Skip to main content

Getting started

Owly runs your functions and static sites inside fast, snapshot-restored micro-VMs. You write ordinary handlers — using the SDK in TypeScript/JavaScript, net/http in Go — and Owly handles the build, the deploy, and fast cold starts.

Install​

The owly CLI drives everything: scaffolding, building, and deploying.

owly --help

You'll also need the toolchain for whatever language you build in:

  • TypeScript / JavaScript — Node ≥ 20 and a package manager (npm, pnpm, or yarn).
  • Go — Go ≥ 1.23 and TinyGo ≥ 0.34.

Create a project​

Scaffold a new function. Pick a language with --lang:

owly init --lang ts hello
cd hello && npm install

This produces a project wired to the TypeScript SDK:

hello/
├── .owly/           # owly's build artifacts (generated, hidden)
├── src/index.ts     # your handler
├── owly.yaml        # project + function config
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

The generated src/index.ts:

import { createApp } from '@owly/runtime';

const app = createApp();

app.onSetup(() => {
  // Warm caches / build lookup tables at snapshot-build time.
});

app.get('/', (c) => c.text('Hello from hello!\n'));

app.listen();

For Go, owly init --lang go hello scaffolds the Go SDK instead.

Add more functions​

A project can host many functions, each mounted at its own path:

owly add --lang ts api-users          # → /api/api-users
owly add --lang go cruncher --path /compute

owly add --lang go works in any project — even one that already has JS/TS functions; Owly wires up everything the new function needs automatically.

Build and deploy​

owly build     # compile every function
owly deploy    # ship functions + static files

See Build & deploy for the full workflow.

The first request to a freshly deployed function is a cold start: Owly restores a snapshot rather than starting from scratch. Use the setup hook to make that first request fast.

Static sites​

No functions, just files? Scaffold a static-only project:

owly init --static my-site

This emits a minimal owly.yaml with functions: [] and a public/ placeholder. Point publicDir/publicBuild at any static generator — Docusaurus, Astro, Vite, or hand-written HTML. (These very docs are an Owly static site; see owly.yaml reference.)