execution in the cloud to your Kubernetes cluster or IoT devices for edge computing.

Develop your way

Start coding right away with the technology stack you already know and love, no new languages or frameworks to learn. Pick the programming languages you like best for each unique scenario—from web apps and APIs with .NET, Node.js or Java, to Machine Learning workflows with Python or cloud automation with PowerShell.

See supported languages

Create reliable serverless applications with built-in security and monitoring

  • Monitor and analyze code performance with Azure Application Insights. Spot bottlenecks and failure hotspots across all components of your application using application maps with distributed tracing from Azure Monitor.
  • Source application settings with full control over access policies and audit history—without making code changes—using Azure Key Vault.
  • Isolate networks through virtual network connectivity on the Functions Premium plan, enabling outbound traffic into a secured virtual network gating incoming traffic and defining app restrictions.
  • Configure managed identities at the service level to let applications easily access other resources protected by Azure Active Directory.
  • Grant access to your application using built-in authentication with Azure Active Directory, Microsoft account, and external providers such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google.
Learn more about protecting your Functions code

Choose the hosting plan that fits your business needs

Consumption plan

Scale automatically and only pay for compute resources when your functions are running. On the Consumption plan, instances of the Functions host are dynamically added and removed based on the number of incoming events.

Premium plan

While automatically scaling based on demand, use pre-warmed workers to run applications with no delay after being idle, run on more powerful instances, and connect to VNETs.

Azure App Service plan

Run Functions within an App Service plan at regular App Service plan rates. Good fit for long running operations, as well as when more predictive scaling and costs are required.

Azure Functions Pricing

Get started with Functions

Documentation

Learn to use Functions with quickstart guides, tutorials, and code samples.

See documentation

Microsoft Learn

Master the basics of Functions with this guided learning path.

Learn to create serverless applications

Serverless Computing Cookbook

Build and monitor event-driven applications with this step-by-step guide.

Get the e-book

GitHub repo

Access open-source Functions runtime and extensions.

See the code

Build these solutions with Functions

Serverless APIs with Node.js or Microsoft .NET

Serverless web application for static websites and single-page applications

Serverless microservices for event-driven scenarios

Machine learning workflows with a serverless architecture

Serverless data processing pipelines for files and real-time data

Serverless cloud automation and hybrid resources management

Start building applications with Functions in three steps

Create an Azure free account and get 12 months of free services, $200 credit to explore services for 30 days, plus more than 25 always-free services.

Create your first function on .NET, JavaScript, Java or Python with a 5-minute quickstart guide.

Find inspiration and explore detailed Functions concepts in the documentation, code samples gallery, and pre-built components library.

See what customers are doing with Azure Functions

  1. Relativity
  2. Fuji Film
  3. DirectOne
  4. Hotailors

Increase development velocity

Relativity cut development time for its cloud-based e-discovery platform from four months with traditional methods to one week using Functions.

Relativity

Improve processing times for complex business problems

FUJIFILM Software reduced processing time and enabled same-day tagging for an average of 3,000 photos per baseball game using Azure Durable Functions.

Fuji Film

Achieve higher cost-effectiveness and ROI

Direct.One generated five times more transactions with Functions for less than a quarter of the cost of using virtual machines.

DirectOne

Reduce service integration time

Hotailors can integrate three times as many new suppliers in the same amount of time using Functions.

Hotailors

Azure Functions updates, blogs, and announcements

View all updates

Frequently asked questions about Functions

  • Functions provides varying levels of support for languages including C#, JavaScript, F#, Java, and Python.

    See all supported languages

  • Functions apps on Consumption plans and App Service plans will run or be available 99.95 percent of the time.

    See the full SLA for Functions

  • Functions can run in different modes: Consumption plan, Azure App Service plan, and Premium plan.

    Compare hosting and scaling on different plans

  • Avoid hard-coding access to other services like Azure Blog storage and Azure Cosmos DB using triggers and bindings. Triggers are what cause a function to run, and bindings are declarations that connect the function to another resource.

    See all triggers and bindings Functions supports

  • Create and test functions on your local machine using favorite code editor and development tools. Connect local functions to live Azure services and debug them on your local computer using the full Functions runtime. The requirements for developing functions on your local computer depend on the programming languages and tools you prefer.

    See local development environments

Get one million free Functions executions each month with an Azure free account.