Azure Functions Pack
This is a tool to make it easy to package your Azure Functions Node.js Functions for optimal performance on Azure Functions.
The problem addressed
Whenever an Azure Function App is recreated on demand (a so called "cold start") the node'js module cache for each Function will be empty. The current Functions file system is sluggish in dealing with many small file accesses so there is a significant delay as node reads all the module files. Fortunately, node caches the modules in memory so subsequent accesses are fast.
The solution
A javascript module bundler (webpack) is used to place all the modules in a single file. The Function functions.json files are then modified so this bundle is used rather than the separate modules files. Magic!
How to run
In the Function App directory:
npm install -g azure-functions-pack
funcpack pack ./
You can then test locally using the CLI tool: func run <myfunc>
When uploading your files, you need to include the single .funcpack directory (in the Functions App root), but you don't need your node_modules directory.
Alternative when git deploying to Azure Functions
You can set the SCM_USE_FUNCPACK app setting to 1, and we'll install your packages and pack them whenever you git deploy. We recommend git deploying into a deployment slot and then swapping to prod to avoid downtime and resource contention. You can learn more about how to customize deployments on the kudu wiki.
API
Usage: main [options] [command]
Commands:
unpack [options] <path> Will remove all traces of packing tool at the specified path or the current directory if none is specified
pack [options] <path> Will pack the specified path or the current directory if none is specified
Options:
-h, --help output usage information
-u, --uglify Uglify the project when webpacking
-o, --output <path> Path for output directory
-c, --copyToOutput Copy files to output directory
The copyToOutput option will copy all the important files for you to the output directory (aka .funcpack) and modify them there. This will let you publish from the output directory without having to touch your source code or remove your node_modules to save space. You can simply:
funcpack pack -c .
cd .funcpack
func azure functionapp publish <myapp>
unpack
Usage: unpack [options] <path>
Will remove all traces of packing tool at the specified path or the current directory if none is specified
Options:
-h, --help output usage information
-o, --output <path> Path for output directory
Note: the uglify feature only supports some small amount of es6, so I recommend that if you get errors either don't uglify or drop your code down to es5.
Uglify will minimize the sample project that's included from 27 MB to 9 MB.
pack
Usage: pack [options] <path>
Will pack the specified path or the current directory if none is specified
Options:
-h, --help output usage information
-u, --uglify Uglify the project when webpacking
-o, --output <path> Path for output directory
-c, --copyToOutput Copy files to output directory
-e, --editConfig <path> Customize webpack config by applying function in this file
The editConfig option will let you specify a js file containing a function to alter the webpack configuration.
// $root/webpack.config.js
module.exports = function(config, webpack) {
config.plugins.push(new webpack.DefinePlugin({ "global.GENTLY": false }));
return config;
}
funcpack.config.json
Pack will optionally take in a config file that will let you further customize the behavior. The config file must be in the directory you run the command from and named funcpack.config.json.
Here are all the supported options:
{
"ignoredModules":["chai"]
}