neon-functions

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npx skills add neondatabase/agent-skills --skill neon

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

export default defineConfig({
  preview: {
    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
      },
    },
  },
});

// 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;

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

neon dev      # serves every function in neon.ts with hot reload; injects DATABASE_URL & friends
neon deploy --env <file>   # preferred full deploy from neon.ts; --env is the file Function env is read from

neon config status   # print the branch's live config (deployed functions)
neon config plan     # dry-run diff of what apply would change
neon config apply --env <file>  # bundle + deploy the declared functions  (neon deploy is an alias; pass --env when Function env reads process.env)

name: neon-functions
description: >-
  Long-running, serverless Node.js HTTP functions deployed onto your Neon
  branch, with DATABASE_URL injected automatically and compute that runs next
  to your data. Use when a user wants to host an API, an AI agent with long
  streaming responses, a WebSocket or server-sent-events (SSE) server, a
  webhook handler, a Discord bot, an MCP server, or any request/response
  workload that risks timing out on short, lambda-style serverless functions —
  and wants it to branch with their database. Triggers include "serverless
  function", "deploy an API", "long-running function", "streaming agent",
  "SSE server", "WebSocket server", "webhook handler", "MCP server",
  "run code next to my database", "function that won't time out",
  "function logs", "Neon Functions", and "Neon Compute".
metadata:
  parent: neon
  source: https://github.com/neondatabase/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/neon-functions

---
name: neon-functions
description: >-
  Long-running, serverless Node.js HTTP functions deployed onto your Neon
  branch, with DATABASE_URL injected automatically and compute that runs next
  to your data. Use when a user wants to host an API, an AI agent with long
  streaming responses, a WebSocket or server-sent-events (SSE) server, a
  webhook handler, a Discord bot, an MCP server, or any request/response
  workload that risks timing out on short, lambda-style serverless functions —
  and wants it to branch with their database. Triggers include "serverless
  function", "deploy an API", "long-running function", "streaming agent",
  "SSE server", "WebSocket server", "webhook handler", "MCP server",
  "run code next to my database", "function that won't time out",
  "function logs", "Neon Functions", and "Neon Compute".
metadata:
  parent: neon
  source: https://github.com/neondatabase/agent-skills/tree/main/skills/neon-functions
---

**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
npx skills add neondatabase/agent-skills --skill neon
```

# Neon Functions

This is a public beta feature, currently available in `us-east-2` and `eu-central-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.
- **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.

If the workload is a pure static site, a cron/background job that needs its own lifecycle and cancellation, or something that must run outside the supported regions (`us-east-2`, `eu-central-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.

## Availability

Check this precondition before setting anything up: Neon Functions is a public beta feature currently available in `us-east-2` and `eu-central-1`. Confirm the user's Neon project is in one of these regions. Functions usage isn't billed during the public beta.

## Architecture: Where Functions Fit

Neon (Functions included) is **backend primitives, not full-stack app hosting**. Host your app on **Vercel** (or Netlify, or another frontend/app host); 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 (e.g. Neon Auth), and talks directly to Lakebase Postgres and Object Storage. When one workload outgrows the host's short serverless limits — a WebSocket or SSE server, or a long-running agent that would time out — move just that piece onto a Neon Function. (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, secure a Function like any standalone REST API: verify a JWT or API key at the top of the handler (see the WARNING under [Functions as an Agent Backend](#functions-as-an-agent-backend-nextjs-and-similar-frameworks)). 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.

## 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 `preview.functions`, keyed by **slug**:

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

export default defineConfig({
  preview: {
    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);
```

## Develop Locally and Deploy

```bash
neon dev      # serves every function in neon.ts with hot reload; injects DATABASE_URL & friends
neon deploy --env <file>   # preferred full deploy from neon.ts; --env is the file Function env is read from
```

Keep `.env` or `.env.local` up to date with every key under `preview.functions.*.env`. `neon env pull` writes Neon-managed vars only; add Function secrets to that file, then pass it as `--env`. `neon deploy --env <file>` loads that file into `process.env` each time, then uploads those values. A missing value is `undefined` and `defineConfig` throws. Omit the key from `neon.ts` if you do not want to write it. Never coerce a missing `process.env` value to an empty string (that uploads `""` and deletes the live key). An empty assignment (`KEY=`) is also `""`. Use `process.env.X!` when TypeScript needs an assertion.

To deploy a single function without applying `neon.ts`: `neon functions deploy <slug> --src src/index.ts` (`--src` takes either the entry file or a directory containing `index.ts`, `index.mjs`, or `index.js`). That command's `--env` is `KEY=VALUE` (repeatable), not a file path. Use it for a targeted env update. Retrieve the public URL with `neon functions get <slug>` (the `invocation_url` field, of the form `https://<branch_id>-<slug>.compute.<cell>.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech`). Manage with `neon functions list|get|delete`.

When `neon checkout` _creates_ a new branch and a `neon.ts` is present, it applies the policy automatically. That create-apply does not load `--env`. If Function env reads `process.env`, run `neon deploy --env <file>` after checkout (add `--update-existing` if checkout already created the branch). Checking out an existing branch does not re-deploy; run `neon deploy --env <file>` explicitly.

## Neon Infrastructure as Code (`neon.ts`)

The `preview.functions` block from [Setup](#setup) is part of `neon.ts`, Neon's infrastructure-as-code file — one TypeScript file declares every function (its `source`, display `name`, and `env`) alongside any other branch services, in version control (see the `neon` skill for the full reference). Treat it like Terraform for your branch:

```bash
neon config status   # print the branch's live config (deployed functions)
neon config plan     # dry-run diff of what apply would change
neon config apply --env <file>  # bundle + deploy the declared functions  (neon deploy is an alias; pass --env when Function env reads process.env)
```

Functions are **branch-scoped**: each branch runs its own deployment at its own URL. When a `neon.ts` is present, `neon checkout` applies the policy as it _creates_ a branch. That create-apply does not load `--env`. If Function env reads `process.env`, run